Philos-Spiele Backgammon 3-1 set 44mm Game Instructions
- June 5, 2024
- Philos Spiele
Table of Contents
Philos-Spiele Backgammon 3-1 set 44mm Game
The Chess-board
The chessboard consists of alternately, black and white square fields (eight by eight) placed between the two opposing players so that there is a white square in the lower right-hand corner where the white pieces are set up.
The Pieces
At the beginning of the game, all 32 pieces are set up as in the diagram
below. The basic set-up is always the same
To start the game
Who plays with which colour is decided upon “blind”. White always starts the
game. Moves are taken in turn.
Moves of the Pieces
- King One square in any direction. He cannot move into “check” or otherwise pass over a threatened square (as in castling).
- Queen In any direction in a straight line, as many squares as is wished or as is possible.
- Bishop Diagonally along a straight line as many as he wishes or as is possible. He stays on his starting colour.
- Knight Two squares horizontally and one vertically or one vertically and two horizontally, in the shape of an “L”, forwards or backwards. The knight is the only piece that can jump over other pieces, either ones own or his opponents’.
- Rook Horizontally or vertically along as many empty squares as is wished or as is possible.
- Pawn One square forwards. Only on the first move can one choose to move two squares. When a pawn reaches the start line of the opponent, the player must convert this pawn into another piece; queen, rook, bishop or knight. This happens independently of the piece still being present on the board
Taking Prisoners
All figures with the exception of the pawn take opponents in the course of their normal moves, stopping at the point where the opponent stood. The pawn can only take diagonally in a forward direction when moving one square. The speciality of the pawn is the en passant pawn capture: If after the starting position, a pawn makes a double move to be next to an opponents pawn, this opponents pawn may (not must) capture the pawn as if he had only moved forward a single square. En passant capturing takes place immediately after the double move. One move later, this right is no longer valid.
Castling
If the rook and the king have not yet been moved from the starting line during
the game, and there are no pieces left between both of them, the player can
make a castling move.
- Castling king’s side: The King moves two squares toward the king’s rook and it jumps over the king to its adjacent square.
- Castling queen’s side: The king moves two squares towards the queen’s rook; this jumps over the king to its adjacent square.
Aim of the Game
All tactical considerations are directed toward getting the opposing King into
“checkmate”. This means into a position out of which he cannot flee or
otherwise be rescued by one of his own pieces through the taking of the
threatening opponent or by blocking the line of threat. If he cannot get out
of that situation then the game is lost and is so “checkmate”. A game is
“stalemate” when neither player can win the game for himself.
Equipment needed for the game:
Board, 15 white coloured pieces (in the form of a disc) and 15 black ones, dice
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Terminology:
Each player has an outfield and an infield on the board. The infield is also called the home field.- Bar: Separation of the playing fields, the halfway line.
- Point: The (acute) point of a triangle on the board pointing toward the bar.
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Aim of the game:
This is to bring home and remove one’s own pieces from the board. The first player to take all his pieces off the board is the winner. -
Basic set-up:
Since there are different ways to play Backgammon only the most well-known basic rules are explained here. Pieces are shown in the following illustration in their starting position. White plays here from above right to left, then down the left and from there to the right into his home field i.e. anti- clockwise. Black moves in the other direction, clockwise. The given direction must be observed, moves in the opposite direction are not permitted.
Start
To start the game; each player throws one dice to determine who makes the first move. The player with the higher number begins. If both players throw the same number the procedure is repeated until one has a higher score. For the first move, the combined two scores of the dice thrown is used. Throwing the dice: After the start two dice are used for each throw. Both players take turns to throw and move. The dice must be thrown into each respective right- hand half of the board.
Move:
The pieces can be moved by the number shown on the dice thrown. One of two
possibilities of move can be selected: One single move with the indicated
numbers of both cubes added moving only one piece. In this case it must be
noted that the numbers may not be simply added, the move must be split into
two parts, one for each die, and an intermediate stop on a POINT must be
possible. If the intermediate stop should be occupied by an opposing piece,
then this move is illegal. It is up to the player however to select the order
of the chosen die. In the other case the player moves with two different
pieces. Example: Thrown dice give a 2 and a 5. It is up to the player now to
move a piece either 2 and 5 or 5 and 2 or to move with two different stones in
each case 2 and 5 points.
To consider when moving:
All POINTS may be occupied, with exception of those on which two or more
opposing pieces are standing. In principle the player is obliged to move thus
both thrown dice be played. If it is only possible to move the one piece, then
the higher of the two die numbers must be moved. The lower number is
forfeited. If no piece can be moved, the move is completely forfeited and it
is the opponent’s turn.
Illegal moves:
If one player lays a piece wrongly, then the other player may require the
correction of the move. The correction may take place only if the next throw
has not already been taken.
Capturing pieces:
If a single piece is on a POINT, then this can be knocked onto the bar by
the opponent by landing on this POINT or on making an intermediate stop. The
captured piece is physically put on the bar.
Return of a piece into play:
A player who has one or more pieces on the bar is not allowed to make moves in
the playing field until all his pieces have been brought back into play, this
being into the opponent’s home field. Rules of return: Only if the piece on
the bar can land on the unoccupied POINT in the opponent’s home field
determined by the number on the dice thrown. If a single opponent’s piece
occupies a POINT, it can be captured and so carried off to the bar during this
move. If the player on the bar cannot make a legal move then this move is
forfeited and it is the opponent’s turn.
Double:
If a double is thrown the player moves twice as many points as shown on the
dice.
Example: If a player throws a two on each die then he has the option of
different combinations. He can move 2 points along, four times with only one
piece; or three times 2 points with one and with another piece once 2 points,
or with two pieces two times 2 points and with another piece also twice 2
points.
“Bearing off”:
The bearing off may only be started if all 15 stones are in one’s own home
field. Bearing off is done by each player clearing his own pieces from the
board by throwing the necessary numbers on the dice. A piece is moved off the
board if the score on the dice is high enough to carry the piece over the edge
of the board. One may use a part of the throw or the whole throw also to move
other pieces into the home-field instead of bearing off. This can be an astute
move if the opponent still has a piece on the bar which could capture pieces
and ban them to the bar. If a piece is knocked onto the bar while a player is
bearing off, then he must bring this piece back into play and into his own
home field again before he can continue with bearing off.
End of the game and profiting
Simple victory:
The winner is whoever bears off all his pieces before the opponent can clear
his last piece from the board. Hereby the opponent could have cleared away
several pieces.
Gammon profit:
The winner is the player who is first to bear off all his pieces whereby the
opponent could not clear away any of his pieces.
Backgammon profit:
The winner is the player who is first to bear off all his pieces, hereby the
opponent could not clear away any of his pieces and he still has one or more
pieces on the bar or in the winner’s home field.
Note:
With some Backgammon versions a doubling cube is also used. The stake can be
doubled during the game using this special die. This variant of the game and
also the different tournament rules cannot be dealt with here
Contents
- 1 Board
- 12 Black and 12 White Checkers men
Basic Set-up:
The board is placed between the players so that a white square is in the lower
right-hand corner. The players each put their 12 draughtsmen on the black
squares (on the first three lines nearest to themselves) as shown in the
figure above.
To start the game:
To choose colours, one player takes a checkers man of each colour and hides
one in each hand, the other player so chooses the colour he plays with by
choosing “blind”. The player with the black pieces begins. Then white and the
players take turns to move.
Moves:
The draughtsmen are moved diagonally forward by one single square in one move
onto a free black square in the next row (moving backwards is not allowed
yet). If the square is occupied by one’s own piece, the move cannot be made.
If the square is occupied by the opponent’s piece, then this can be jumped
over if the square behind is free in the same diagonal line. Pieces jumped
over are taken off the board. It is also possible to jump over more than one
opponent’s single piece if there is a square free to land on in the same
diagonal line of the jump. If a draughtsman gets to the last line of black
squares, then a second draughtsman is put on top of this whereupon it becomes
a “Queen”. A Queen may be moved over any free squares, forwards or backwards.
In the case of a jump, again a black square must be free on the other side of
the jump, as when moving a single draughtsman. Compound jumps allow a zigzag
pattern of jump. A Queen can be jumped over by the opponent’s draughtsman or
Queen.
End of the Game:
The winner is the player who is the last to have pieces left on the board.