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Backgammon Terminology

  • Backgammon words and phrases..

    Ace the number 1
    Ace-Point the first point (position) on the board
    Ace-Point Game game where 2 or more checkers are still on the ace point.
    Anchor Two or more checkers that occupy a point


    Back Game strategy of occupying the opponents home board (back) positions
    Backgammoned To lose triple the value of the cube if checkers still in opponent's home board
    Bar The center of the board where checkers go when they are hit
    Bar-Point Position adjacent to the bar (7)
    Bear In Bring checkers into the home quadrant
    Bear Off Take checkers off the board
    Beaver Redouble while maintaining posession of the cube (used in money games)
    Blitz All out atttack (hitting loose) in an attemp to close out.
    Blot Single checker vulnerable to getting hit
    Bot Program that plays backgammon (short for robot)
    Boxcars A roll of 6-6


    Chouette Backgammon variant played by a group as a team.
    Closed Board all Exits from the bar closed.
    Cover a Blot Safty a blot by pairing it
    Crawford Rule that prohibits the cube for 1 game to protect the leader from automatic doubles
    Crunch forced to play checkers deep into home board
    Cube doubling dice with the numbers 2-4-8-16-32-64


    Dance Lose a turn from the bar
    Dead Cube Worthless cube. Ex 3 pt match cube at 4
    Direct Shot A shot 6 or less points away
    Double Offer the cube
    Drop Refuse a double
    Dropper Online player that disconnects when losing
    Duplication Ex. If you need a 6 to hit a blot but also like to jump a prime with it, your 6s are duplicated.


    Equity A numeric value placed on the probably settlement value of a position


    Fan To roll a number that does not allow re-entering from the bar
    FIBS Online backgammon server (first-internet-backgammon-server)
    Fish Weak player that plays for money
    Flunk To roll a number that does not allow re-entering from the bar
    Free Drop An option by the leader to drop a post crawford double without losing winning chances


    Gammon Win double the stake if opponent fails to bear off any checkers
    GNU Backgammon Free open source backgammon programming project
    Golden Point The 5 pt, so called because it is a valuable point to own.
    Greedy Bearoff Setting in some backgammon programs that automatically bears off


    Home Board Quadrant of the board that players head towards before bearing off
    Hyper-Backgammon Variant of backgammon played with 3 checkers each.


    Indirect Shot A shot that requires both rolls of the dice (7 or higher) to hit


    Jacoby Rule Money game rule that states cube must be turned before gammon or backgammon take effect
    Jellyfish First commercial neural net backgammon program
    Joker Perfect roll


    Kibitz To chat or watch while a game is in progress


    Ladder Ongoing rated competition
    Loose Hit To hit an opponet inside your own home board with a single checker as opposed to making a point.
    Lover's Leap Running a back checker from 24-13 pt with a 6-5 roll.


    Make a Point Place 2 checkers on a point.
    Mandatory Double An automatic post crawford double by the trailng player.
    Match Predefined length games used for tournament style competitions
    Money Play Single style games commonly used while gambling.
    Monte Carlo Traditional location of the Backgammon world championships


    Nackgammon Variant invented by expert player Nack Ballard. (4 checkers back instead of just 2)
    Neural Net An advanced programming method that involves 'training'..perfectly well suited for backgammon


    Pip Count The total number of spaces that all your remaining checkers must cover to bear off.
    Post-Crawford All the games following the crawford game. (Doubling cube is alive)
    Prime consecutive positions occupied by 2 or more checkers to form a block. (6 prime cannot be escaped)
    Proposition Prearranged position played repeatedly


    Runners The 2 checkers furthest away from your home board


    Save Gammon To frantically run for home trying to bear off at least 1 checker.
    Shesh Besh Turkish backgammon
    Slot Place a single checker on a point with the intention of hopefully covering it on the next roll.
    Snowie A commercial NN backgammon program (Jellyfish, Gnubg, Snowie, BGBlitz are the main contenders)


    Take Accept a double
    Tavla Turkish backgammon
    TD-Gammon The pioneer of neural-net backgammon programs (1991), written by Gerald Tesauro
    Timing Pacing of the game relevant to a backgame strategy of waiting for a shot before crunching
    Too Good (to Double) Playing on without doubling because the chance of gammon or backgammon is high.
    Trictrac French backgammon

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