Backgammon Playing Essentials

There are five items that fall under backgammon playing essentials. These are a board, checkers, dice, dice cup, and doubling cube. While most of us can do without the last two accessories when we're in for a casual game, all five backgammon items are necessary to get a serious match under way.

The backgammon board comes in many sizes which can be made of plastic, wood or even aluminum. What's invariable is that it has 24 narrow triangles and a raised bar in the center. Each player's respective board is the side that's closest to them, when seated, with 12 points each. The players' board is divided into their home/inner and outer board by the middle bar.

The second item in backgammon playing essentials is checkers. There must be 30 backgammon checkers in all - that's two sets of 15 checkers with the same color. Each player is assigned a set of them to control. Backgammon checkers are also known as pieces, counters, or stones.

A pair or two pairs of dice is the next backgammon item on the list. Players roll a pair of dice to determine the number of pips they can move on the backgammon board. They may use one pair and take turns but it's always better if each player gets their own pair to throw in a game.

A dice cup is used for shaking then casting dice. Again, players may share a dice cup but it's always convenient if each of them can use a dice cup of their own. This item assures that numbers at the cast of the dice are random and that there's no dice manipulation going on.

The last backgammon item in the list is a doubling cube. This is a bit larger in size than a regular die and it has the numbers two, four, eight, 16, 32, and 64 on its sides. It's used so that players won't forget the current game stakes. It's initially set on the bar at 64 to signify that the stakes are at one. It's turned consecutively to two then four and so on, every time it's offered and accepted. Also, it's placed close to the last person who accepted it thereby making that person its owner who has the right to offer it to their opponent.

Backgammon playing essentials come down to five items - the board, checkers, dice, dice cup and doubling cube. The backgammon board is the game area and the rest are the players' accessories. Keep these items handy and you can be sure to have a good game every time you play backgammon.