Tommy's backgammon (c) copyright 1987 by tommy's toys
P. O. Box 11261, denver, co 80211 usa. All rights reserved.
Catalog #87-075-1a
Instructions:
Backgammon is one of those ancient games that are based on both luck and
Skill, but the more skillful you are the luckier you get.
Having been brought to earth by ancient astronauts (a board dated at 3000 b.c.
Was dug up by earthling anthropologists in ur of the chaldees in modern iraq,
And is now on display in the british museum), it then ran the gamut of ancient
Civilizations, greek, roman, anglo-saxon, and so on. (the doubling cube was
Introduced by aliens from outer space in 1920s america to help them win enough
Dough to pay for bus fare home, and is still mainly used by americans.)
Outside america this game goes by other names than backgammon (fr. For back
Game), for example: tablas reales (sp. For royal tables), tric-trac (france),
Ticktack (irish), tables (english from the latin tabula).
Now you don't even need a live partner to play this king of games; your pc
Is waiting to play against you. So have fun and don't leave your planet
Without it.
The board:
Backgammon is played on a board of 24 squares arranged in a horseshoe.
Modes:
Using f2 you select who plays white and who plays black, the computer or the
Keyboard player. By repeatedly pressing f2 you can select any combination,
From the computer playing both sides to the keyboard playing both sides.
On the left hand side of the board the mode is displayed (k means keyboard,
C means computer, white's mode is displayed above black's). You can press
This key during the game if you want to take over for the computer, or vice
Versa.
The game starts out with the keyboard playing white, the computer black.
Who moves first?
If at least one of the players is the keyboard, the keyboard selects which
Player moves first. If the computer plays both sides then it selects the
Starting player randomly. Note: when the computer prompts you for which
Side to move first (w or b), you can type "c" and let the computer decide
By random chance.
The goal:
Black's goal is to move its pieces counterclockwise around the board to
Squares 1-6; then move them all off the board. White moves its pieces
Clockwise around the board to squares 19-24, then off the board.
The dice:
The game is played with 2 dice. After they are rolled (let's say you roll
Values d1, d2), you must move one piece a number of squares equal to d1, then
Another piece (it can be the same piece as before) a number of squares equal
To d2.
Automatic or manual dice roll option:
You may select whether the dice are rolled automatically when it is your
Turn, or whether you have to type "r" to have them rolled. This is controlled
By function key f6 (initially the game is set to manual dice roll).
Blots and hits:
Only pieces of one color can occupy a given board square. If you have 2 or
More pieces on a square, it is now "your" point and safe from capture. One
Player may land on an empty square, a square held by his own pieces, or a
"blot" (square held by only one enemy piece). In the latter case, the captured
Piece is put on the bar (the bar that goes down the center of the board).
The bar:
If you have any pieces on the bar, they must be played first. Consider the
Bar as square 0 if white, square 25 if black. Thus, you can move from the
Bar to square 5 with a roll of 5 if you are playing black; or from the bar
To square 20 if you are playing white.
Note: you cannot enter a piece from the bar on the board on an enemy point.
Bearing off the board:
After all your pieces are in your goal zone (for black, squares 1-6; for
White, squares 19-24), you can move a piece beyond your last square, which
Permanently scores that piece for you. The first player to score all his
Pieces wins the game.
Normally, if you are playing black you need to roll a 5 to bear off a piece
From square 5, etc. To bear off another piece it must be the furthest
Occupied point from the last square. (for example, if you roll a 6 and there
Are no pieces on square 6, you may bear off a piece on square 4; but if there
Is a piece on square 5, it must be borne off first.)
Doubles:
When your two dice have equal values, you get two moves in a row, as if you
Had rolled the 2 dice, moved, rolled the same doublet again, and moved again.
To enter a move:
If you have doubles, enter 2 moves, else enter 1 move.
Move format: a<space>b, where a is the from-square, b is the to-square.
Note: you can also hit the <enter>,"-", or "+" keys instead of the space bar.
E.g.:
2-7
21+15
16 17
Special abbreviations:
You can use "b" for bar and "o" for off-board, e.g., b-4,23-o.
To pass: type "p". Tommy's backgammon allows you to pass if you want to,
Usually you won't unless you are forced to because momentum is important in
This game. It is common to be forced to pass when you have pieces on the
Bar that you can't enter.
E.g.:
p
2-7,7-12,p
b-4,p
(of course, it is not considered legal in most clubs to pass if you have a
Legal move available, but the program will let you go.)
To concede the game, type "c".
To backstep one round, type "." or hit the backspace key (this only works
At the prompt for your move).
To take back a move:
You can't, but if you haven't completed entering the move yet you can force
It into an error and get to start over. For example, 19-99.
Dares:
After the game starts, either player may "dare" the other to double the game
Stakes. If the other player declines, he forfeits the game. After this, the
Right to dare alternates. Normally you must dare before you move, but if you
Select the automatic dice roll option you dare after the roll (not strictly
Kosher but the game moves faster and both sides are at the same disadvantage).
Note: to dare, hit "d" for your move. There is a limit of 6 dares per game.
Game points:
A game point is 2 to the power d, where d is the number of dares accepted.
You get 1 game point for a win, 2 for gammon, 3 for backgammon.
Gammon and backgammon:
Gammon is where the opponent has not scored (bore off) a single one of his
Pieces by the time you win. A backgammon is where the opponent has gammoned,
And has one or more pieces in his starting box (1-6 for white, 24-19 for
Black) or on the bar.
Note that if you refuse a dare, gammon and backgammon points are not
Assessed against you; but if you concede with the "c" command, they are.
Game restart:
When prompted for your move, hit the esc key instead and the game can be
Restarted.
Function keys:
--------------
f1 sound effects toggle
f2 mode change switch
f3 cumulative dice total display toggle (when on, displays the
cumulative dice total for each player under the dice, in
case you want to blame your situation on the dice.) The
first number is player 1's total, the second is player 2's.
f5 display these instructions
f7 quit
f10 (color monitors only) change the screen border color
Skill levels: there are 9 levels, 1..9, with 1 the easiest and 9 the hardest.
To change the skill level, use the left and right arrow keys on the numeric
Control pad. Note: at skill level 1, the computer will not make dares.
Sound pitch: use the up and down arrow keys on the numeric key pad to change
The sound pitch of the dice roll.
Dutch vs. Standard backgammon:
At program startup you are asked which you prefer, dutch or standard.
The only difference is that in dutch all the pieces start on the bar, not
On the board as in the standard configuration.
Command line parameters:
s start up with sound off
m force mono display mode
c force color display mode
Example: >tommysbg ms
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Did you like this toy?
Don't forget to try our gobs of other neat low-priced toys and games for the
Ibm pc and compatibles. Our 5.25 inch (360k) or 3.5 inch (720k) demo disk,
Containing an electronic toy catalog and other goodies, is only $2 to any u.s.
Address, $3 outside u.s. (u.s. Dollars only). If your pc bores you write us
Now.
Tommy's toys, p.o. Box 11261, denver, co 80211 usa.
Have fun!
