Backgammon has been a popular table game for centuries. It has its origins in a family of race games that can be traced as far back as the Royal Game of Ur, which predates 2600 B.C. Precursors of modern Backgammon were described in the King Alfonso manuscript in 1283. The English version presented here, which is now standard, dates from the mid-seventeenth century.
 
For the precise rules, please read the "description" section that comes with the game. A discussion of scoring is included under the "history" section.
 
In general, the players roll the dice and move their pieces around the board (counterclockwise for Light, clockwise for Dark) the number of points shown on the dice. If a doublet is roled the player gets four moves. A piece cannot land on a point occupied by two or more enemy pieces. If a piece lands on a point occupied by a single enemy piece, that enemy piece is moved to the vertical bar in the middle of the bar. A piece on the bar must be moved back into play before any other moves can be made. A player wins by moving all 15 pieces into the home on the right side of the board. The home cannot be entered until all of the player's pieces are in the inner board (the six points next to the home). An exact role is required to move a piece home, unless no other pieces are further out.
 
Also included in this package are the popular Backgammon variants Nackgammon, Hypergammon, and Deadgammon. Nackgammon and Hypergammon follow Backgammon rules but have different opening arrays. Deadgammon is losing Backgammon: the first player to bear off all 15 pieces is the loser