Fencer:you're welcome

skipinnz: Thanks, that's what I needed to know.

Fencer: Yes backmen would be those on points 1 & 24 at the start of a game.

Marfitalu: So I am right, am I not?

Marfitalu: oops i missed that the fencer asked for the back men in the start position

Marfitalu: isnt it so that all the men that are furthest away from bearing off are called back men ?

skipinnz, Marfitalu: Two white pieces on point 1 and two black pieces on point 24?

Fencer: They would be the 2 pieces on the one point. The furtherest from home.

Can someone please tell me which checkers refer to "back men (runners)" in the standard Backgammon start position?

Marfitalu: Well he wasnt replying to my in match messages, but he has now

Please can somebody send pergico a message in portugese, because he isnt ending the game with a draw, we can not go any further.

grasshopper game

joshi tm: I think we have had 10 passes each

mybirthdaysoon: This game should end in a draw. Just with four passes in a row, draw.

mybirthdaysoon: I can't see what kind of game this is.

hexkid:Thre is no other way , is there

mybirthdaysoon: LOL

end the game with a draw, perhaps?

reference to the link below, we have blocked each other, neither of us can move, so what happens next?

What would happen if the score becomes 7-7?

LionsLair: Cool ! I had thought a bit about how to make a backgammon variant where one has more than 30% of chances to hit a direct blot, because it is likely to add strategy and substract race character to the game. I had considered some solutions, but yours seems much better. Again a game that I would definitely like to try.
However, doubles are a problem and I don't like the solution of allowing a limited number of them - it requires to remember the number of times you used it, and 3 is a completely arbitrary number. Maybe playing a double as only two moves, but a triple as four moves ? Or any better idea ?

jryden: Well not every game is for everyone.

Just to recap some past suggested variants:

1) A mix between Tabula gammon and Russian Gammon. Basically like "race", all pieces start off the board - BOTH players race the same direction around the board, bring in their pieces in the same area - can only move their pieces 1/2 way around the board until all of their pieces have entered the board - 2 dice only - no special double rules - rest of the rules like current gammon/race rules.

2) Domino-Gammon - I have since seen some other versions talked about, but linked are the rules that I have made up for the game.

3) Similar to #2, Double choice & triple choice backgammon - more explained in this post: Backgammon (BIG BAD WOLF, 2006-12-20 00:41:30)

Plus other suggestion on the feature request board awhile back:

Plakoto - http://www.bkgm.com/variants/Plakoto.html

Plakoto Express (well not requested, but will include it here) - http://www.bkgm.com/variants/PlakotoExpress.html

Moultezim - http://www.bkgm.com/variants/Moultezim.html

Czuch Czuckers: I think you shouldn't play it as a Gammon Variant. More like Chess.

jryden: I agree, this is hardly a backgammon variant, to me anyway.

Czuch Czuckers: Actually there are good techniques for counting pips across the board using patterns and a little math. Do a search and you'll find a few.

I have an idea for a new variant I would like to propose be added to Brainking
...it's rather simple actually and I call it "backgammon choice"
the idea is to have a player choose his/her (2) die from a 3 die roll....
... given that more double die will be an option, I found it best to limit the # of doubles a player can use... (3) works best in my opinion, and after a player has used his/her 3 doubles in a game they are forced to use the non double combination... the only exception to this rule would be if all 3 die are identicle... in which case the player passes and losses his/her turn...
I have found this to be an interesting variant that I have tested only here at home, and would like to see it here so I could play it with people that have many different strategies to the game...
...an added note is that I have found that after a player uses his/her 3 doubles and it is in a race situation, that it is alot harder to lose to an opponent that is clearly behind and you get killed by doubles in the ending moves of a game, something I'm sure many players would like to see...
...other than that, the rules are the same for a normal backgammon game...
...and yes, a coubling cube can be used...
...any thoughts? do you think I should submit this to fencer?

as always, happy gaming!

Oh My loaf i cant cope lol

nabla: Thanks for your support... I haven't thought through the gammon's scenarios yet!

nabla: Do they make an over the board gammon game that will electronically count pips based on the weight of the pieces or some other means?


If not, I call it!!!

nabla: And for backgammon +100.

Czuch Czuckers: And what about gammons ? Replace them by being 50 pips up ? This would sound very arbitrary.

Czuch Czuckers: By the way, if I use both my dices to break contact, it sounds fair that my opponent would still be allowed to roll one die.

Czuch Czuckers: Wooot, more gammon games coming! Call it Anti-Racegammon.

Czuch Czuckers: I also think that your proposal deserves to be tried. It is true that the doubling cube adds skill even to straight races, but it is not very difficult to learn the basic cubing strategy in races, so when both players know it there is again few room for errors and it is 99% luck all the same.
What you would really like to test in your variant is the type of positions where contact is almost broken, for instance both sides still hold their midpoint. Those positions would turn from quiet almost-race positions to extremely volatile.
The only thing I don't like about your proposal is that for playing over the board, it requires taking the exact pipcount into account while playing, which is tedious. Online, having the pipcount shown would be a must.

Anyone online right now that would like to try a couple quick ones of grasshopper?

grenv: Yeah, so you like the cube because it takes some of the luck out of the game, yet you think luck is part of the game so any game that eliminates some luck is silly? I think it would make a nice variant, and the more I have thought about it, there would be some added strategies not present in a traditional backgammon game!

Czuch Czuckers: I like your "Chuch backgammon" idea...and i also like that this discussion is on the Backgammonboard and not on BrainKing.com

Fencer: Apart from the geometrical shape, what is the common point between a die and a doubling cube ?
But I agree that the doubling cube makes less sense since no luck factor is involved.

joshi tm: Since there are no dice, there is no doubling cube.

Fencer: Is there a possibility to play Grasshopper with a doubling Cube?

Czuch Czuckers: Try Grasshopper (just added), there are no dice to kill you.

Czuch Czuckers: In my humble opinion, that is a silly game. The odds are part of the game. I suggest using the cube for a more skillful game.

BIG BAD WOLF:...about as much as we need a chess game that uses dice! LOL

Okay, I am the inventor of an official new backgammon variant.


Its called Czuch Backgammon.... It is the same as a normanl backgammon game, except that once a game becomes a race, whomever is in the lead is declared the winner. In the event that it takes only one die to make the game a race, the other die is not used. (doubling cube rules to follow soon)

Czuch Czuckers: Maybe we need a gammon game that does not use dice?

Is there currently any variants that exclude the race portion of the game? I am so sick of having the dice kill me in a race!!!

Maybe not use doubles during a race or just having the winner declared whomever is in the lead when the game becomes a race??? Does this make any sense?

Marfitalu: Tyvm :)

hi to you all ;)i'm looking for rated games and tourney's but when i put in a new game its non rated . what am i doing wrong ? ty and gl :)

LeavingSoon: oh my dice, have been frogs and back end of battleships in the past lol

alanback: I had it last at Ludo games showing 3's where they should be 6's. Does it help to remove the cookies and refresh the browser?

It worked here, though.