Various Backgammon Starting Options

Today it is claimed that computers have checked for the best backgammon starting move for every role of the die. It may be so, theoretically speaking. But each player will find his own tactics and strategies. So a player that likes to race may start differently to a player who doesn't, even if they had rolled identical numbers. However, there is no doubt that the backgammon beginning move has a lot of impact on the game.

Once you have played for a while with the traditional backgammon starting position, it may be fun to experiment with a few other options. In general, these just make for a fun change, as the traditional backgammon starting position is the one people know and love. Unlike the backgammon beginning position, acey-deucey starts with a totally blank board! Your counters are brought on in the same way a hit counter is in backgammon. Yes, you have to work all your counters all away round the board.

A game known as nackgammon has the same rules as backgammon only the setup is different to the traditional backgammon starting layout. It is thought to be a tougher and longer game than ordinary backgammon. In the backgammon opening layout you only have two counters in your opponent's home board, in nackgammon you start with four.

For a light, quick and fun game it is worth trying hypergammon. It is played just like the backgammon, except only with three counters. These are place on the outer three triangles of your opponent's home board. These are all good when you want a change. But the chances are, you'll soon come back to the original game.