Back Game

[Also spelled "backgame".]  A strategy employed by a player who is substantially behind in the race but has two or more anchors in the opponent’s home board. The player holds both anchors as long as possible, forcing his opponent to bear in or bear off awkwardly. The idea is to hit a late shot and then contain the hit checker behind a prime. See posts by Daniel Murphy and Marty Storer.

Compare: Holding Game.

Backgammon

1. A game played with dice and checkers on a board consisting of twenty-four points, in which each player tries to move his checkers home and bear them off while preventing the opponent from doing the same thing.  See: the Rules of Backgammon.




2. A completed game of backgammon in which the losing player has not borne off any checkers and still has one or more checkers on the bar or in the winner’s home board. A backgammon is also called a triple game because the winner receives three times the value of the doubling cube.  Compare: Single Game and Gammon.

Backgammon Board

Backgammon is played on a board consisting of twenty-four narrow triangles called points. The triangles alternate in color and are grouped into four quadrants of six triangles each. The quadrants are referred to as a player’s home board and outer board and the opponent’s home board and outer board. The home and outer boards are separated from each other by a ridge down the center of the board called the bar.

Backgammon Server

A computer on the Internet which hosts games of backgammon. Competitors play in real time with opponents from around the world. The server rolls the dice, communicates the plays to each player, keeps score, and maintains ratings for all players. Some servers even let you play for money. You typically interact with a server using client software downloaded to your computer.  See: Backgammon Play Sites.

Back Man

Runner; a player’s rearmost checker.

Baffle Box

A device through which dice are dropped to randomize a roll. The dice are deflected and jostled about as they fall through the box.

Bakelite

An early type of plastic, used in the 1920’s and 1930’s for the creation of backgammon playing pieces. Many people prefer the look and feel of bakelite to newer materials. See post by Albert Steg.

Banana Split

[Because you must be "bananas" to try it.]  To hit loose by breaking a point in your home board, thereby leaving two blots.

Bankroll

The amount of money you have available for betting, or the maximum amount you are willing to lose in a session.  See: Money Management.

Bar

The raised ridge down the center of a backgammon board dividing the home board from the outer board. Checkers are placed on the bar after they have been hit.

Barabino

[Named after backgammon expert Rick Barabino.]  A roll of 5-4 from the bar used to make an anchor on the opponent’s five-point.

Bar-Point

A player’s seven-point, so named because it is physically adjacent to the bar.

Battle of Primes

A position in which both players have checkers trapped behind an opponent’s prime.  See: Prime-vs-Prime.

Bear In

To move a checker into your home board prior to bearing off.

Bear Off

To remove a checker from the board according to a roll of the dice after all of your checkers have been brought into your home board.

Bearoff

The last stage of the game during which checkers are borne off.

Bearoff Database

A computer-generated table associating each possible bearoff position with a value that represents the quality of that position. The associated value is either the equity of the position (in a two-sided database) or a distribution of the expected number of rolls to bear off (in a one-sided database).

Bear On

To be within six points of. For example, a checker on your 13-point bears on points 7 through 12.

Beaver

An immediate redouble by a player who just accepted a double. A player who beavers turns the cube up one level and retains possession of the cube.  See: Beavers.

Beavers

A rule often used in money play (but never in match play) which says: A player who accepts a double may immediately redouble (beaver) without giving up possession of the cube. The opponent (the player who originally doubled) may refuse the beaver, in which case he resigns the game and loses the current (doubled) stakes. Otherwise, he must accept the beaver and continue the game at quadruple the stakes prior to the double. See post by Sander van Rijnswou.

Behind in the Count

Having a higher pip count than your opponent; see count.

Behind in the Race

Having a higher pip count than your opponent.

Bertha

To mistakenly play the roll of 6-5 from the opponent’s one-point to your mid-point without seeing that the opponent has made his bar-point and blocks your way.

BIBA

British Isles Backgammon Association.  Website: BIBA.

Big Play

A bold or aggressive play when a safer but less constructive play is available.

Binache

Beaver.

Blitz

1. An all-out attack on enemy blots in your home board aimed at closing out your opponent.
2. A quick elimination tournament consisting of short matches.

Block

A point occupied by two or more checkers held for the purpose of hindering the opponent’s progress.

Blockade

A series of blocks arranged to prevent escape of the opponent’s runners. The ideal blockade is a prime.

Blocking Backgammon

A backgammon variant in which one checker by itself controls a point.  See: How to Play Blocking Backgammon.

Blocking Game

A game plan where the primary strategy is to build a strong blockade.

Blot

A single checker sitting alone on a point where it is vulnerable to being hit.

Blot-Hitting Contest

An exchange of loose hits in which both players try to gain a key point.

Blue game

A kind of collusion in a chouette. Two or more players silently agree to share their winnigs, thus if either of them is in the box and the other is captain, the captain deliberately makes bad moves or wrong doubling decisions. (From Philipp Martyn on Backgammon, p. 162.)

Blunder

A large checker play or cube error, especially one made out of recklessness or inattention.  Compare: Whopper. See post by Daniel Murphy.

Board

1. A backgammon board.
2. One of the four quadrants that make up the playing area: your home board, your outer board, the opponent’s home board, and the opponent’s outer board.
3. A player’s home board. For example: a strong board is a home board with several made points; an n-point board is a home board with n points made; to make your board means to close all the points in your home board.

Board Layout

See: Starting Position.

Board Setup

See: Starting Position.

Bold Play

A play that leaves one or more blots that the opponent can easily hit.  Compare: Safe Play.

Bold-Safe Criteria

See: Magriel’s Safe-Bold Criteria.

Book a Checker

Cover a blot.

Bot

[Contraction of "robot."]

1. A computer program on a backgammon server that plays and competes just as if it were a human player.
2. Any computer program that can play backgammon and analyze positions (such as Jellyfish, Snowie, or GNU Backgammon).

Box

[Short for "man in the box," a person in a difficult or trying position.]  The player in a chouette who plays alone against all the others.

Boxcars

A roll of 6-6 (double 6’s).

Boxes

A roll of 6-6 (double 6’s).

Boys (The Boys)

A roll of 6-6 (double 6’s).

Break

To take apart, as in break a point, break a prime, or break one’s board.

Break a Point

To remove a checker from a point that contains only two checkers, leaving the point open. (The opposite of make a point.)

Break a Prime

To open one or more points in a prime.

Break Contact

To move past the last of the opponent’s checkers, so that no further hitting or blocking is possible. The game becomes a pure race.

Break One’s Board

To open one or more points in your home board after having made your board.

Broken Prime

An incomplete prime with a gap in it.

Bronstein Clock

A chess clock with a feature that allows a time delay with each move.  See also: Fischer Clock.

Builder

A checker brought into your outer board where it bears directly onto one or more key points that you want to make.

Build One’s Board

To make points in your home board.

Bump

Hit a checker.

Bump and Pass

Pick and pass.

Bump and Run

Pick and pass.

Bury a Checker

To play a checker deep within your home board where it has no value.

Busted Back Game

A backgame attempt that fell apart when the backgame player was forced to move checkers deep into his home board where they could no longer contain a hit checker.

Button up

To safety a blot by bringing it together with another checker.

Bye

[As in "go by".]  The position of a player in a tournament who advances to the next round without playing a match. Byes are often awarded in the first round of an elimination tournament to make the number of advancing players a power of 2.