While backgammon notation may be difficult to understand on a verbal level, understanding such a process in terms of the equations used for scoring during the game becomes much easier to grasp. This is because backgammon boards, whether online or real, contain a series of numbers from one to twenty-four, with each number having a point value. At the beginning of the game, the player on the black side of the board moves from a higher point to a lower-numbered point, while the player on the white side of the board moves from a lower point to a higher one.
As each tile is moved, the start and stop points are recorded and separated by a slash. To get an idea of how this might work, let’s say, for example, you move a black checker from 24 to 20, the transaction is recorded as 24/20. On the other hand, if you move two checkers in one round, then two moves might be something like 24/20 14/12. Furthermore, should a player use only one checker while moving based on the roll of both dice, then the movement is noted only by the start and stop points at that time and not by two separate entries as noted above.
In addition to dot notations, there are also notations relating to stones removed from play. Such a notation could read, for example, 12/off. Also, when returning to play from the pole, a notation is generally made by recording only the point of descent where the checker came back onto the board. To do this, stones coming back from the pole are noted accordingly.
Although the notation related to the movement of checkers and points is essential in backgammon, it is equally important to indicate the rolls of the dice. Such dice rolls are recorded by entering the number shown on both dice, e.g. e.g. “36”. This also helps keep track of whose turn it is in case someone gets lost in the rotation.
Of course, if you also assign each player a color, then it becomes easier to keep track of whose turn it is. Therefore, like other games, backgammon is often played with a choice of colors, be it black and white or more vivid colors often found in other board games that require more than two players.
While backgammon notation may sound a bit difficult, it’s actually quite simple once you get the hang of it. However, one should be aware that those who understand such notations are often more likely to be referred to as the official scorers during a game. Therefore, before volunteering for such a position, one should perhaps learn about these two basic backgammon notation skills, as well as other more advanced notations related to backgammon that can now be found online.
Thanks to Mark Beljaars | #Recording #Backgammon #Notation #Game #Play