Jacquet is a variation of backgammon that was once popular in France and other European countries.
Setting Up the Jacquet Board
Each player begins with fifteen checkers positioned on the rightmost point of their side of the board, placed at diagonally opposite corners. Players move their checkers in a counterclockwise direction around the board.
Objective of the Game
The goal of Jacquet is to move all your checkers around the board to your finishing table and bear them off. The first player to bear off all their checkers wins the game.
How to Play Jacquet
Starting the Game: Each player rolls one die, and the player with the higher roll goes first. This player then rolls the dice again to begin their first turn.
Movement: The numbers on the dice determine how many points, or pips, a player can move their checkers. The following rules apply:
- A checker can only be moved to an open point, which is a point not occupied by two or more opposing checkers.
- The numbers on the two dice represent separate moves. For instance, if you roll 5 and 3, you can either move one checker five spaces and another checker three spaces to open points, or move a single checker a total of eight spaces to an open point, provided that the intermediate points (either three or five spaces from the starting point) are also open.
- Doubles allow you to play each number twice. For example, rolling 3-3 gives you four moves of 3 spaces each.
If you cannot play all the numbers rolled, you must play as many as possible, and any unplayable numbers are forfeited.
The Courier: One checker, known as the courier, must be played first. No other checker can be moved until the courier has reached its finishing table.
Hitting: A checker sitting alone on a point is called a blot. If an opposing checker lands on a blot, the blot is hit and placed on the bar.
Entering from the Bar: If you have checkers on the bar, your first priority is to re-enter them into your starting table. You re-enter a checker by moving it to an open point corresponding to one of the rolled dice numbers. If you can re-enter some but not all of your checkers, you must re-enter as many as possible and then end your turn.
Movement Limits: The following restrictions apply to checker movement:
- You can close no more than two points in your starting table.
- You can place a maximum of two checkers on your midpoint, which is the left-most point on the far side of the board.
Bearing Off: Once all fifteen of your checkers are on your finishing table, you can begin bearing off. To bear off a checker, you must roll a number equal to or greater than the point number of your farthest back checker. If you roll a number too low to bear off your farthest back checker, you must use that roll to move a checker forward (if possible).
Black cannot bear off from the three-point or the two-point because there are still checkers on the four-point.
Avoid wasting pips when bearing off. Always bear off a checker if possible, rather than using a smaller number to move it forward.
Black must use the 5 to bear off the checker on the three-point, rather than playing the 2 first, to avoid wasting pips.
If a checker is hit during the bearing-off process, it must be re-entered into the starting table and moved around the board to the finishing table before you can resume bearing off.
Scoring: The first player to bear off all their checkers wins and scores one point. A player wins marcia (2 points) if they bear off all their checkers before their opponent has borne off any. The player wins marcia per punto (3 points) if they achieve marcia without ever constructing a prime (six consecutive points with two or more checkers).
Modern Rules: Philippe Lalanne describes modern Jacquet rules that differ significantly from the ones presented here. According to Philippe: "The rules I provide are the ones used when I was a child. At that time, Jacquet was the most popular tables game in France. I believe this is the best way to play. The original rules date back to the early nineteenth century."
Reference
H. J. R. Murray: A History of Board-Games other than Chess; Oxford University Press, Oxford, England; 1951 (pages 126-127).