The role of a backgammon piece

The movement of the backgammon piece decides how the game is won and lost. Pieces, or checkers as they are sometimes known, are moved around the board by both players to push their own game forward whilst trying to block your opponent's progress. The pieces that are allocated 15 per player come in two different colors, usually black and white, however there are no restrictions and they can be in any color of finish.

From the outset, a backgammon piece can only be moved in one direction: that is from the opponent's outer table to the player's inner table. One player's backgammon piece can only move clockwise, and the other's anti-clockwise. Points on a backgammon board are numbered from one to twelve, and as the game begins, both sets of backgammon checkers should exactly mirror each other.

A backgammon piece is moved across the board according to the value of the dice throw. As the game heats up, and tactics and strategy begin to play a role, then players can opt not to move a backgammon men on the board, but instead to double it up to prevent their opponent's progress, known as a block in backgammon vernacular. If a player blocks six points in a row on the board this is known as a prime. This can be a match winning tactic as the opponent cannot move forward through a prime, and a player can allow all his other backgammon pieces to move through it.

The role of a backgammon piece is to be moved by the player into his home table and then beared off till there are no more pieces on the board, which means that he or she has won the game.