query: how many dice are used in a standard game of backgammon

pos: Backgammon Backgammon Backgammon is one of the oldest known board games. Its history can be traced back nearly 5,000 years to archeological discoveries in the Middle East. It is a two player game where each player has fifteen pieces ("checkers") which move between twenty-four triangles ("points") according to the roll of two dice. The objective of the game is to be first to "bear off", i.e. move all fifteen checkers off the board. Backgammon is a member of the tables family, one of the oldest classes of board games. Backgammon involves a combination of strategy and luck (from rolling dice). While

pos: Dice dice. The transition from dice to playing cards occurred in China around the Tang dynasty, and coincides with the technological transition from rolls of manuscripts to block printed books. In Japan, dice were used to play a popular game called sugoroku. There are two types of sugoroku. "Ban-sugoroku" is similar to backgammon and dates to the Heian period, while "e-sugoroku" is a racing game. Dice are thrown onto a surface either from the hand or from a container designed for this (such as a dice cup). The face of the die that is uppermost when it comes to rest provides

pos: Dice the value of the throw. One typical dice game today is craps, where two dice are thrown simultaneously and wagers are made on the total value of the two dice. Dice are frequently used to randomize moves in board games, usually by deciding the distance through which a piece will move along the board; examples of this are backgammon and "Monopoly". The result of a die roll is determined by the way it is thrown, according to the laws of classical mechanics. A die roll is made random by uncertainty in minor factors such as tiny movements in the thrower's

pos: Backgammon routinely used in tournament match play. It is possible for a Crawford game never to occur in a match. If the Crawford rule is in effect, then another option is the Holland rule, named after Tim Holland, which stipulates that after the Crawford game, a player cannot double until after at least two rolls have been played by each side. It was common in tournament play in the 1980s but is now rarely used. There are many variants of standard backgammon rules. Some are played primarily throughout one geographic region, and others add new tactical elements to the game. Variants

pos: Tables (board game) Tables (board game) Tables is a general name given to a class of board games similar to backgammon, played on a board with two rows of 12 vertical markings called "points". Players roll dice to determine the movement of pieces. Tables games are among the oldest known board games, and many variants are played throughout the world. The ancient Egyptians played a game called Senet, which belonged to the same family of "race games" as modern tables games, with moves controlled by the roll of dice as early as 3500 BC. The Royal Game of Ur, played in ancient Mesopotamia,

pos: Backgammon and two checkers on the 23 point. Russian backgammon is a variant described in 1895 as: "...much in vogue in Russia, Germany, and other parts of the Continent...". Players start with no checkers on the board, and both players move in the same direction to bear off in a common home board. In this variant, doubles are more powerful: four moves are played as in standard backgammon, followed by four moves according to the difference of the dice value from 7, and then the player has another turn (with the caveat that the turn ends if any portion of it

pos: Alea iacta est matches Plutarch's use of third-person singular perfect middle/passive imperative of the verb , i.e. (, ). In Latin "alea" refers to the early form of backgammon that was played in Caesar's time. Augustus (Octavian) mentions winning this game in a letter. Dice were common in Roman times and were cast three at a time. There were two kinds. The six-sided dice were known in Latin as "tesserae" and the four-sided ones (rounded at each end) were known as "tali". In Greek a die was "kybos". The phrase in translation is used in many languages to indicate that events have passed

pos: Rollout (backgammon) Rollout (backgammon) A rollout is an analysis technique for backgammon positions and moves. A rollout consists of playing the same position many times (with different dice rolls) and recording the results. The balance of wins and losses is used to evaluate the equity of the position. Historically this was done by hand, but it is now undertaken primarily by computer programs. In order to compare two or more ways to move, rollouts can be performed from the positions after each move. Better choices will yield a more favorable position, and thus will win more times (and lose more rarely) in

pos: Nard (game) 20th century both Georgia and Kalmucks were parts of USSR, so now the game is played in Russia and other ex-USSR countries under the name of "nardy" (нарды). Backgammon in those countries is known as "short" nard (Короткие нарды). Nard (game) Nard (, also narde or nardshir; from "nēw-ardaxšīr") is a tables-style board game for two players in which the playing pieces are moved according to rolls of dice. It is similar to backgammon in that it uses the same board, but it has different initial positions and rules. The game has been historically popular in Persia, Muslim countries, and

pos: Backgammon in existence. Remains of a board game from 3000 BC were found at Shahr-e Sukhteh (Persian شهر سوخته) in Iran. The artifacts included two dice and 60 checkers, and the set is believed to be 100 to 200 years older than the Royal Game of Ur. On the board found in Shahr-e Sukhteh the fields are fashioned by the coils of a snake. Board game artifacts found at Jiroft, from about 2000 BC, may represent a game that is more closely related to modern backgammon than those found at Shahr-e Sukhteh and Ur. Touraj Daryaee (2006)—on the subject of the

pos: Backgammon opening theory using the numbers on the already-rolled dice. In the case of a tie, the players roll again. In cases where no preferred play but only two or more alternative plays are given, these appear to be of equivalent strength within the statistical uncertainties of the simulations and no play could be singled out that is clearly superior. The moves are captured in standard backgammon notation. For instance, 8/5 denotes the move of a piece from the 8-point to the 5-point. The general message that emerges from the above table can be summarised as follows: unless one can make a point,

pos: Roman Empire played board games pitting two players against each other, including "latrunculi" ("Raiders"), a game of strategy in which opponents coordinated the movements and capture of multiple game pieces, and "XII scripta" ("Twelve Marks"), involving dice and arranging pieces on a grid of letters or words. A game referred to as "alea" (dice) or "tabula" (the board), to which the emperor Claudius was notoriously addicted, may have been similar to backgammon, using a dice-cup "(pyrgus)". Playing with dice as a form of gambling was disapproved of, but was a popular pastime during the December festival of the Saturnalia with its carnival,

pos: Firefly Role-Playing Game Plus—unlike its predecessor, the Cortex System, which was used in the "Serenity RPG"—is a roll and keep system, in which you roll one die from each of several categories and keep the two highest dice in your dice pool. Cortex Plus uses polyhedral dice common to many roleplaying games and utilizes standard dice notation, ranging from d4 (a 4 sided tetrahedral die) to d12 (a 12-sided dodecahedral die). The cubed d6 is the "default" die used in the game. Cortex Plus uses dice pools ranging from d4 (terrible) to d12 (the best possible). Every die in your pool that rolls

pos: Backgammon to bear off all of one's checkers, was also the same. Hitting a blot, reentering a piece from the bar, and bearing off, all followed the modern rules. The only differences with modern backgammon were the use of an extra die (three rather than two) and the starting of all pieces off the board (with them entering in the same way that pieces on the bar enter in modern backgammon). The name τάβλη is still used for backgammon in Greece, where it is frequently played in town plateias and cafes. The epigram of Zeno describes a particularly bad dice roll

pos: Tapa (game) Tapa (game) Tapa (Тапа) is a version of Backgammon played in Bulgaria and Macedonia. It is also played in Greece, where it is known as Plakoto. The word "tapa" means "bottle cap". Tapa is usually played as the third game in a Tabla match, the first two being "Tabla" (similar to the common backgammon) and "Gjul Bara". These 3 games are played consecutively in a match of 5. All 3 games are played on a standard Backgammon board. (Note that there might be slight differences in the match rules and scoring; the ones described here are common for Macedonia). Tapa

pos: Backgammon the emperor had for his given position. Zeno, who was white, had a stack of seven checkers, three stacks of two checkers and two "blots", checkers that stand alone on a point and are therefore in danger of being put outside the board by an incoming opponent checker. Zeno threw the three dice with which the game was played and obtained 2, 5 and 6. As in backgammon, Zeno could not move to a space occupied by two opponent (black) pieces. The white and black checkers were so distributed on the points that the only way to use all of

pos: Dudo Dudo Dudo (Spanish for "I doubt"), also known as Cacho, Pico, Perudo, Cachito or Dadinho is popular dice game played in South America. It is a more specific version of a family of games collectively called Liar's Dice, which has many forms and variants. This game can be played by two or more players and consists of guessing how many dice, placed under cups, there are on the table showing a certain number. The player who loses a round loses one of their dice. The last player to still have dice is the winner. Each player starts having five dice

pos: Dudo This risk of having a wrong prediction is greater. Dudo Dudo (Spanish for "I doubt"), also known as Cacho, Pico, Perudo, Cachito or Dadinho is popular dice game played in South America. It is a more specific version of a family of games collectively called Liar's Dice, which has many forms and variants. This game can be played by two or more players and consists of guessing how many dice, placed under cups, there are on the table showing a certain number. The player who loses a round loses one of their dice. The last player to still have dice

pos: Backgammon the bar point, and the 13-point as the midpoint. To start the game, each player rolls one die, and the player with the higher number moves first using the numbers shown on both dice. If the players roll the same number, they must roll again. Both dice must land completely flat on the right-hand side of the gameboard. The players then take alternate turns, rolling two dice at the beginning of each turn. After rolling the dice, players must, if possible, move their checkers according to the number shown on each die. For example, if the player rolls a 6

pos: Tabula (game) Tabula were reconstructed in the 19th century by Becq de Fouquières based upon this epigram. The game was played on a board nearly identical to a modern backgammon board with 24 points, 12 on each side. Two players had 15 pieces each, and moved them in opposing directions around the board, according to the roll of three dice. A piece resting alone in a space on the board was vulnerable to being hit. Hitting a blot, reentering a piece from the bar, and bearing off, all had the same rules as today. The only differences with modern backgammon were the

pos: Coan ki Coan ki Çoan ki (, also "erectus ludus" or "The Bottle Game") is a Chinese board game similar to backgammon. It was first described in 1694 by Dr. Thomas Hyde in "De Ludis Orientalibus Libri Duo". On a board divided transversely into eight fields, players take turns to move their sixteen bottle- or vase-shaped pieces around the board according to the roll of two dice. The aim of the game is to get all of a player's pieces to make one full circuit around the board and return them to their starting position. Dice rolls can be divided between pieces

pos: Mexico (game) of the round. At this point, whoever has rolled for the lowest result puts his or her portion of money into the pot, and another round begins. Regardless of who rolled last, the losing player becomes first to roll the dice on the following round. During regular play (i.e., when not rolling for lead spot), two dice are always used. The lead player can roll the dice up to three times, and the number of rolls he or she takes determines how many rolls subsequent players may take in that round. However, "only the last result" of a player’s turn

pos: Backgammon player can quickly gain a running advantage and win the game, often with a gammon. A "backgame" is a strategy that involves holding two or more anchors in an opponent's home board while being substantially behind in the race. The anchors obstruct the opponent's checkers and create opportunities to hit them as they move home. The backgame is generally used only to salvage a game wherein a player is already significantly behind. Using a backgame as an initial strategy is usually unsuccessful. "Duplication" refers to the placement of checkers such that one's opponent needs the same dice rolls to achieve

pos: Nard (game) Nard (game) Nard (, also narde or nardshir; from "nēw-ardaxšīr") is a tables-style board game for two players in which the playing pieces are moved according to rolls of dice. It is similar to backgammon in that it uses the same board, but it has different initial positions and rules. The game has been historically popular in Persia, Muslim countries, and among Babylonian Jews. A common legend associates the game with the founder of the Sassanian Dynasty, Ardashir. Indeed, the Persian name is a shortening of the older name , from Middle Persian "nēw-ardaxšīr" "brave Ardashir". The oldest known reference

pos: Risk (game) for game set-up. The two wild cards depict infantry, cavalry and artillery pieces. Because these cards have all three symbols, they can match with any two other cards to form a set. The mission cards each specifying some secret mission (something less than 'conquer the world') are used in the "Secret Mission Risk" rule variant. Standard equipment also includes five or six dice in two colors: three red dice for the attacker, and two or three white or blue dice for the defender. There is also a Golden Cavalry piece used to mark the progressive turn-in value of matched sets

pos: Tables (board game) is another member of the family. Recent excavations at the "Burnt City" in Iran showed that a similar game existed there around 3000 BC. The artifacts include two dice and 60 pieces. The set is believed to be 100 to 200 years older than the sets found in Ur. Though they are all race games they cannot be direct ancestors of backgammon. The τάβλη of Zeno's time is believed to be a direct descendant of the earlier ancient Roman "Ludus duodecim scriptorum" ("game of twelve lines" or, better, "game of twelve signs") with that board's middle row of points removed,

pos: Computer Olympiad to an unblocked square. Awari is an abstract strategy game among the Mancala family of board games (pit and pebble games). Backgammon is a board game for two players where the checker-like playing pieces are moved according to the roll of dice; a player wins by removing all of his pieces from the board before his opponent. Bridge is a trick-taking card game for four players. Bridge participation in the Computer Olympiad has largely discontinued when in 1996 the American Contract Bridge League established a new official World Computer Bridge Championship, to be run annually at a major bridge tournament.

pos: Running-fight game Running-fight game Running-fight games are board games that essentially combine the "method" of race games (such as backgammon or pachisi) and the "goal" of elimination-based games such as chess or draughts. Like race games, pieces are moved along linear tracks based on the fall of dice or other lots; but like chess, the object is to capture opponent pieces. They might be most easily conceptualized as race games with two main differences: First, when a piece lands on a space or point occupied by an opponent, instead of sending it back to the beginning to start over, the opponent piece

pos: Tabula (game) use of an extra die (three rather than two) and the starting of all pieces off the board (with them entering in the same way that pieces on the bar enter in modern backgammon). In the epigram Zeno, who was white (red in illustration), had a stack of seven checkers, three stacks of two checkers and two blots, checkers that stand alone on a point and are therefore in danger of being put outside the board by an incoming opponent checker. Zeno threw the three dice with which the game was played and obtained 2, 5 and 6. As in

pos: Zeno (emperor) who was white, had a stack of seven checkers, three stacks of two checkers and two "blots", checkers that stand alone on a point and are therefore in danger of being put outside the board by an incoming opponent checker. Zeno threw the three dice with which the game was played and obtained 2, 5 and 6. As in backgammon, Zeno could not move to a space occupied by two opponent (black) pieces. The white and black checkers were so distributed on the points that the only way to use all of the three results, as required by the game

neg: Backgammon proposition bets on specific positions were very common among backgammon players and gamblers. As with most gambling games, successful play requires a combination of luck and skill, as a single dice roll can sometimes significantly change the outcome of the game. Backgammon software has been developed not only to play and analyze games, but also to facilitate play between humans over the internet. Dice rolls are provided by random or pseudorandom number generators. Real-time online play began with the First Internet Backgammon Server in July 1992, but there are now a range of options; many of which are commercial. Backgammon

neg: Backgammon to the real game, actual doubling strategy may vary, but the 80% number still provides a possible rule of thumb. To reduce the possibility of cheating, most good quality backgammon sets use precision dice and a dice cup. This reduces the likelihood of loaded dice being used, which is the main way of cheating in face-to-face play. A common method of cheating online is the use of a computer program to find the optimal move on each turn; to combat this, many online sites use move-comparison software that identifies when a player's moves resemble those of a backgammon program. Online

neg: First Internet Backgammon Server until 1997. Early users connected to FIBS via a command line interface through TELNET similar to a MUD, with the standard backgammon board drawn in ASCII text. Dice rolls are represented numerically and moves are performed by entering starting and ending point numbers, similar to standard backgammon notation. Other game related commands are available by typing the appropriate command. The first graphical user interfaces for FIBS were developed in 1994; FIBS/W for Windows and MacFIBS for the classic Mac OS. Graphical interfaces continue to be developed for most major computing platforms, including mobile phones and tablets, however telnet remains the

neg: Game mechanics in zero-sum games. These involve the use of "dice", usually as randomisers. Most dice used in games are the standard cubical dice numbered from 1 to 6, though games with polyhedral dice or those marked with symbols other than numbers exist. The most common use of dice is to randomly determine the outcome of an interaction in a game. An example is a player rolling a die or dice to determine how many board spaces to move a game token. Dice often determine the outcomes of in-game conflict between players, with different outcomes of the die/dice roll of different benefit

neg: Backgammon also be an ancestor of modern-day table games like backgammon. It used tetrahedral dice. In the modern Middle East, backgammon is a common feature of coffeehouses. Race board games involving dice have a long history in Iraq, including the Royal Game of Ur in Babylon. Today the game is commonly played in Iraq, Lebanon, Egypt, Syria, Jordan, and other Arab countries. In the (modern) Arab Levant and Iraq it is called "tawle" which means table, and it is also called "shesh besh" (shesh means 6 in Aramaic and Phoenician, but derives from Phoenician). Backgammon is one of the oldest games

neg: Backgammon opening theory Backgammon opening theory The first moves of a backgammon game are the opening moves, collectively referred to as the opening, and studied in the backgammon opening theory. Backgammon opening theory is not developed in as much detail as opening theory in chess, which has been widely studied. The reason for this is that following the first move in backgammon, there are 21 dice roll outcomes on each subsequent move, and many alternative plays for each outcome, making the tree of possible positions in backgammon expand much more rapidly than in chess. Despite the complications posed by this rapid branching of

neg: Backgammon opening theory plays that are on average as effective, because the character of the move (passive or aggressive) better suits his or her playing style. Backgammon opening theory The first moves of a backgammon game are the opening moves, collectively referred to as the opening, and studied in the backgammon opening theory. Backgammon opening theory is not developed in as much detail as opening theory in chess, which has been widely studied. The reason for this is that following the first move in backgammon, there are 21 dice roll outcomes on each subsequent move, and many alternative plays for each outcome, making

neg: Backgammon the dice may determine the outcome of a single game, the better player will accumulate the better record over series of many games, somewhat like poker. With each roll of the dice, players must choose from numerous options for moving their checkers and anticipate possible counter-moves by the opponent. The optional use of a doubling cube allows players to raise the stakes during the game. Like chess, backgammon has been studied with great interest by computer scientists. Owing to this research, backgammon software has been developed that is capable of beating world-class human players (see TD-Gammon for an example). Backgammon

neg: Acey-deucey features a differing starting position, opening play, and rules for the endgame. Because pieces may be retained in one's opponent's home board, the game offers substantial opportunities for backgame play. Acey-deucey is deliberately riding with one stirrup shorter than the other. It is most often seen in racing, where a jockey will slightly lengthen the inside stirrup – some riders believe this helps them. The components of acey-deucey match those of backgammon, including identical boards, number of pieces, and dice. Unlike standard backgammon, all of both players' pieces are off the board when the game begins. Acey-deucey does not use

neg: Game design between dice and board games is not clear-cut, as dice are often used as randomization devices in board games, such as Monopoly or Risk, while serving as the central drivers of play in games such as Backgammon or Pachisi. Dice games differ from card games in that each throw of the dice is an independent event, whereas the odds of a given card being drawn is affected by all the previous cards drawn or revealed from a deck. Dice game design often centers around forming scoring combinations and managing re-rolls, either by limiting their number, as in Yahtzee, or by

neg: Backgammon first written mention of early precursors of backgammon—writes: In the 11th century "Shahnameh", the Persian poet Ferdowsi credits Burzoe with the invention of the tables game "nard" in the 6th century. He describes an encounter between Burzoe and a Raja visiting from India. The Raja introduces the game of chess, and Burzoe demonstrates "nard", played with dice made from ivory and teak. Today, Nard is the name for the Persian version of backgammon, which has different initial positions and objectives. H. J. R. Murray details many versions of backgammon; modern Nard is noted there as being the same as backgammon

neg: Tapa (game) one die, to determine who will start. If it's a tie, the players roll again. But, unlike the regular backgammon, the already-rolled dice are disregarded and the player that won the first turn rolls both dice to begin. In the next game in the match, the player that won the previous has the first turn. Tapa (game) Tapa (Тапа) is a version of Backgammon played in Bulgaria and Macedonia. It is also played in Greece, where it is known as Plakoto. The word "tapa" means "bottle cap". Tapa is usually played as the third game in a Tabla match, the

neg: Backgammon millennium ago, but there are also many quite different variants. The usual tavla is also known as erkek tavlası meaning boys' or men's tavla. The other variant kız tavlası (i.e. girls' tavla) is a game that depends only on the dice and involves no strategy. Another variant, asker tavlası (meaning soldiers' tavla), has the pieces thrown to the board randomly and the opponents try to flip their pieces over the opponents' pieces to beat them. Backgammon is popular among Greeks. It is a game in which Greeks usually tease their opponent and they create a lively atmosphere. The game is

neg: Acey-deucey the doubling cube. The initial play is markedly different from that of standard backgammon. Pieces are entered onto the opponent's inner board as if they were on the bar. Once a piece has been entered, it can be moved even though other pieces haven't been entered. One strategy in the game is to keep one man, called an "Oscar", off the board until it is needed for defensive purposes. Play passes back and forth, with each player rolling both dice. A player who rolls doubles may move a total of four times, each move traversing as many spaces as the

neg: Backgammon chouette Backgammon chouette The backgammon chouette is a variant of backgammon for three or more players. Traditionally played in person, today, the internet allows this form of backgammon to be played across different countries and various platforms. The chouette is a fast-paced game, featuring frequent use of the doubling cube, discussion and dispute of possible moves, and shifting rivalries among players. One player—the box—plays against a team consisting of all other participants. One member of the team is designated as the captain. The box and the rotation order are generally determined by the roll of dice. The game is played on

neg: Sho (board game) coin or stack to move from its current position to a new target position determined by moving it forward the number of positions (inter-shell spaces) corresponding to the throw of the dice - the total of the dice is taken so there is no difference between, say, the rolls (4,2), (5,1) or (3,3) - all are moved as 6. (This is unlike in backgammon, for example.) Depending on whether and how this new target playing position is occupied, there are four possibilities: If the player cannot move or if they simply place their coin/stack in a new space, play passes

neg: Play65 real money is at stake with each game or match. There are many ways to deposit for real money play, including by credit card, PayPal, and Moneybookers. As with other similar online gaming services, Play65 uses a pseudorandom number generator for producing dice rolls. The company provides documentation to indicate that the algorithm produces adequately random results. Play65's backgammon client is freeware. Users can play real-time online backgammon games against thousands of players from around the world. Since November 2006, Mac, Linux, and PDA users can use Play65's Java version of its backgammon client. In December 2006, Play65 received a

neg: Backgammon the board, and you enter by rolling either doubles or acey-deucey.<br> These games are played one after another, in matches of three, five, or seven points. Before starting a match, each player rolls 1 die, and the player with the highest roll picks up both dice and re-rolls (i.e. it is possible to roll doubles for the opening move). Players use the same pair of dice in turns. After the first game, the winner of the previous game starts first. Each game counts as 1 point, if the opponent has borne off at least 1 stone, otherwise 2 points (gammon/backgammon).

neg: Zillions of Games empty space or follow more complex rules. Since version 2.0, Zillions has had the additional ability to enforce maximal capturing rules (used in some versions of Checkers) and a full-featured Go-playing engine. Zillions includes a "random player" which selects from its available moves at random; this can be used to simulate dice in race games and Backgammon relatives. The standard AI engine can, if need be, be replaced with user-created engines. These engines can then use opening books or other features unavailable to the standard AI. Despite its versatility, "Zillions of Games" has a number of non-trivial limitations: Many of

neg: Dice used to polish the die. This process also creates the smoother, rounded edges on the dice. Precision casino dice may have a polished or sand finish, making them transparent or translucent respectively. Casino dice have their pips drilled, then filled flush with a paint of the same density as the material used for the dice, such that the center of gravity of the dice is as close to the geometric center as possible. All such dice are stamped with a serial number to prevent potential cheaters from substituting a die. Precision backgammon dice are made the same way; they tend

neg: Rollout (backgammon) against the player who chose that strategy. When comparing moves, a weak backgame AI may favor less aggressive style. It is therefore not uncommon to see slightly different outcomes from rollouts done with different programs. Nevertheless, rollouts whose results are consistently nonintuitive occur, and their results are usually accepted by most backgammon players. In fact, modern backgammon opening theory is mostly based on rollouts.. Rollout (backgammon) A rollout is an analysis technique for backgammon positions and moves. A rollout consists of playing the same position many times (with different dice rolls) and recording the results. The balance of wins and

neg: Backgammon of Ancient Egypt. The ancient Egyptian game senet was excavated, along with illustrations, from Egyptian royal tombs dating to 3500 BC. Though using a board that is quite different from backgammon, it may be a predecessor. Backgammon, which is known as "tavla", from Byzantine Greek τάβλη, is a very popular game in Turkey, and it is customary to name the dice rolls with their Persian number names, with local spellings: yek (1), dü (2), se (3), cehar (4), penç (5), şeş (6). The usual Tavla rules are same as in the neighboring Arab countries and Greece, as established over a

neg: Backgammon can block a point. There is no hitting in long nardi. The objective of the game is bearing all checkers off the board. There is no doubling cube.<br> "Tάβλη (tavli)" meaning "table" or "board" in Byzantine Greek, is the oldest game with rules known to be nearly identical to backgammon; it is described in an epigram of Byzantine Emperor Zeno (AD 476–491). The board was the same with 24 points, 12 on each side. As today, each player had 15 checkers and used cubical dice with sides numbered one to six. The object of the game, to be the first

neg: Libro de los juegos to medieval literature, art, science, law and philosophy. Intended as a didactic text, the manuscript functions as a manual that documents and explains how and why one plays games ranging from pure, intellectual strategy (chess), to games of pure chance (dice), to games that incorporate both elements (backgammon). Conceivably, Alfonso hoped to elucidate for himself how to better play the game of life, while also providing a teaching tool for others. The game of "ajedrex", or chess, is not the only game explicated in the "Libro de Juegos", but it does occupy the primary position in the text and is

neg: History of games or "assizes" such as Short assize chess, Courier chess and Dice Chess. An important source of medieval games is the Libro de los juegos, ("Book of games"), or "Libro de acedrex, dados e tablas", ("Book of chess, dice and tables", in Old Spanish) which was commissioned by Alfonso X of Castile, Galicia and León in 1283. The manuscript contains descriptions and color illustrations of Dice games, Chess and tabula, a predecessor of Backgammon. The book portrays these games within an astrological context, and some game variants are astronomically designed, such as a game titled "astronomical chess", played on a board

neg: Indoor games and sports backgammon are a mixture of chance and skill. Even though luck (usually the throw of dice) plays a part, choices made by the players in the course of the game also help to decide the winner. Backgammon is one of the oldest board games that people still play. Its name comes from the Saxon (it means ‘back game’ because sometimes pieces have to go back to the beginning), but the Romans played this game too. Luck plays little or no part in games of skill – the outcome is decided by the players’ ability to make the most advantageous moves

neg: Bombastic (video game) of 40. Bombastic (video game) Bombastic (XI Go in Japan) is a puzzle video game developed by Shift exclusively on PlayStation 2. "Bombastic" has similar gameplay to its predecessor, "Devil Dice". The players controls a family of small devils ("Aqui") that must traverse a level seen in isometric perspective that contains several standard six-sided dice. Players can walk on the ground, moving dice by pushing them, or walk on top of the dice, which rolls them onto the next face as the character walks. There are verious gameplay modes, which determine the level objective and how dice are cleared. Bombastic

neg: Bombastic (video game) Bombastic (video game) Bombastic (XI Go in Japan) is a puzzle video game developed by Shift exclusively on PlayStation 2. "Bombastic" has similar gameplay to its predecessor, "Devil Dice". The players controls a family of small devils ("Aqui") that must traverse a level seen in isometric perspective that contains several standard six-sided dice. Players can walk on the ground, moving dice by pushing them, or walk on top of the dice, which rolls them onto the next face as the character walks. There are verious gameplay modes, which determine the level objective and how dice are cleared. Bombastic Style is

neg: Backgammon on a database containing precomputed equities for all possible bearoff positions. Computer-versus-computer competitions are also held at Computer Olympiad events. Backgammon is one of the oldest games in existence. Its history can be traced back nearly 5,000 years to its origins in Mesopotamia (modern-day Iraq). Excavations in Iraq have shown that a board race game existed there around 5000 BC. The world's oldest set of dice (made from human bone) were recently discovered in that part of the world. Modern Iraqis continue to enjoy playing the game. The Royal Game of Ur, originating in ancient Mesopotamia before 2600 BC, may

neg: Tables (board game) run in their home boards as in backgammon. Matches are usually played to five points. There are many variants of tavla in Turkey, where the course of play changes drastically. The usual tavla is also known as erkek tavlası meaning boys' or men's tavla. The other variant kız tavlası (meaning girls' tavla) is a game which depends only on the dice and involves no strategy. There is another variant called asker tavlası (meaning soldiers' tavla) where the pieces are thrown to the board randomly and the opponents try to flip their pieces over the opponents' pieces to beat them. The

neg: Backgammon the three cubical dice. Little specific text about the gameplay of Ludus duodecim scriptorum has survived; it may have been related to the older Ancient Greek dice game Kubeia. The earliest known mention of the game is in Ovid's Ars Amatoria (The Art of Love) (written between 1 BC and 8 AD). In Roman times this game was also known as alea, and a likely apocryphal Latin story linked this name, and the game, to a Trojan soldier named Alea. Race board games involving dice have existed for millennia in the Near East and eastern Mediterranean, including the game senet

neg: Power Yahtzee Power Yahtzee Power Yahtzee is a variation on the classic dice game Yahtzee first published by Winning Moves Games USA in 2007. It includes a sixth multiplier die called a "Power die" and an expanded scoresheet. This game is no longer in production. The Power die is rolled with the five standard dice and shows how the point value of scoring category of the faces on the standard dice should be multiplied. Three faces of the Power die are marked "1," "2," and "3," which simply indicate that the score should be multiplied by the shown number. The three other

neg: Warheads: Medieval Tales values, a player finds out how many standard six-sided dice to roll. How the power and resistance values are determined varies depending on the situation, but in general they are composed of the core stats of characters involved in the test, and any equipment or powers being used, and in some cases the difficulty of the action being attempted. Each die roll that scores 4 or more is considered a success (so in this way success is generally measured in degrees rather than being a binary success/failure result—though not in all cases). Dice rolls are modified by environmental factors and

neg: Sáhkku tabula (the ancestor of backgammon), and the playing boards often have similarities to the board of tabula's probable ancestor, the Roman game XII scripta. There has been much scholarly debate, but no conclusive answers, as to how the games has spread from the Mediterranean to Northern Europe. Tâb (also known as ‘’deleb’’ or ‘’sîg’’) is a game played in northern Africa and south-western Asia. A very similar game, tablan, is traditional to India. When compared to sáhkku, tâb has somewhat different rules for moving pieces, and uses sticks in place of dice. The board is often larger, using four rows

neg: History of chess the creation of the number zero. Other game pieces (speculatively called "chess pieces") uncovered in archaeological findings are considered as coming from other, distantly related board games, which may have had boards of 100 squares or more. Chess was designed for an "ashtāpada" (Sanskrit for "having eight feet", i.e. an 8×8 squared board), which may have been used earlier for a backgammon-type race game (perhaps related to a dice-driven race game still played in south India where the track starts at the middle of a side and spirals into the center). Ashtāpada, the uncheckered 8×8 board served as the main

neg: Dice and it is uncertain where they originated. The oldest known dice were excavated as part of a backgammon-like game set at the Burnt City, an archeological site in south-eastern Iran, estimated to be from between 2800–2500 BC. Other excavations from ancient tombs in the Indus Valley civilization indicate a South Asian origin. The Egyptian game of Senet was played with dice. Senet was played before 3000 BC and up to the 2nd century AD. It was probably a racing game, but there is no scholarly consensus on the rules of Senet. Dicing is mentioned as an Indian game in the

neg: EinStein würfelt nicht! backgammon. EinStein würfelt nicht! EinStein würfelt nicht! ("... does not play dice") is a board game, designed by Ingo Althöfer, a professor of applied mathematics in Jena, Germany. It was the official game of an exhibition about Einstein in Germany during the Einstein Year (2005). The name of the game in German has a double meaning. It is a play on Einstein's famous quote "I am convinced that He (God) does not play dice" and also refers to the fact that when a player has only one cube ("ein Stein") remaining, they no longer need to "play dice", and may

neg: Kontra (cards) announcement to double the stakes again without giving up his right to use the doubling cube. In many circles the opponent may respond with "Raccoon" raising the game value eight times, and the player may double a final time by saying "Skunk" or "Otter"; then however the dice must be thrown. This simple doubling is not part of the official rules of backgammon and is explicitly banned in tournaments. In the card game of Bauernschnapsen there are special contracts of Kontraschnapser and Kontrabauer. Unlike other card games, "Kontra" in this case means that the opponents of the side that chose

neg: Backgammon cannot be completed). Gul Bara and Tapa are also variants of the game popular in southeastern Europe and Turkey. The play will iterate among Backgammon, Gul Bara, and Tapa until one of the players reaches a score of 7 or 5. Coan ki is an ancient Chinese board game that is very similar. Plakoto, Fevga and Portes are three versions of backgammon played in Greece. Together, the three are referred to as Tavli. Other minor variants to the standard game are common among casual players in certain regions. For instance, only allowing a maximum of five checkers on any point

neg: Accasta it was published, Accosta took part in some game design competitions and was one of the finalists of the Premio Archimede in Italy in 1998. Just three years later, in 2001, the first version of the game available for online play was developed and implemented. Accasta is played similarly as a combination of chess and backgammon. Like chess, Accasta has a fixed initial setup and various different pieces. Like backgammon, Accasta has pieces that move toward a target area, blocking enemy pieces, but it has no dice. The main idea of the game is the use of stacked pieces. Players

neg: Backgammon (Britain) or disallowing "hit-and-run" in your home board (Middle East). Backgammon has an established opening theory, although it is less detailed than that of chess. The tree of positions expands rapidly because of the number of possible dice rolls and the moves available on each turn. Recent computer analysis has offered more insight on opening plays, but the midgame is reached quickly. After the opening, backgammon players frequently rely on some established general strategies, combining and switching among them to adapt to the changing conditions of a game. A blot has the highest probability of being hit when it is

neg: Dice tower in Germany and has essentially the same design as modern examples with internal baffles to force the dice to rotate more randomly. Dice towers can be constructed fairly easily. The main elements of a dice tower include: The dice are dropped into the top of the tower and bounce off of several interior ramps before emerging from an opening at the base of the tower. Some dice towers include a walled off area for the dice to land in so that they are not scattered across the table. In tournament backgammon, a dice tower, often referred to as a dice

neg: Crown and Anchor Crown and Anchor Crown and Anchor is a simple dice game, traditionally played for gambling purposes by sailors in the Royal Navy as well as those in the British merchant and fishing fleets. The game originated in the 18th century. It is still popular in the Channel Islands and Bermuda, but is strictly controlled and may be played legally only on certain occasions, such as the Channel Islands' three annual agricultural shows, or Bermuda's annual Cup Match cricket game. Three special dice are used in Crown and Anchor. The dice are equal in size and shape to standard dice, but

neg: Gul bara Gul bara Gul bara is a backgammon variant. It is also called as ‘Rosespring Backgammon’ or ‘Crazy Narde’. The motive of the game is to move all of one's checkers around the board and bear them off. The first player who bears off all his/her checkers wins the game. The game is popular in Bulgaria, Azerbaijan, Greece, Turkey and the Republic of Macedonia. Both players roll one die and the higher number goes first. That player rolls the dice again to begin his/her turn. Every player starts with fifteen checkers on the rightmost point of the far side of the

neg: Ssangryuk Ssangryuk Ssangryuk (hangul: 쌍륙, hanja: 雙六) is a traditional Korean game. "Ssangryuk" (or Ssanguk) is a game using dice that is most commonly played in winter. It has a game board, 30 horses and 2 dice. It is also called "ssangryuk" (same spelling and sound but different "hanja": 雙陸), "aksak" (hangul: 악삭, hanja: 握槊), "sangryuk" (상륙, 象陸), and "ssangyuk" (상육, 象陸). The game is similar in structure and play to Backgammon the classic strategy game and is probably related to the Tables family of games. The game board doesn't have any required size, but on average it is 80 cm

neg: Song of Blades and Heroes in 2007. Song of Blades and Heroes uses three six-sided dice, (also known as D6 dice) per player to determine the outcome of a character's actions. Each character profile has three basic statistics; Points, Quality, Combat and Special Abilities. Points refer to how many points it costs to use the character within the game. Quality is used to activate characters, i.e. to determine how many actions they can perform each turn. Combat is the number you add to a six-sided dice roll when performing a Melee or Ranged attack. Special Abilities cover any Special Abilities that the character may have.

neg: Ssangryuk long and 40 cm wide. A die is about 1 cm³ and is made from ivory or bone. Tiger bone is preferred. Ssangryuk Ssangryuk (hangul: 쌍륙, hanja: 雙六) is a traditional Korean game. "Ssangryuk" (or Ssanguk) is a game using dice that is most commonly played in winter. It has a game board, 30 horses and 2 dice. It is also called "ssangryuk" (same spelling and sound but different "hanja": 雙陸), "aksak" (hangul: 악삭, hanja: 握槊), "sangryuk" (상륙, 象陸), and "ssangyuk" (상육, 象陸). The game is similar in structure and play to Backgammon the classic strategy game and is probably

neg: Backgammon commonly alter the starting position, restrict certain moves, or assign special value to certain dice rolls, but in some geographic regions even the rules and directions of the checkers' movement change, rendering the game fundamentally different. Acey-deucey is a variant of backgammon in which players start with no checkers on the board, and must bear them on at the beginning of the game. The roll of 1-2 is given special consideration, allowing the player, after moving the 1 and the 2, to select any desired doubles move. A player also receives an extra turn after a roll of 1-2 or

neg: Megaversal system of three six-sided dice, whereas other species' attributes are determined more or less depending on how they compare to the baseline human standard. Other statistics that may be used are: The characters' race and attributes – not to mention the game itself – impact their selection of character classes: Depending upon the game, skills can come either from the character's O.C.C. and a related list, or from the character's educational or occupational background. Games set on modern Earth tend to favor the second; all others favor the first. O.C.C.s tend to be more specific than character classes in other games,

neg: Dice a number added to or subtracted from the final result, or have the player roll extra or fewer dice. To keep track of rolls easily, dice notation is frequently used. Many board games use dice to randomize how far pieces move or to settle conflicts. Typically, this has meant that rolling higher numbers is better. Some games, such as Axis & Allies, have inverted this system by making the lower values more potent. In the modern age, a few games and game designers have approached dice in a different way by making each side of the die similarly valuable. In

neg: Elizabethan leisure for sword fighting, but using wooden wasters or simple cudgels. Running, jumping, fencing, jousting, archery, and skittles were also practiced, with fishing as the most relaxing and harmless pastime. Children enjoyed playing leap-frog, blind man's bluff and hide-and-seek, which are enjoyed by many children throughout Britain even today. Elizabethans enjoyed playing cards, with a game called "triumph" (modern day whist) being popular. Dice, backgammon and draughts were also played. Men mostly played these games as it was deemed inappropriate for a woman to gamble; however, Queen Elizabeth the first enjoyed playing cards and was an avid gambler. Music was greatly

neg: Backgammon notation Backgammon notation Backgammon notation is a means for recording backgammon games, developed by Paul Magriel in the 1970s. The common way of describing the movement of checkers involves numbering the points around the board from 24 to 1 as depicted in Figure 1. The image shows the board from black's perspective, with the numbers diminishing as her checkers move counterclockwise toward her own home board at the bottom right-hand side. The reverse numbering of the points applies when white is on roll, with the 24-point referred to as the 1-point, and so forth. Dice rolls are shown either as "4-2"

neg: De vetula because of its references to astronomy and gambling. The numerical game Rithmomachia is praised in it, and an ancestor of backgammon is mentioned. Another pastime given extended treatment is fishing. At least in some manuscripts, the account of a dice game was accompanied by an enumeration of the combinations of three conventional cubic dice, and an explanation of the connection between the number of combinations and the expected frequency of a given total. Roger Bacon took from Book III of "De vetula" a link between Aristotle and astronomy. He also was influenced by work of the astronomer Abumashar as represented

neg: Chuck-a-luck Chuck-a-luck Chuck-a-luck, also known as birdcage, is a game of chance played with three dice. It is derived from grand hazard and both can be considered a variant of sic bo, which is a popular casino game, although chuck-a-luck is more of a carnival game than a true casino game. The game is sometimes used as a fundraiser for charity. Chuck-a-luck is played with three standard dice that are kept in a device shaped somewhat like an hourglass that resembles a wire-frame bird cage and pivots about its centre. The dealer rotates the cage end over end, with the dice

neg: Game of skill competitions with money prizes are allowed. Game of skill A game of skill is a game where the outcome is determined mainly by mental or physical skill, rather than by chance. Some commonly played games of skill include: poker, collectible card games, contract bridge, backgammon and mahjong. However, most games of skill also involve a degree of chance, due to natural aspects of the environment, a randomizing device (such as dice, playing cards or a coin flip) or guessing due to incomplete information. Some games of skill such as poker may involve bluffing and other forms of psychological warfare. The

neg: The Game (dice game) special award for "most beautiful game". In his preface Wittig writes: I've often been asked how you go about it to invent a game. I want to add one answer now. Is perhaps the best answer possible to show the many different ways of designing a game. The answer is also a challenge: Invent rules of your own to my dice pyramid. The first edition of the game was a small version of the dice pyramid, without any rules. Over time, players contributed their own rules to a collection. The Game (dice game) The Game is a dice game designed

neg: History of chess Europe and Russia by at least three routes, the earliest being in the 9th century. By the year 1000 it had spread throughout Europe. Introduced into the Iberian Peninsula by the Moors in the 10th century, it was described in a famous 13th-century manuscript covering "shatranj", backgammon and dice named the "Libro de los juegos". Chess spread throughout the world and many variants of the game soon began taking shape. Buddhist pilgrims, Silk Road traders and others carried it to the Far East where it was transformed and assimilated into a game often played on the intersection of the lines

neg: Universalis to, a die roll is then used to resolve the challenge (with the dice rolled depending on how many Facts and Coins each side has). The winner gains new Coins, and gets to narrate the result of the Challenge. Rules in Universalis are just another kind of Fact, and can be established by spending coins. Universalis Universalis is a role-playing game (RPG) from Ramshead Publishing that stresses interactive storytelling. The game uses a unique system, based on "coins" that are used to make additions to the game, which allows the entire group to participate in the creation of the setting

neg: Cthulhu Dice many signs on the custom die that represent moves of the players. The signs are: Yellow Sign, Tentacle, Elder Sign, Cthulhu or an Eye of Horus. The signs used in Cthulhu Dice are famous glyphs from H. P. Lovecraft's Cthulhu. Cthulhu Dice Cthulhu Dice is a dice game released in 2010 by Steve Jackson Games. It is recommended for 2-6 players, and the play time can be anywhere from 5–10 minutes. The game includes a 12 sided dice, 18 glass marbles, and a set of rules. You roll the dice to compete with others to be the last sane person

neg: Emotional Backgammon advice from his best friend Steve on strategies to win her back. Steve uses backgammon as a metaphor for approaches to take, telling John to "roll the dice, for love is a game." At the same time, Mary begins taking advice from her best friend, also employing complicated strategies. It is revealed that both John and Jane share a bitter, complicated past. Herbert and Hope stated that, "The script idea was drawn from countless conversations with friends in problematic relationships. It is a story about emotional black-mail, but also an analysis of insecurities, and the charged and complex control tactics

neg: Cee-lo Cee-lo Cee-lo is a gambling game played with three six-sided dice. There is not one standard set of rules, but there are some constants that hold true to all sets of rules. The name comes from the Chinese "Sì-Wŭ-Liù" (四五六), meaning "four-five-six". In America it is also called "See-Low," "Four-Five-Six," "The Three Dice Game," "Chinchirorin," "Roll-off!," and by several alternative spellings, as well as simply "Dice." In China it is also called "Sān Liù Bàozi" (三六豹子), or "Three Six Leopards". The constants include the number of dice used, which is always three. All rules describe certain winning combinations that can

neg: The Wheel of Time Collectible Card Game are rolling the dice for. Sometimes you'll roll the dice because a card tells you to and you'll just look for the symbols the card asks for. There are also colored blank tokens that came with your set. You can use these to show which challenges you are participating in. The numbered tokens can be used to help keep track of how much of an ability you've generated. The Pattern is what the game is all about. Each turn a token is to be placed on the Pattern. Depending on how various challenges and such go during the turn, the

neg: Backgammon against the reigning world champion Luigi Villa. It won the match, 7–1, becoming the first computer program to defeat a world champion in any board game. Berliner stated that the victory was largely a matter of luck, as the computer received more favorable dice rolls. In the late 1980s, backgammon programmers found more success with an approach based on artificial neural networks. TD-Gammon, developed by Gerald Tesauro of IBM, was the first of these programs to play near the expert level. Its neural network was trained using temporal difference learning applied to data generated from self-play. According to assessments by

neg: Pig (dice game) Pig (dice game) Pig is a simple dice game first described in print by John Scarne in 1945. As with many games of folk origin, Pig is played with many rule variations. Commercial variants of Pig include Pass the Pigs, Pig Dice, and Skunk. Pig is commonly used by mathematics teachers to teach probability concepts. Pig is one of a family of dice games described by Reiner Knizia as "jeopardy dice games". For jeopardy dice games, the dominant type of decision is whether or not to jeopardize previous gains by rolling for potential greater gains. Most jeopardy dice games can

neg: Patrick Jane carnival environment, has been formally educated, although he has stated he never attended high school. He nevertheless has exhibited throughout the series many qualities of a polymath, including refined knowledge of art, food, wine, literature, and music. He also demonstrates considerable skill at chess (in the episode 18-5-4 ), and is an accomplished card sharp. He may also be a pool shark, as he makes an impressive shot in Aingavite Baa. In Miss Red, he demonstrates his skill at cheating with dice, in the course of a backgammon game. He also creates elaborate sandcastles (Red Tide) and plays pinball extremely

neg: Sorry! (game) 1998 as a "Sorry!" computer game. Also, a handheld version was released in 1996. Parker Brothers has released a travel version of Sorry! called Sorry! Express. The game consists of three dice, four home bases, a start base, and sixteen pawns, four in each colour. Up to four players can play this game. To play, each player takes a home base and sets it on a different colour and all of the pawns are put on the start base no matter how many people are playing. The first person rolls all three dice and gets one of four possibilities for

neg: Pig (dice game) Science in areas ranging from introductory courses to advanced machine learning material. Pig (dice game) Pig is a simple dice game first described in print by John Scarne in 1945. As with many games of folk origin, Pig is played with many rule variations. Commercial variants of Pig include Pass the Pigs, Pig Dice, and Skunk. Pig is commonly used by mathematics teachers to teach probability concepts. Pig is one of a family of dice games described by Reiner Knizia as "jeopardy dice games". For jeopardy dice games, the dominant type of decision is whether or not to jeopardize previous

neg: Formula 1 (board game) Formula 1 (board game) Formula 1 is a motor racing themed board game designed by John Howarth & Trevor Jones and originally published by Waddingtons of Leeds, United Kingdom in 1962. An almost identical game was published by Parker Brothers in the United States during the 1960s as Grand Prix. The following were included in the game box: The game is unusual in that the dice are used only for deciding penalties; each player decides what speed (how many spaces on the track) their car travels each turn, the current speed being recorded on the speedometer. Each space represents 20mph.

neg: Yacht (dice game) Yacht (dice game) Yacht is a public domain dice game, similar to the Latin American game Generala, the English game of Poker Dice, the Scandinavian Yatzy, and Cheerio. Yacht dates back to at least 1938, and is a contemporary of the similar three-dice game Crag. Yahtzee is a later development, similar to Yacht in both name and content. The name Yacht is also used for a number of later dice games that include many features of Yahtzee, being closer to Yahtzee than the original Yacht game. The object of the game is to score points by rolling five dice to

neg: Backgammon chouette a single backgammon board according to standard rules. The captain makes the final decision on all checker plays for the team, although help from team-mates can be requested in some situations. Usually, all members of the team have their own doubling cube vs. the box, and can double regardless of what other team-mates do, and they can accept or refuse a double independently of the other players. The result is that, although they are using a single backgammon set, each member on the team is playing a separate game against the box. A chouette is generally played in the same