Backgammon

For backgammon rules, please visit:
http://www.sbgf.se/spelregler.html (the page is in Swedish)

http://www.bkgm.com/rules.html

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Starting position
The starting position is the same as in Backgammon except for one difference. All the checkers are to be placed on the opponent’s one-point.
At the start of a game the pip count is 360 as opposed to the 167 of backgammon. See the picture below (you play the white checkers and your opponent plays the red).



There are no points in Catchgammon. You make the points yourself.
(A point consists of two or more checkers on the same point, just like in Backgammon). Then all you have to do is move your checkers to your home board (in the direction of the arrow), bear off your checkers and win.

Rules
The basic rules are the same as in Backgammon. One exception is if your opponent has a blot and you hit it with one off your checkers. Instead of being placed on the bar, the opponent’s checker stays in the place where it was hit, and remains there “trapped” by your checker.



The picture above shows us the position after three rolls.

1. White started by moving a 3-2 since you rolled a 3 and white rolled a 2. You moved one stone on the six-point.
2. Red rolled a 6-5 and moved two checkers.
3. White rolled a 3-3 and hit (and trapped) the red checker.

The red checker is now trapped and red cannot move the checker until it is free and you, as white, have already made a point.

Bear-off
Like in Backgammon all the checkers have to be in your home board before you can start bearing them off. In addition, they have to be free.  If the situation occurs when you have started bearing off checkers and one of them is trapped by your opponent’s checker you are not allowed to continue bearing off checkers until the trapped checker is free again.

Gammon vs. Catchgammon
You win a “gammon”, i. e. double the points when you have born off all your checkers before the opponent has started bearing off his checkers. You win a “catchgammon” i.e. triple the number of points if the opponent has one or more checkers still in your home board.

Remi
If both players have managed to trap the opponent’s final checker on the one-point the game turns into a Remi and has to be re-played. (This is very rare – about 0,001%).

Doubling
The doubling cube is used in the exact same way as in Backgammon. If you have not used the doubling cube before, the rules below apply.
The doubling cube is initially placed in a neutral spot with the 64-side up. You should consider doubling if you have gained an advantage in the game. You may only double before you have rolled the dice. You double by placing the doubling cube in the middle of your opponent’s board with the 2-side up.

By doubling, you force the opponent to either resign and give you one point or accept that the game is worth double the points. (That means that the player who wins the game, wins 2 points if he wins a single game, 4 points if he wins a gammon and 6 points if he wins a catchgammon).

If your opponent decides to accept, or “take” the double, the doubling cube is to be placed on the opponent’s side of the board with the 2-side up. Then the player who has accepted the double ”owns” the cube and may raise the stakes by re-doubling if he gains an advantage later on during the game. If you decide to resign the game, i. e. “drop” the cube, the doubling cube is placed in its original position with the 64-side up.

If your opponent has accepted the cube, succeeded in turning the game around and gaining an advantage, he then has the right to turn the cube to 4 and force you either to resign 2 points or accept that the game is now worth 4 points and continue playing. If it is a “take”, the cube is placed on your side of the board with the 4-side up. (Bear in mind that if you lose a gammon you now lose 8 points and if you lose a catchgammon you lose 12 points).


Doubling can be done throughout the course of the game and can continue indefinitely, especially if you play Money game or Chouette.

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Rungammon

Starting position
The players place their checkers on the opponent’s side of the board, to the far right, diagonally across from one another’s checkers. Then they move their checkers anti-clockwise across the board.

In the picture below you are white and your opponent is red.

Rules
Both players have to move their first checker past the opponent’s stack of checkers before any of them is allowed to move another checker. After the first checker has passed the opponent’s stack of checkers the players are allowed to move the checkers any way they want. Neither of the players is allowed to make a 6-prime at the start; one point between the stack of checkers and the 6-point has to be open.
The opponent may not land on a point if there already is a checker on that point. In Rungammon it is enough for one checker to be on a point in order to make the point and one may not hit or trap any of the opponent’s checkers. The player who first bears off all his checkers wins the game.

Doubling
The doubling cube is used in the exact same way as in Backgammon. If you have not used the doubling cube before, the rules below apply. The doubling cube is initially placed in a neutral spot with the 64-side up. You should consider doubling if you have gained an advantage in the game. You may only double before you have rolled the dice. You double by placing the doubling cube in the middle of your opponent’s board with the 2-side up.

By doubling, you force the opponent to either resign and give you one point or accept that the game is worth double the points. (That means that the player who wins the game, wins 2 points if he wins a single game, 4 points if he wins a gammon and 6 points if he wins a rungammon.

If your opponent decides to accept, or “take” the double, the doubling cube is to be placed on the opponent’s side of the board with the 2-side up. Then the player who has accepted the double ”owns” the cube and may raise the stakes by re-doubling if he gains an advantage later on during the game. If you decide to resign the game, i. e. “drop” the cube, the doubling cube is placed in its original position with the 64-side up.
If your opponent has accepted the cube, succeeded in turning the game around and gaining an advantage, he then has the right to turn the cube to 4 and force you either to resign 2 points or accept that the game is now worth 4 points and continue playing. If it is a “take”, the cube is placed on your side of the board with the 4-side up. (Bear in mind that if you lose a gammon you now lose 8 points and if you lose a rungammon you lose 12 points.

Doubling can be done throughout the course of the game and can continue indefinitely, especially if you play Money game or Chouette