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| Backgammon Clock © 1975 by Selchow & Righter Co. 18.25" x 18.5" |
| Currently Not For Sale - Part of a Personal Collection E-mail me if you'd be interested in one like it. |
| Backgammon is one of my favorite games! This game board from 1975 made an awesome wall clock with the doves, the red and cream colors and the wood pieces. It's set up as if it's ready to play. Here's a Backgammon article I wrote for BellaOnline: Discover Backgammon The game of Backgammon has been enjoyed for at least 5,000 years! It has been played by Egyptians, Sumerians, Romans, Persians and many others. Through the years, the game took on many variations in many countries. You may enjoy a summarized history of Backgammon or take an extensive look into Backgammon history, the variations of the game and the cultures that enjoyed them. Today, Backgammon is still one of the most popular games and is played online by people all over the world in countless clubs and tournaments. Of course it’s still enjoyed with family and friends, too! Are you missing out on the fun? How to Play Backgammon is a game of luck (the roll of the dice) and skill (strategy). You try to move your checkers (or men) into your “home,” then bear them off of the board before your opponent. You and your opponent move around the board in opposite directions, trying to get home. Along the way, you try to “hit” the other player’s men, which sends them to the bar. (Isn’t that where men want to be anyway? Not in this game!) You can only put them on the bar if you land on a single man of theirs. If two men are on a space (or point), they are safe. When the opponent has a man on the bar, they can’t continue until they correctly roll the dice and enter that man into your “home.” All of your men have to be in your home area before you can start bearing them off of the board. Calling the checkers “men,” talking about hitting them, sending them to the bar and trying to get them home, it sounds like a dysfunctional relationship! You may want to see illustrated Backgammon instructions at Backgammon Galore. Strategy After you know the rules of the game, you’ll need to add strategy. Since a man on the bar must enter into your home area, one major strategy is to try to fill your home with two of your men on as many spaces as you can. This makes it difficult or impossible for your opponent to continue to play. They may have to stay on the bar through one or several of your turns! Your first thought might be to get your two men out of the opponent’s home, but another strategy is to keep them there for a while. If they fill their home and hit you, sending you to the bar, at least you’ll have one space to enter their home to get off of the bar. Also, it gives you an opportunity to hit them later in the game when they are vulnerable and your home has several spaces full. Feel free to browse through these extensive Backgammon strategies. You’ll probably learn more than you ever wanted to. Where to Learn and Play Backgammon Nabisco actually has several games you can play online, including Backgammon. If you would like to learn how to play the game and get experience before you play against a real person, this is a good place to start. You can choose “Play computer opponent” and you won’t feel pressure to play well against a real person. The “opponent” lady is a little creepy and she makes really cheesy comments on your moves, but don’t worry - you can mute her. It makes me wish everyone had a mute button! You can also choose the difficulty level on a scale of 1 to 10. This is a great way to learn and improve without getting frustrated about losing the game too many times. Just start on an easier level and work your way up. It is slow-paced, so you can watch the computer opponent make her moves and get a feel for playing the game. If you don’t need Backgammon basic training, test your skills at Motif Backgammon. It seems much more skilled (and lucky) than most humans. It is a fast- paced, difficult and very addictive game against the computer. Don’t start here. If you are just learning, you will get frustrated because you probably can’t win very often. It seems more difficult than the highest difficulty level on the Nabisco site. If you’d like to watch what seems to be the perfect strategy, give it a try. Just notice what the computer does and learn from it, then go win against the creepy computer opponent at Nabisco or play against an actual person online or, even better, play the game in real-life! If you’d like to play against a real person online, GoldToken.com is my favorite. You can easily sign up and play a game with else online. I talked about it in my article called Let’s Play Board Games Online! (There's a new Board Games editor there now.) You can invite me to a game of Backgammon - my nickname at GoldToken.com is KizzleT. Of course Backgammon is more fun when you play it in person. If you don’t already own one, you can click on any of the three photos above or you can choose from a variety of Backgammon games at eToys or AreYouGame. |
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| © 2004-2005 Kelly Tompkins Enid, Oklahoma |