Editing Backgammon (section)

{{Short description|Board and dice game for two players}}
{{other uses}}

{{Infobox game
| italic title = no
| title = Backgammon
| image_link = Backgammon lg.png
| image_caption = A backgammon set
| years = 1646 to present<ref name=Fiske>Fiske (1905), p. 159.</ref>
| genre = {{cslist|[[Board game]]|[[tables game]]|[[race game]]|[[dice game]]}}
| players = 2
| setup_time = 10–30 seconds
| playing_time = 5–60 minutes
| movement = [[Contrary (tables game)|Contrary]]
| random_chance = Medium ([[dice]] rolling)
| ages = 5+
| skills = {{cslist|[[Strategy game|Strategy]]|[[Tactic (method)|tactics]]|[[counting]]|[[probability]]}}
| related = [[Irish (game)|Irish]], [[Nard (game)|Nard]]
| footnotes = Origin: 17th-century England<br/>Descended from: [[Irish (game)|Irish]]
}}

'''Backgammon''' is a two-player [[board game]] played with counters and dice on [[tables board]]s.<!-- "tables" is correct here, not "table" --> It is the most widespread Western member of the large family of [[tables game]]s, whose ancestors date back at least 1,600 years. The earliest record of backgammon itself dates to 17th-century England, being descended from the 16th-century [[Irish (game)|game of Irish]].<ref name=Cram>Forgeng, Johnson and Cram (2003), p. 269.</ref>

Backgammon is a two-player game of [[contrary movement]] in which each player has fifteen [[piece (tables game)|pieces]] known traditionally as men (short for "tablemen"), but increasingly known as "checkers" in the United States in recent decades.{{Citation needed|date=March 2025}} The backgammon table pieces move along twenty-four "[[point (tables game)|points]]" according to the roll of two [[dice]]. The objective of the game is to move the fifteen pieces around the board and be first to ''[[bear off]]'', i.e., remove them from the board. The achievement of this while the opponent is still a long way behind results in a triple win known as a ''backgammon'', hence the name of the game.

Backgammon involves a combination of strategy and luck from rolling dice. While the dice may determine the outcome of a single game, the better player will accumulate the better record over a series of many games. With each roll of the dice, players must choose from numerous options for moving their pieces and anticipate possible counter-moves by the opponent. The optional use of a doubling cube allows players to raise the stakes during the game.