Moving Your Checkers in Backgammon

Backgammon basics will definitely include moving your checkers around on the board. In a chess you move your pieces on squares while in backgammon you move your checkers on rows of elongated triangles known as points or pips. There are two rows of points in your backgammon board and we'll find out just how to move your checkers along them.

To begin our simple walk through the basics we will first deal with the opening roll. It's a catchy name yet all it means is that it is the first roll made by both players. Both players only use one die when they make their opening roll. The player who gets the higher amount in that roll goes first. In case there is a tie in the opening roll both players will have to roll again.

The player making the first move will not roll dice again but instead will use the numbers as shown in the opening roll. Now let's proceed to actually moving your checkers on the backgammon board. You get to move your checkers according to the results of dice rolls made. But if you can't move a checker because all the landing points are blocked (will explain later as we go along) then you forfeit that result.

Let's say dice were rolled and you get a two and a three as results. You can move one checker three points forward and the another two points. Another option is to first move a checker three points forward then move the same checker two points forward. There is no moving your checkers backwards in backgammon, you always move your checkers in the direction from the 24-point to your Ace-point.

You are allowed to land your checkers on points that are unoccupied. You can also land your checkers on points occupied by your checkers. You may not land on points occupied by two or more opposing checkers (i.e. blocked). But you can land on points occupied by only one opposing checker, which constitutes a hit and sends that opposing checker to the bar.

One last thing about moving your checkers in backgammon is about double rolls. If you make a double roll (i.e. a pair of sixes and so forth) Then you have two bonus moves. So if you roll a pair of ones then you have the option to move one checker one point for forward four times in a row, four checkers one point forward each, or two checkers two points forward each. Backgammon basics include moving your checkers on the board.

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