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Backgammon

The ancient game of skill and chance combined. Pit your skills against other players from around the world.

Choose from a variety of 2-player Cash Games or join regular scheduled multi-table tournaments.

John Clark, the UK’s top-rated Backgammon player, recommends playing Backgammon online at William Hill Skill Games. Click below to Read John’s “Letter to Players” and you can also read John’s Tournament Diaries as he travels the world playing Backgammon against the very best (and sometimes worst) players.

• View video tutorial
• Full Game Instructions
• MatchPlay & Moneyplay: Two different ways to play for money, explained!
• Hypergammon
• Backgammon Rake
• Bots Guide
• Security

Full Game Instructions

White and Red players take turns rolling the dice and moving their checkers around the Board. You must move your checkers into your "Home" area. Once all your checkers are in your Home area you can start removing them ('bearing off') from the Board. Remove all your checkers from the Board before your opponent in order to win the match.

Be Aware Of The Timer!
Please note our timer has been designed in consultation with leading UK and International Backgammon players. Your timer is located in the top-right corner of the game screen and appears as a single ‘bar’ split in two colours: The orange section is your Time Bank; and the green section is your Move Timer. Your green Move Timer is the first section to start counting down and always gives you 15 seconds to either roll the dice or make your move. If you use all 15 seconds in your green Move Timer, your orange Time Bank starts to count down. Your orange Time Bank always starts at 20 seconds but can be built up during the game to a maximum of 2 minutes by making your moves as quickly as possible. Every move you make increases your initial 20 second Time Bank by up to 5 seconds. The faster you make your moves using the 15 second Move Timer, the more you’ll build your Time Bank. Build your Time Bank for when you really need to stop and think! When your Time Bank approaches zero, the timer bar will flash and make an audible alert. If the Time Bank reaches zero, you will forfeit the game.

Rolling The Dice.
Click the “Roll Dice” button in the top-left corner of the game window or click the area of the Board where the dice are displayed.

Moving Your Checkers.
Left-click on a checker to move it. Left-click and hold to drag a checker around the Board.

Offering The Doubling Cube.
Before you roll the dice you may click on the “Offer Cube” button in the top-left corner of the game window to offer the Doubling Cube to your opponent. If accepted, the winner of the game will receive twice as many points as before. The Cube will now be controlled by your opponent and can only be offered back to you. The Doubling Cube is displayed on the Board closest to the controlling player. If your opponent declines the offered Doubling Cube they forfeit the points on the cube before it was offered.

Options Menu.
Click on the “Options Menu” button during a game to change the settings on the game. These settings are persistent and will not reset after each game. Settings allow you to:

• Click Dice to Finish Turn. Choose this setting to end your turns yourself by clicking on the dice. The default setting is to automatically end your turn on your final move;
• Auto-Roll Dice. Select this setting to have the dice rolled for you when it is your turn. Please note you will not be able to offer the doubling cube if this setting is chosen;
• Basic Graphics. Choose simple board graphics for easier viewing during extended play sessions; and
• Flip Board. Gives you a different viewing perspective on the Board; and
• Auto Bear-Off. This setting is “off” by default.

The Object of the Game
The object of Backgammon is to move all your pieces off your end of the Board before your opponent. Each player starts with 15 pieces, arranged as shown below.

The Red player moves their pieces counterclockwise around the Board, eventually moving them into the empty slot next to their home Board section, and the White player vice versa.

The first person to remove all their pieces will win the round and score points based on several factors, explained later. Each Room in the Lobby has a target score which must be met to win the game. Any MatchPlay game with a target score higher than 1point may require several rounds of Backgammon before a player has accumulated enough points to reach it.

Order Of Play. Play alternates between the 2 players. The principle part of a player’s turn is to roll the dice and move their pieces by the numbers shown. Click the ‘Roll’ button to roll the dice, or click on the area of the Board where the dice are displayed when it is your turn.

At the start of the game, each player has a single die rolled for them automatically. The highest roller gets to move first, using the dice already showing.

A player may move one piece at a time by the exact amount shown on either die. For example, a roll of a 5 and a 4 would mean you could move one piece 5 places forward, and another 4 places forward, assuming the destination point is legal. Alternatively you could move one piece twice, as long as both ‘jumps’ are legal.

If a player rolls a double, they use the dice twice. For example, a roll of 3 and 3 would mean you could move 4 separate pieces forward by 3 places, 2 pieces forward by 6 etc, always assuming the intermediate jumps are legal.

A destination point is legal if:

• it is empty
• it only has your pieces on it
• it only has 1 of your opponents pieces on it
• If your opponent has 2 or more pieces positioned on a point, then you cannot move onto it.

To move a piece, use the mouse to drag it to the desired destination. To help you, the game will highlight all the legal moves a piece can make when you move the cursor over it. If you click a piece, it will automatically make the biggest single ‘jump’ it can.

There is no limit to the number of pieces you can place on any position; however there are some specific rules about making moves:

• a player must use both dice if this is legally possible, and all 4 in the case of a double, even if this would place their pieces in an undesirable position
• if only one die can be legally played, it must be played
• if either die can be played, but not both of them, then the larger die must be played. In the case of doubles, as many as possible must be played
• The game will calculate which dice must be used, and it will not let you finish your turn if you haven’t complied with the rules above.

As soon as you have moved your last piece, your turn is over. If there are no legal moves at all, it will automatically finish your turn.

Taking Pieces.
If your opponent only has 1 piece on the position you are moving to then you can take, or hit, this piece. It is moved onto the bar section in the middle of the Board and your piece now occupies the contested point.

Any player who has pieces on the bar must use their dice rolls to move these pieces back onto the Board before they can move any other pieces. A piece is re-introduced by moving it onto a legal position in the opponent’s home Board. When this has been done, any remaining dice can be used normally.

Bearing Off.
When a player has got all their pieces into their home Board, they can start moving them off the Board. This is called bearing off.

A piece can only be born off by making a legal move to the slot at the end of the Board. For example, if a piece occupies the position 5 places from the end of the Board, then a 5 on one die (or a total of 5 on both dice) is required to bear off.

The exception to this rule is if all the remaining pieces are below the dice roll. For example, a player rolls a 4 and a 6 and all their pieces are on the first, second and third slot points before the end. In this case they could bear off the two pieces on from the third slot point.

A player is under no obligation to bear pieces off. They can make alternative legal moves without bearing off at all, if they wish.

If a player has a piece taken during the bearing off process, they must re-introduce this piece to the Board, and move it round to the home Board section, before they can continue bearing off.

The first player to bear off all 15 pieces wins the round. They will receive 1 point for this, multiplied by the number shown on the doubling cube, and any additional multipliers for achieving a gammon, or a backgammon (explained below).

The Doubling Cube.
At the start of a player’s turn, before they roll the dice, a player has the option of offering the doubling cube to their opponent. Click the ‘Cube’ button to do this.

The doubling cube is essentially a method of doubling the number of points the eventual winner of that round will receive. A player would be inclined to do this if they felt they were winning the game, as it would help them reach the target score faster. If a player is offered the cube and they decline, then they immediately lose the number of points on the cube before it was offered.

The default number of points a player gets for winning a round is 1. Every time the doubling cube is used, this number doubles, up to a maximum of 64.

At the start of the game, the cube is displayed in the middle of the Board with the number 64 face-up. Either player can offer the doubling cube to the other at this point. However, as soon as one player offers it, they lose possession to the other player.

From then on, only the player in possession can offer the cube. Possession alternates between players with each use. The Doubling Cube is displayed on the Board closest to the controlling player.

In certain situations the doubling cube may be permanently unavailable. This happens when:
a) the target score for the game is 1. In this situation the cube is irrelevant.
b) the Crawford rule is in effect. Once only per game, if a player is within a single point of the target score, the cube is disabled for an entire round.

Note that the Jacoby rule applies in moneyplay games, i.e. that gammons or backgammons only apply once the cube has been offered at least once during the game.

Gammon And Backgammon.
In addition to the doubling cube, a winner’s points can be multiplied further under the following conditions:

• if they have born off all their pieces before their opponent has managed to bear off a piece, this is called a gammon. The winner’s points are doubled.
• If they have born off all their pieces before their opponent has managed to bear off a piece, AND their opponent still has a piece in the winner’s home Board (or on the bar), this is called a backgammon. The winner’s points are tripled.

Resigning A Round. IMPORTANT! This is not the same as resigning a game using the ‘Resign’ button in the top-right corner of the table!

At the start of a player’s turn, they may want to offer to resign the round (but not the entire game) to their opponent. To do this, click the ‘Resign Round’ button.

The player will be asked whether they wish to offer their opponent a simple resignation, a gammon, or even a backgammon. If their opponent accepts then the round will end, and the score will be added up appropriately. An offer to resign a backgammon will be automatically accepted.

If their opponent declines then the player can either carry on with their turn as usual, or offer to resign again at the next level up, i.e. if they offered a gammon before, they can only offer a backgammon this time.

The resign options are reset each turn.

Please Note: If a player times out, or resigns using the table’s ‘Resign’ button, they will lose the whole game, not just that round.

MatchPlay & Moneyplay: Two different ways to play for money, explained!

Players can choose to MatchPlay or MoneyPlay wagering on games of backgammon. Here's how each type of wagering works, in a nutshell.

MatchPlay Backgammon
First select a MatchPlay Game Type in the lobby and then sit and join a Table displaying your preferred stake. Matches are won by the player who reaches the target point-score first. The winner receives his or her stake back plus their opponent's stake, less the applicable rake.

MoneyPlay Backgammon
This fairer, performance-based way to play Backgammon for money is one of the most popular ways to win real money. Select the MoneyPlay Game Type in the lobby and then sit and join a Table displaying your preferred per-point stake and Buy-In. The Buy-In is the amount of money brought to the table by each player. Your winnings at the end of the game are calculated as the difference between your points scored and your opponent's points scored, multiplied by the chosen per-point stake. You can rebuy into the table at any stage.

For example, in a £2.00 per-point MoneyPlay game, if you score a backgammon against your opponent (worth 3points) with the doubling cube on 4 you'll win the following amount:

3points for the backgammon x 4 on the cube = 12points
12points x £2.00 = £24.00
Please note that the Jacoby rule applies in moneyplay games, i.e. that gammons or backgammons only count once the doubling cube has been offered at least once during the game.

Hypergammon

Hypergammon is a variation on backgammon. Instead of beginning with 15 checkers which need to be borne off from your home board, players each start with only three checkers on the 22, 23 and 24 points. These three need to be brought round the table and then borne off from your homeboard as if this were a game of backgammon with the same checkers in place. All other rules are exactly the same as in backgammon including ‘hitting’ an opponent, the doubling cube and so forth. For more information on general backgammon rules, please see the game instructions or quickstart popups.

Backgammon Rake

Here you will find the lowest backgammon rake on the net from 5% to 1%. The higher the stake, the lower the rake.

MatchPlay Rake

See table below for details of the rake as a percentage of total player-stakes in matchPlay games:

Example: A plays B at a 5 point match game for £5. A wins and is returned £9.50 (he nets £4.50). C plays and beats D in a 3 point match for £500. C's winnings are £990, or a net of £490.

MoneyPlay Rake

As a % of money changing hands:

Example: A plays B at £1 a point and beats B by two points: A's net profit is £1.90. C plays D for £25 per point and wins four points. C's net profit is £98.

Please note: All money sums displayed within the multiplayer lobby and games are accurately displayed in your chosen currency at the prevailing exchange rate. Please note also that there is a minimum rake of 3% when playing house robot players such as probot. (e.g. as per the table above but 3% for all matchplay games of £100 or above).

Currency amounts may fluctuate dependent on the current exchange rate.

Bots Guide

Welcome to the Bot Family. Our robot (‘bot’ for short) players are online 24/7 in the new game lobby to play you for free or for real money stakes. We have a wide variety of Bot players online, all of them unique and offering a revolutionary challenge to anyone wishing to learn, to play, to develop their strategy or to hit the jackpot!

JOIN THE GAME LOBBY & PLAY BOTS NOW!

Why have Bot players?
We're offering you Bot players as an alternative to playing against people for free or for real money stakes. Available online 24/7 our Bot players can play several hundred games, simultaneously. Why wait to get your game when you can play against a Bot on demand 24/7. Playing bots is also an excellent way of improving your game. Take ProBot on and think carefully about the moves that he makes.

How to spot a Bot?
You’ll find all our Bot players clearly identified with a unique logo next to their username. The logo appears as a robot’s head, different to all other players online. You’ll also note that Bot players are super-fast in making their moves. You’ll never find a real person able to move as quickly as a Bot player so rest assured it’s patently obvious you’re playing against a Bot. You may even find our Bot’s playing each other so why not pop in and watch them play?

Play Bots for Real Money!
Our Bot players are designed to provide opposition for players of all abilities. We have Bots of various strengths who will accept challenges from players in their rating band or below for money.

Four very different Bots to play against!
We have four different bots available, each with different features. For example, can you beat ProBot? The exciting opportunity afforded by our ProBot is to test your skills absolutely free or for real money stakes against the equivalent of a world-class player. ProBot is the smartest bot player we have available. Can you beat him?

The full set of bots is listed below:

• ProBot will play for up to £500.00 per game for most games
• AmateurBot will play for up to £10.00 per game
• RookieBot will play for up to £5.00 per game
• BeginnerBot, otherwise known as “idiotbot” will only play for free

Please note, Bots are (perhaps unsurprisingly!) programmed not to lose too much money to any one player, so if you’re much better than a Bot he’ll stop playing you eventually, just like a real human player. A bot may also refuse a challenge if he has run out of money!

How to play a Bot?
Our Bot players only respond to direct challenges. You’ll need to challenge them directly by adding them to your friends list or clicking on their names in the game lobby.

Fairplay guaranteed.
The Bots access the game servers just like any other player and have no influence over the cards or dice rolls, which are completely random and generated by a completely separate server. Your Bot opponent receives the exact same cards or dice as a human player would, guaranteed. Our random number generator and Bot accounts are all audited by external accountants.

Where did they come from?
Our family of Bots has been developed by world-class software engineers led by an expert with a PhD in Artificial Intelligence. We’re proud to be one of the only sites in the world offering transparent Bot opponents for free or for real money play.

Security

Backgammon multiplayer is 100% guaranteed for fairness and integrity. Industry-standard software and hardware solutions guarantee fair dice rolls for all players. Proprietary software systems actively scan all moves to ensure you can chat, play and stake real money fairly at all times against real opponents playing from around the world. Our player-rating system ensures you have an accurate guide to the level of skill your chosen opponent is likely to demonstrate.

Links

Skill Games

Backgammon - Players take turns rolling the dice and moving their checkers around the Board. You must move your checkers into your "Home" area. Once all your checkers are in your Home area you can start removing them from the Board. Remove all your checkers from the Board before your opponent in order to win the match.

Gin Rummy - Arrange your 10 cards into sets as quickly as possible so that you can end the hand (or knock) before your opponent does, and accumulate points. Fast paced, person versus person Gin Rummy.

Domino Duel - Draw Dominoes is a classic two-player game where players take it in turns to lay tiles onto a board with the objective being to set down your own tiles before your opponent does. Games are either single or best of multiple games for the pot with exciting tournaments held daily.

Poker Dice - Players take turns to roll the dice, hold, re-roll and then add a score against one box per turn. The player with the highest score at the end wins.

Multiplayer Blackjack - You will start every Blackjack match with a stack of virtual casino chips denominated in dollars. After all players have completed the required number of hands, the player with the biggest chip stack wins the pot, simple.