Please submit all comments, queries, corrections and additions to contact@ukbgf.com
Contents
1. Newcomer’s Guides
2. Where to Play
3. Rules and Conduct
4. Learning and Reference
5. Tuition from the Best Players and Teachers in the UK
6. Recorded Matches
7. Forums
8. Merchandise
9. Books
10. Analysis Software
11. Videos
12. National and International Federations and Associations
13. Disability and Diversity
1. Newcomer’s Guides
The first article in this section is ‘An Introduction to Backgammon’ for those who are completely new to the game, or those who might need a reminder about the equipment, rules, and objectives. This is followed by two articles to assist players who are familiar with the basics and are considering stepping up to club or tournament play – but who may find the prospect daunting.
More guides will be added over time and if you have suggestions, please do let us know.
- An Introduction to Backgammon by Chris Bray
- A Beginner’s Introduction to Tournaments
- Tournament Etiquette for the Uninitiated
- Clocks
- Side Pools
- Opening a GridGammon Account
2. Where to Play
LIVE PLAY
During the Covid-19 pandemic live play is virtually non-existent – see the Home page for announcements of any Covid rule changes. However, in normal times there are more than 70 Backgammon Clubs in the British Isles where you can play backgammon face to face over a real board. These clubs meet in a variety of venues including hotels, pubs, cafes, and sports & social clubs. At many clubs, play is friendly and informal with an emphasis on improving. All clubs are keen to acquire new members and will usually be happy to teach beginners. Most clubs also offer tournaments which may be weekly or monthly, and tournament matches played at UKBGF-affiliated clubs are usually eligible for inclusion the the UKBGF ratings. As well as regular small tournaments at clubs, there are many larger annual tournaments. These are listed on the UKBGF calendar, where you can also find monthly events.
ONLINE PLAY
Online is virtually the only option for competitive backgammon (except between members of one household) during the Covid-19 pandemic. There are many online ‘platforms’ or backgammon servers which host all types of games including head-to-head (either unlimited games or matchplay), site tournaments, and external tournaments. Although online tournament or league results are not eligible for inclusion in the UKBGF live ratings list, a separate online ratings list now exists for all eligible UKBGF-affiliated online results. Please email contact@ukbgf.com if you have any queries about eligibility of match results in the ratings.
Listed below are the backgammon servers we would recommend, being popular in the backgammon community. For a more complete list, and a detailed discussion about the technical requirements, click here.
Backgammon Studio Heroes – heroes.backgammonstudio.com
A relatively new and growing server offering free membership. Alternatively Premium membership offers many additional features with a discounted upgrade cost ($25 instead of $30) for UKBGF members (upgrade link here). Analysis is available and there are tournament modes where spectators can see analysis as the decisions are made while players can’t. Growing in popularity as it is integrated into the WBIF tournament system. Heroes offers a multitude of features and a comprehensive instructional manual for the platform, courtesy of David Sanders of Worcester Backgammon Club, can be downloaded here.
Backgammon Galaxy – www.backgammongalaxy.com
A popular online server, run by Danish grandmaster Marc Olsen, where both amateurs and grandmasters play together. The design is fresh and easy to use making it ideal for beginners. More serious players can make use of the XG powered analysis to study their moves and to lower their PR in order to climb the Galaxy Rating System. All matches are played ‘on the clock’ with various time settings available. The ‘Academy’ section includes numerous tutorials for beginners.
GridGammon – www.gridgammon.com
GridGammon is the home of the international online backgammon community. All serious online tournaments are hosted here, and you can watch and save matches between top players. Referral is required in order to join. Players have a site rating which changes as matches are won and lost. Please note that we cannot open a GridGammon account for you but we will vouch for members who wish to open an account. You need to email GridGammon support – click here for details of how to do this.
DailyGammon – www.dailygammon.com
A free, and fun, online turn-based site with some top players and a discussion forum (see ‘Forums’ above). Play is not live so you can make your moves whenever convenient. All players have a rating which is determined by matches won and lost in the numerous site tournaments. Many private tournaments are also organised by users of the site.
FIBS (First Internet Backgammon Server) – www.fibs.com/guide.html
As the name implies, this was the first online backgammon server and is still used by many players. Matches are rated. See also ‘FIBS Board’ under Forums (above).
For ONLINE MONEY PLAY there are a small number of servers where you can play. We strongly recommend:
- only ever play with money you can comfortably afford to lose,
- if you sense that playing for money is becoming a compulsion, stop and get appropriate help,
- if you are playing with people you know and trust, then playing on a free server and settling up independently is no more difficult and avoids paying rake, typically 10% of stake per game,
- if you are playing with strangers, then be aware that you have little protection from all but the most blatant cheating by other players. Sites based outside the UK may not be covered by consumer protection laws and you have little scope for redress.
As a further reminder, you can find a detailed technical comparison of the various online platforms on a sub-page here.
3. Rules and Conduct
HOW TO PLAY BACKGAMMON
The rules of backgammon are explained in Chris Bray’s introduction (see Newcomer’s Guides above).
MATCH PLAY
If you know how to play backgammon and want to enter your first tournament, you first need to understand Match Play. Find out about the Crawford Rule and the free drop, plus a lot more besides in Tom Keith’s Introduction to Match Play.
BACKGAMMON TOURNAMENT RULES
A new set of tournament rules was developed by the UKBGF soon after it was founded. These do not repeat the basic rules of the game, except for relatively recent changes such as the rules governing illegal moves and premature actions. The UKBGF Tournament Rules are used for most backgammon tournaments in the UK, including all those which are part of the UKBGF Tour, as well as at most backgammon clubs throughout the British Isles. You can download version 1.3 of the current UKBGF tournament rules, revised in September 2015, here: (Word) (PDF). A summary of the changes is here and a full comparison with the previous version of the rules is here.
The rules are managed by a subcommittee of the UKBGF Board. The five members of this subcommittee serve a two year term, with reappointments after each new Board election. If you have any queries regarding the rules please email raj@ukbgf.com. Any request for a change in the rules is rigorously debated and individual responses will be sent by email. Revised versions of the rules will be published when needed but, to avoid unnecessary confusion, this will be no more frequent than on an annual basis. Proposed changes are also put forward for consideration with the World Backgammon Federation (WBGF, formerly the EUBGF).
ONLINE TOURNAMENT RULES
There is an additional set of rules for online tournaments, which was last revised in September 2017, which you can download here: (Word)
CODE OF CONDUCT
The UKBGF Code of Conduct has been published to set and maintain a standard for acceptable behaviour for all players. The Code is managed by the UKBGF Board and may upon occasion be revised or updated. You can download the current edition of the UKBGF Code of Conduct here: (PDF). If you have any queries regarding the Code, please email contact@ukbgf.com.
BACKGAMMON ETIQUETTE
For guidance in matters of etiquette at clubs and tournaments, see ‘Tournament Etiquette for the Uninitiated‘ (listed under Newcomer’s Guides above). You might also find the following articles helpful: http://www.bkgm.com/articles/Simborg/SportsmanlikeConduct/index.html, and www.ukbgf.com/breaking-the-enigma
BACKGAMMON VARIANTS
Rules for many variants of backgammon (as well as the standard version) can also be found on Backgammon Galore. Note that on this website the basic rules of backgammon have not been updated to incorporate some recent widely adopted rules changes, such as those governing illegal moves and premature actions.
4. Learning and Reference
There is a wealth of instructional backgammon material online, much of it free. Useful websites include:
Chris Bray Backgammon – www.chrisbraybackgammon.com
Chris now writes a weekly backgammon column for The Times every Friday (launched on 6th December, 2019). Prior to April 2016, Chris’s column appeared in the Independent newspaper every Saturday for 22 years, until that newspaper became ‘digital only’. Chris has also published a number of backgammon books for Beginners, Intermediates and Experts. His website includes a ‘Position of the Day’ and he also writes a regular analysis column for the US Backgammon Federation entitled ‘Bray’s Learning Curve.’
Backgammon Galore! – www.bkgm.com
A comprehensive and free compendium of all things relating to backgammon and its variants, Tom Keith’s site contains a large collection of articles and answers to FAQ’s. The “Studying to Get Better” section alone contains over 150 articles including quizzes and book reviews. The comprehensive “Backgammon Glossary” is the first port of call for many backgammon queries.
Chicago Point – www.chicagopoint.com
As the strapline says, this is “A Prime Source of Backgammon Information”. Chicago Point was formally a printed newsletter edited by American Backgammon Tour creator Bill Davis. Now solely online, “The Point” includes articles, tournament results and the definitive world tournament calendar, maintained by Carol Joy Cole. The Gammon Links page by Mel Leifer is an excellent starting point to search for anything backgammon-related in the USA and worldwide.
BGOnline – www.bgonline.org
As well as the most-used backgammon forum, this site by one of the best players in the world – Stick Rice – includes useful links, book reviews and rollout data of first, second and third moves under different conditions: Unlimited, DMP, Gammon Save and Gammon Go.
PrimeTime Backgammon – http://usbgf.org/category/magazine/
A high quality quarterly magazine, PrimeTime contains tournament reports, match analyses and other technical articles and is published by the USBGF both online and in printed form. USBGF members can download a free pdf; printed copies can be purchased by mail order from the USBGF BG shop.
Backgammon Studio – www.backgammonstudio.com/
An entertaining way to improve your backgammon skills with different types of challenges for you to try. It tracks your performance, enabling you to focus where necessary, and thereby improve your game. There is also an online database of matches (see also the entry under section 4 – Recorded Matches)
GammonVillage Magazine – http://www.gammonvillage.com/backgammon/magazine/
Established in 1999 and with new articles still appearing regularly, GammonVillage offers a huge archive of reports and technical backgammon articles. Subscription charges apply.
eXtreme Gammon Opening Book and Replies – www.extremegammon.com/openingbook.aspx
XG rollouts of 1st and 2nd rolls under different conditions: unlimited, DMP, and at different match scores
See also eXtremeGammon under section 8 below – Analysis Software
Mochy’s Backgammon Today – http://blog.goo.ne.jp/mochy3_8
Blog by Masayuki Mochizuki, universally known as “Mochy”, Japanese professional and world no.1 player at the time of writing.
Timothy Chow’s Backgammon Pages – http://math.mit.edu/~tchow/fun.html
Much interesting material, including quizzes and rollouts of positions from some older backgammon books.
The Dorbel Daily – http://dorbeldaily.blogspot.co.uk/
Instructive and entertaining writings by Paul Money. The last entry was in 2013.
GammonU (previously GammOnLine) – www.gammonu.com/
An online magazine which was published by US expert Kit Woolsey for over three years until December 2003. Each monthly issue contains instructive articles, and all can be accessed for a one-off payment of $36. An online match is still played between Kit and the subscribers, with daily moves commented upon by Kit. The GammOnLine Discussion Board is mainly to debate moves in this match.
5. Tuition from the Best Players and Teachers in the UK
Meet the Instructors!


(Photos of instructors courtesy of David Startin)
The UKBGF has a close working relationship with the UK based backgammon tuition service Backgammon Workshop (BGWS). Launched in 2017, BGWS is owned and run by two of the best backgammon players and teachers in the UK:
- Julian Fetterlein is a BMAB Grandmaster who has won numerous tournaments both in the UK and internationally over many years. He is widely regarded as the best backgammon theoretician and teacher in the UK. He has delivered well-received seminars at most UK Open tournaments since this event began in 2014, and recordings of some of these seminars are available in the Members’ area of this website.
A full house for Julian Fetterlein’s 2019 UK Open Seminar (photo: David Startin) - Sebastian Wilkinson is also a BMAB Grandmaster and has been a professional player and teacher since 2015, during which time he has had numerous tournament successes. He has a natural ability to home in on the important features of a backgammon position, and makes learning fun as well as instructive for his students.
Visit the BGWS website to see the range of services on offer, including free content, private lessons, commentated matches, match reviews, video lessons and much more. Read testimonials from many students who have achieved great success following personal tuition tailored to their individual needs from BGWS instructors, enabling them to reach their full potential.
Some instructional material will be provided free by BGWS to all UKBGF members, including an annotated match between Julian Fetterlein and Jerry Grandell. UKBGF members will require a password to view this – email us at contact@ukbgf.com if you do not have one. For those UKBGF members who choose to take things further, a 10% discount will apply to all BGWS services (except video lessons).
If you don’t yet feel ready for formal tuition you can get a long way towards becoming a good player by reading the right backgammon books and playing against bots. Free basic tuition is often available at many of the venues listed on our Clubs page where all players, including complete beginners, are usually welcome. If you are a beginner it is a good idea to contact the club organiser in advance to make sure that there will be someone available to help you when you first visit the club.
6. Recorded Matches
The UKBGF has its own twitch tv channel where streamed matches can be viewed live. Matches going back to the 2015 UK Open, including those streamed and recorded at UKBGF affiliated tournaments, are publicly available and can be viewed again on the UKBGF YouTube channel. Many recorded matches from online events during the Covid-19 pandemic, some including expert commentary, can be found under on the UKBGF Facebook page under Videos.
2014 UK Open
XG files are available for download here for the following matches:
UK v Japan Individual Challenge matches
UK v Japan Team Consulting match
Championship Final, Jason Pack v Martin Birkhahn
Intermediate Final, Yan Kit Chan v Andreas Sophocleous
Intermediate Semi-final, Yan Kit Chan v Donna Sherred
Other Match Files
XG files of many matches played at UK Open tournaments from 2015 onwards, as well as many others from the UK and overseas are available for UKBGF members to download from the members area.
Featured Matches
Raj Jansari v Michael Nielsen, Munkebjerg Championships, February 2015.
Blog Post | XG Match File
Backgammon Studio – www.backgammonstudio.com/
An online database of thousands of recorded matches and millions of positions which are searchable (see also Section 2 – Learning and Reference)
Masanori Itikawa’s Database of BG Matches – http://itikawa.com/kifdb/herodb.cgi?table=bg
A freely available online database of recorded matches from live backgammon tournaments
7. Forums
A number of active forums exist where players can discuss the game and ask questions. Some of these sites also offer online play.
BGOnline – www.bgonline.org/forums
This site includes the forum where many of the world’s best backgammon players discuss the game. Many of these players are happy to answer questions and share their knowledge.
DailyGammon – www.dailygammon.com
Once you are a member and have logged in, the ‘Discussion’ tab on the Top Page takes you to two lively forums: ‘General’ and ‘Politics’. The General forum is mostly backgammon related.
FIBS Board – www.fibsboard.com
Claims to be “the biggest free backgammon community forum (now from well over 165 countries)”
Rec.Games.Backgammon – groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/rec.games.backgammon
A forum with much detailed discussion of backgammon problems and positions
Backgammon Forum Archive – http://www.bkgm.com/archive.html
A good place to look before posting your question to see if it has been asked before
8. Merchandise
Geoffrey Parker Games Ltd – www.geoffreyparker.com
This British manufacturer of high quality backgammon boards (and other games) sponsors the UK Open as well as other tournaments both in the UK and overseas. GP Games make the boards used in the finals of The World Championships, The Nordic, The US Open and our own UK Open amongst others.
Erhan 869BG Backgammon Boards – www.869bg-backgammon-boards.co.uk
These are good value boards made in Turkey and supplied via the UK agent, Tim Line.
Bone Club – www.boneclub.co.uk/
This British producer offers a range of inexpensive boards in a variety of colours and designs.
P-40 Backgammon – https://p40bg.com/
Good quality and durable boards in an anodised aluminium case, from the USA
Gammoner Boards
Manufacturers in Germany of “First Class Backgammon Equipment”, owned and played on by many of the worlds best players.
New UKBGF member benefit…5% discount off any board order!
www.gammoner.us
www.gammoner.de
KATGAMMON – https://katgammon.com/
Supplier of a wide range of backgammon-related merchandise including dice boxes, dice cups, precision dice, baffle boxes, scoreboards, roll-up boards, clothing, mugs and much more.
New UKBGF member benefit…10% discount off any order!
Backgammon and Board Games Shop – www.bgshop.com
Chris Ternel’s UK based company supplies all things relating to backgammon, including boards, dice, clocks and books.
Backgammon a la Carte – http://flintbg.org/boutique.html
Based in Flint, Michigan and run by Carol Joy Cole (CJC) for many years, Backgammon a la Carte is the major supplier of backgammon merchandise in the USA. Goods are also shipped to the UK.
9. Books
Comprehensive book reviews can be found on several sites, including Backgammon Galore, BG online, and Hardy’s Backgammon Pages.
Several new backgammon books appear every year. There are also numerous older books still in print or available second hand through specialist suppliers or on eBay. Some are excellent, many are mediocre, and some are very bad. Most books published in the pre-bot era (prior to the late 90s) contain many errors, and in general should be avoided by beginners and intermediates. One notable exception is ‘Backgammon’ by Paul Magriel, originally published in 1976. Essential backgammon concepts are explained with such clarity and simplicity that the work is often referred to as the ‘Backgammon Bible’. It does, nevertheless, contain many errors.
The World No.2 player from Japan Michihito Kageyama (“Michy”), in collaboration with UK player Roland Herrera, is producing a series of books called ‘Backgammon Odyssey’. There are so far two books in this excellent series:
#1 Opening Concepts published in 2017 is an excellent strategy guide for the opening phase of the game. Aimed primarily at intermediate players, it also contains much valuable material for players at every level and is priced at £40.
#2 Endgame Technique published in 2019 covers (as the title implies) the latter phases of the game, including holding games and those in which the opponent is closed out or has a deep anchor in your board. Intermediates are again the main target audience, but this book is also essential reading for all serious players and is priced at £40.
Visit Michy’s website for more information, for reviews of the books, to order copies, and for announcements about possible further books in the series. A few copies of Endgame Technique are available for purchase – preferably by arrangement at a tournament. Email contact@ukbgf.com for details.
10. Analysis Software
Universally referred to as ‘bots’ – an abbreviation of ‘robots’ – the following are the most commonly used backgammon-playing computer programs.
eXtreme Gammon – www.extremegammon.com
eXtreme Gammon (or XG) Version 2 is acknowledged to be the strongest commercially available backgammon program which is indispensible for serious students of the game. One permanent activation normally costs US$60 but UKBGF members can purchase their first XG activation at a 20% discount, or for the GBP equivalent of US$48. Please email contact@ukbgf.com for details. If you need a further XG activation to use on a different computer these are already discounted by 50% and must be purchased direct from eXtreme Gammon.
XG Mobile – www.xg-mobile.com
Portable version of eXtreme Gammon for mobiles and tablets. The standard App is free; the Premium version with better features costs US$9.95.
GNU Backgammon – gnubg.org
Probably the strongest free program
Backgammon Snowie – www.bgsnowie.com
Once the world leader, Snowie has not been upgraded for several years and can no longer be recommended.
11. Videos
There are a huge number of backgammon videos on the web, many of them freely available, including instructional material, documentaries and, of course, backgammon matches recorded in real time. A YouTube search will yield numerous results. The UKBGF has its own YouTube channel containing recordings of streamed matches. Many recorded matches from online events during the Covid-19 pandemic, some including expert commentary, can be found under on the UKBGF Facebook page under Videos.
Many entertaining and instructional videos were produced by World Series of Backgammon (WSOB) which can be found at https://vimeo.com/10388147
12. National and International Federations and Associations
For UK Backgammon Clubs and Societies see the Clubs page on this website.
The following list is by no means exhaustive: many other countries have national backgammon organisations. Please email us if you wish to be listed: contact@ukbgf.com.
UKBGF – The United Kingdom Backgammon Federation which owns and operates this website, as well as maintaining a presence on Facebook and Twitter.
BIBA – The British Isles Backgammon Association – backgammon-biba.co.uk
See Clubs page, National Tournament Series.
WBGF/EUBGF – Formally the European Backgammon Federation – the website is still eubgf.eu – this organisation is now known as the World Backgammon Federation. It is an administrative body comprising representatives from (mainly) European backgammon federations including the UKBGF, which aims to unite all the national federations, co-ordinate international team events, and harmonise rules.
WBIF – World Backgammon Internet Federation, formerly European Backgammon Internet Federation – www.ebif.at
A body which organises online tournaments for individuals and national teams
BMAB – Backgammon Masters Awarding Body – http://bgmastersab.com/Resources.html
An International Body which awards Mastership titles to players who achieve the required level of play in a series of recorded matches which are subsequently analysed by eXtremeGammon.
CNB – The Italian Backgammon Circuit – www.cnbackgammon.eu
The CNB organises tournaments around Italy.
DBgF – The Danish Backgammon Federation – www.dbgf.dk
The DBgF hosts the Nordic Open – probably the largest backgammon tournament in the world – every Easter, usually in Copenhagen.
USBGF – The US Backgammon Federation – usbgf.org
A membership based community of players not just in the US, but worldwide. The USBGF produces the high quality online and printed magazine, PrimeTime, and has a presence on Facebook.
JBL – The Japanese Backgammon Association – backgammon.gr.jp
ABF – The Australian Backgammon Federation – ausbgf.org.au
Also on Facebook
WBF – The Worldwide Backgammon Federation – http://www.wbf.net
Founded in 1986, the WBF under Marco Fornasir organises tournaments in European countries including Italy, Turkey, Cyprus, Bulgaria, Georgia and Austria. Not to be confused with the World Backgammon Federation (WBGF – see above).
WBA – The World Backgammon Association – http://www.world-backgammon-association.com/
Founded in 2001 by Chiva Tafazzoli. Tournament venues are currently in Germany, Austria and Portugal.
13. Diversity and Disability
See our guidance notes on the next page.
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