Backgammon Variations

In addition to the standard game of backgammon, there are several popular variations. Here are some favorites:

Acey Deucy

A favorite backgammon variation among players in the US Navy and Marine Corps, Acey Deucy (aka Acey Deucey or Acey Ducey) begins with all 15 of your men off the board. Initial rolls of the dice are used to move your men onto the board and the game proceeds in the usual manner. A roll of 1-2 ("Acey Deucy") is especially valuable in this game - the lucky player who rolls it plays the 1-2, followed by the double of their choice (4 of any number they choose) and then gets an extra roll of the dice!

Hyper Backgammon or "HyperGammon"

HyperGammon (Hyper Backgammon) is a fast and furious game played using only 3 men per player, set up on the first 3 points of your opponent's home board. It's a crazy race around the board and while skillful play can somewhat compensate for a bad roll of the dice, there's a stronger element of luck than in the standard backgammon game!

NackGammon

Where hyper backgammon is a fast, fun romp around the board, Nackgammon is a game of thought and strategy. Named for its inventor, Nick "Nack" Ballard, nackgammon begins with only 4 men on your 6 and 13 points. The other 2 men are set up on your opponent's 2 point, meaning you start the game deeply entrenched in your opponent's home turf (and vice versa)! It's a fascinating twist on regular backgammon, well suited for skilled players.

 

Backgammon Variations for multiple players:

Chouette

Chouette is a backgammon variation played by 3 or more players. It is a game of very complex rules and scoring! Tto summarize briefly,all but one player form a team (with one player among them being designated the captain) and play against the remaining player. This individual is called "the box" or "man in the box" and remains "in the box" until defeated, at which point the captain of the winning team moves to the box. Team members consult among each other to decide what moves to make, and a strict hierarchy is maintained. If the captain loses a game, he moves to the bottom of the team order and the next-in-line become captain for the following game.

Duplicate Backgammon

Similar to duplicate bridge, duplicate backgammon involves multiple games being played at the same time using the same rolls of the dice. It can be played by any even number of players, most commonly 4 (two teams of two players). At the end of each games, the scores are added together, so if one team member lost 4 points and his partner won 8 for the same game, the team would have gained 4 points for that game.

As backgammon gets more popular, you can expect to start seeing these and other game varieties being offered by more of the top online backgammon sites.

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