Backgammon Dictionary

To move past the last of the opponent's checkers, so that no further hitting or blocking is possible. The game becomes a pure race.

To open one or more points (2) in your home board after having made your board.

An incomplete prime with a gap in it.

A chess clock with a feature that allows a time delay with each move.   See also: Fischer Clock.

A checker brought into your outer board where it bears directly onto one or more key points that you want to make.

To make points in your home board.

Hit a checker.

Pick and pass.

Pick and pass.

To play a checker deep within your home board where it has no value.

A backgame attempt that fell apart when the backgame player was forced to move checkers deep into his home board where they could no longer contain a hit checker.

To safety a blot by bringing it together with another checker.

[As in "go by".]  The position of a player in a tournament who advances to the next round without playing a match. Byes are often randomly awarded in the first round of an elimination tournament to make the number of players in the second round an exact power of 2.

Acronym of "bring your own board," sometimes used in announcement of live tournaments.

A lottery of entrants in a backgammon tournament. At the start of the tournament, players are auctioned off and the proceeds go into a pool to be distributed later to the buyers of the successful players. Sometimes players are grouped into fields, with each field sold as a package. The rules usually allow a player to buy back a portion of himself if he wants to increase his stake in the tournament. See posts by Toni Wuersch and Chuck Bower.

An optional rule that says the winner of the opening roll has the option of rerolling both dice if he also turns the cube to 2. (The cube remains in the center.) See post by Peter Anderson.

A position in which a player's checkers are piled high on a few points (1).

In a chouette, the leader of the team playing against the box. He rolls the dice and makes the final decisions for the team.

To offer a double which you believe will be refused so you can collect the current value of the cube; claim a game.

To throw a pair of dice.