Anyone familiar with the rules of Backgammon?

Anyone familiar with the rules of Backgammon?

I recently got an electronic handheld backgammon game. I don’t know if there’s a glitch in the programming or some rule I’m unaware of, though. Occasionally, under certain circumstances, when the computer takes its turn, it moves one of its 2 checkers from my inner home spot to a row that I’ve blocked off with my checkers. My top checker in the row goes on the bar and the remainder of the checkers in that row change color to the computer’s color. Is there a rule here that I don’t know about? If so, how does it work? I’d like to use it, too.

Question posted by: Radio Rich

Answer

It sounds like what you are describing is a situation where the computer player is hitting one of your blots. In backgammon, a blot is a single checker sitting on a point (a space on the board). When a player moves a checker to a point occupied by an opposing checker, that opposing checker is hit and placed on the bar, which is a raised strip in the middle of the board.

When a checker is on the bar, it must re-enter the game on the opponent’s inner table (the row closest to their home board) before any other moves can be made. This can be done by rolling the dice and moving the checker the corresponding number of points. If a player has more than one checker on the bar, they must re-enter the highest one first.

As for the color change you mentioned, it is likely just a visual representation of the fact that the point is now occupied by a checker of the opposite color. This is a common feature in electronic versions of the game to make it easier for players to see which points are occupied by which color.

So in summary, the computer player is hitting your blots and sending your checkers to the bar, which is a legitimate move in backgammon. You can do the same to the computer player if you get the opportunity.

4 comments

  1. I’m not sure – I know if he lands on a row where you have a single piece, then your piece would go to the middle. If you have more than one in the row, though, I don’t see how he’s doing it, unless it’s another sort of variation of the game I’ve played.

  2. the opponent can move his checker on the spot where you have yours if there is only one checker there. then yours will go on the bar and you have to roll the dice and have that checker start from the beginning. *note, if you roll your dice and you can’t place it because all other spots are blocked (have two or more checkers) then you loose your turn and have to wait until you can roll the number you need.

  3. Sounds like a bug.

    Based on the text of your question, you don’t have only one piece in the blocked space, and as such, there is no way your opponent can land there, and certainly not capture the top piece in the stack.

    Also, there are NO rules in backgammon for changing the colors in a stack.

    Sounds like some Othello code got into the backgammon code.

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