“S” Backgammon Terms

The arrangement of checkers at the start of a game. Each player has 2 checkers on the opponent's one-point, 5 checkers on the mid-point, 3 checkers on the eight-point, and 5 checkers on the six-point.

Remain in the opponent's home board.

Fail to enter from the bar.

Fail to enter from the bar.

[What happens when a player reaches the "boiling point."]  To play wildly, out of annoyance or impatience at one's bad luck. To lose one's emotional stability in a gambling context; in particular, to take bigger and bigger risks in an effort to recoup earlier losses.

One who steams.

Checker.

A progressive jackpot that allows players to enter at any level and cash out when they want. When you are ready to play, you sign up for a stop pot at some level. As soon as a second player is ready to play at that level, you play your match. Stop pots minimize the impact on the rest of the tournament because matches can be played whenever two players are available and the winner can cash out or continue playing depending on his obligations elsewhere.

The last lone checker heading for home.

Pure race.

The overall, long range plans for a game. The reasoning behind a play. See: Game Plan.  Compare: Tactics.

A position barren of spare checkers or builders and thus prone to awkward numbers; too many points.

To remove all but two checkers from a point (1).

A position barren of spare checkers or builders and thus prone to awkward numbers.

To deliberately make an illegal play or otherwise take an unfair advantage.

A home board with several made points.

A play which makes a strong point.

To purposely leave a blot to be hit so it can be recirculated. The idea is to improve your timing or shore up your defense in the opponent's home board. Also known as a Hara-Kiri play.

Swedish Backgammon Federation.   Website: www.sbgf.se.

A backgammon variant in which players can win by arranging their checkers into specific patterns within their home board.  See: How to Play Swedish Tables.