Backgammon - Bearing Checkers Off

 

Backgammon playing field is occupied by a board consisting of 24 points (triangles). Triangles are divided into four sectors.

 

Each player has two sectors(home and outer one) and 15 pieces of his own color.

 

Initially, the pieces are arranged as follows: two on each player's twenty-four point, five on each player's thirteen point, three on each player's eight point, and five on each player's six point.

 

The point of the game is to move all your pieces into your home board as soon as possible.

 

To start moving pieces, players throw dies. The player throwing the higher number is the first to move his pieces. The roll of the dice indicates for how many points the player is to move his checkers. He may either make two separate moves with two pieces (each corresponding to the numbers on the two dice) or he may move the one piece a total.

 

Mind that pieces can be moved only to an open point, i.e. the point which is not occupied by two or more opponent's pieces.

 

Moving one of your pieces to a point occupied by a single piece of the opponent is called ‘hitting'.

 

This makes the opponent to remove the stone off the board to the bar. You can't move other pieces until your ‘hit' stone is re-entered to the board.

 

In case you roll doubles, you are to play the numbers shown on the dice twice. For example, a roll of 6 and 6 means that you can move 4 pieces 6 points each or two stones 12 points each.

 

Use both numbers of a roll if this is legally possible (if you piece won't land on the opponent's ‘closed' point).

 

Sometimes only one number is possible. When either number can be played but not both, choose the highest one.

 

If neither number can be played, the player skips his turn.

 

A move within a player's turn can be undone by pressing Back button.

 

Once you moved all 15 pieces into inner table, you start bearing them off, i.e. deleting them from the playing field.

 

To start bearing pieces off, the player must have all of his active checkers in his home board. A piece is removed by rolling a number that corresponds to the point on which the piece resides. He who is the first to bear off all pieces is the winner.

 

If any of the opponent's pieces has not been borne off by that time, the opponent is gammoned and loses twice the value of the doubling cube.

Watch out - if the loser has not borne off any of his checkers and still has a checker on the bar or in the winner's inner board, he is backgammon and loses three times the value of the doubling cube.

 

The game features high-grade graphics and elegant interface.

 

One can choose between Single Player mode and Multiplayer Mode.

 

It's also possible to select either Quick Play or Hotseat Game where one will play against another person using the same device or connect to the Internet and compete online. Career Mode allows to create 3 profiles and to build your bankroll, though not real. Chat available in the Backgammon online games makes the gameplay still more interesting while multiple options and Statistics available even in online games make it easier to follow.

 

System requirements: Palm OS 4.0 + and a 320x320 color screen.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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