jryden: Well not every game is for everyone.

Just to recap some past suggested variants:

1) A mix between Tabula gammon and Russian Gammon. Basically like "race", all pieces start off the board - BOTH players race the same direction around the board, bring in their pieces in the same area - can only move their pieces 1/2 way around the board until all of their pieces have entered the board - 2 dice only - no special double rules - rest of the rules like current gammon/race rules.

2) Domino-Gammon - I have since seen some other versions talked about, but linked are the rules that I have made up for the game.

3) Similar to #2, Double choice & triple choice backgammon - more explained in this post: Backgammon (BIG BAD WOLF, 2006-12-20 00:41:30)

Plus other suggestion on the feature request board awhile back:

Plakoto - http://www.bkgm.com/variants/Plakoto.html

Plakoto Express (well not requested, but will include it here) - http://www.bkgm.com/variants/PlakotoExpress.html

Moultezim - http://www.bkgm.com/variants/Moultezim.html

LionsLair: Cool ! I had thought a bit about how to make a backgammon variant where one has more than 30% of chances to hit a direct blot, because it is likely to add strategy and substract race character to the game. I had considered some solutions, but yours seems much better. Again a game that I would definitely like to try.
However, doubles are a problem and I don't like the solution of allowing a limited number of them - it requires to remember the number of times you used it, and 3 is a completely arbitrary number. Maybe playing a double as only two moves, but a triple as four moves ? Or any better idea ?

What would happen if the score becomes 7-7?

reference to the link below, we have blocked each other, neither of us can move, so what happens next?

mybirthdaysoon: LOL

end the game with a draw, perhaps?

hexkid:Thre is no other way , is there

mybirthdaysoon: I can't see what kind of game this is.

mybirthdaysoon: This game should end in a draw. Just with four passes in a row, draw.

joshi tm: I think we have had 10 passes each

Please can somebody send pergico a message in portugese, because he isnt ending the game with a draw, we can not go any further.

grasshopper game

Marfitalu: Well he wasnt replying to my in match messages, but he has now

Can someone please tell me which checkers refer to "back men (runners)" in the standard Backgammon start position?

Fencer: They would be the 2 pieces on the one point. The furtherest from home.

skipinnz, Marfitalu: Two white pieces on point 1 and two black pieces on point 24?

Marfitalu: isnt it so that all the men that are furthest away from bearing off are called back men ?

Marfitalu: oops i missed that the fencer asked for the back men in the start position

Marfitalu: So I am right, am I not?

Fencer: Yes backmen would be those on points 1 & 24 at the start of a game.

skipinnz: Thanks, that's what I needed to know.

Fencer:you're welcome

What is the recommended move here?
Backgammon (erdemre vs. Czuch Czuckers)

I was really confused, and I dont think any play was very good!

Czuch Czuckers: I would have moved the 2 from the 7 row, and 2 from the 6 row - not really good moves to make, but at least you would not open yourself up to getting another pieces taken.

BIG BAD WOLF: Yeah, that was the obvious move, but then he would have been stuck on the bar and I would have been forced to lose my blocking power.... I am hoping to make him open his blocks up, and that will not happen with him on the bar! But you are probably right in what i should have played!

Czuch Czuckers: yea, no move is that good of a choice - my move is more of a 'safe' move - that is try to let the other person go, get my chips in the best position until my other man is set free.

Your move is more risky - but might be needed since it is the last point of the match - some lucky rolls may turn out really good for you, yet, some bad rolls could leave you even further behind.

Will be interesting if someone has a computer program to anylize that position and give what the best move is according to the computer.

Czuch Czuckers: Here is what Jellyfish does:

Interesting results...

Jellyfish makes the same move but loses anyway...on the other side, jellyfish plays out the game.

If I set up the game with jellyfish making the alternate move (hitting two blots) the jellyfish opponent immediately doubles, clearly confident of the win. (Note that when jellyfish plays your side after the double blot hit, it rejects the double offer)

Seems you have made correct move, but you a likely to lose anyway. Good luck!

BIG BAD WOLF: In this position 7/2(2) 6/1(2) is probably best overall, however in your case the match was down to the last frame, so gammons don't count.
Therefore I believe your move was better for the reasons you state.

How do I get into these situations??? Cloning Backgammon (Czuch Czuckers vs. Luke Skywalker)
I cant get a double when in a race to save my life.... yet twice today I have gotten doubles that have completely ruined my game!!!

Czuch Czuckers:   Murphy's Law. 

Gr☺uch☺: More likely you tend to notice when the luck is against you, but not when it goes for you.

grenv:  That's true.  Once I swore my opponent was getting more doubles than I (in a multi game match) and when I checked, it was two more double rolls in my favor!  lol

but then, he got better doubles 

Gr☺uch☺: Exactly! My doubles either hurt me or theycome when I only have one man left to bear off...

If I hit a checker with the first part of my move, can I enter the extra checker I get on the bar as the second part of my move ? The rules seem to point to a positive answer, but I would like to be sure.

nabla:

Czuch Czuckers: Thank you !

Last chance to joint the tournament Doubled Backgammon Elimination

Backgammon (Czuch Czuckers vs. MVD-gonXalera)
How can I only get doubles that keep hurting me??????

Me being little stupid maybe    but me can't seem to understand the scoring system in the Cloning variant - not by reading the rules. Is it right that one player who is about to lose a game can resign and avoid losing more then 3 points?

basplund: No! LOL

basplund: Not in the revised rules version.

Czuch Czuckers: What do you think about autopass? :)

Czuch Czuckers: Hmmm most people play to become better at the game. Is it that you are not learning from your mistakes... LOL

Andersp: I thought that auto pass was moved up to a priority status? Maybe now that the "10 new games" January priority is finally finished, auto pass will be soon?

skipinnz: Yeah, I guess my strategy for being way ahead is a loser! I will have to try going way behind, then hoping for my opponent to get very unlucky doubles and then getting the exact roll I need to take advantage of it! That must be why I cant break the 2200 barrier!

Czuch Czuckers: Some recommendations from one who has been there and back:

1. Try to be more aware of your good fortune than you are of your bad.

2. Accept that good and bad dice are the yin and yang of backgammon, and so it is impossible to have one without the other.

3. Appreciate the game's unpredictability: isn't that why we play backgammon rather than chess?

4. Admire your opponent's success as if it were your own. It is.

Namaste!

alanback: Thanks, I will try to remember that!

alanback: I like a quote that heard from a famous poker player.... "I guess if it wasnt for luck, I would win all of these!"

Czuch Czuckers: Czuch, here's my two cents. I think you have to congratulate your opponent on this one. I have won many games playing this way. She set up a great home board, left two men back and played the odds. Dice being dice you can count on getting behind in about 50% of your games.

This said, I don't know why you resigned it. You had a least as good a chance as getting back on the board and off again before your opponent could finish as she had of rolling the lucky roll earlier. I would have played it out.