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The Compaignye has adopted a style of playing which involves the wagering of replica coin: fifteen pennies of worth (pennies, half groats, and groats) to be laid on the bar of the table per player. This is one penny per checker. The checkers are laid out according to the modern custom, that is to say, two on the 24-point, five on the 13-point, three on the 8-point, and five on the 6-point. Two dice are used, with the variation that doubles are taken normally, but without granting a second roll. This makes for a generally flatter game, as chance is not so large a factor. Gammons are uncommon, and double, triple, and quadruple gammons are very rare—in any case, as far as the wager is concerned, these distinctions are moot, as the loser pays only one penny per checker not bourne off. The average exchange of coin in a single game is anywhere from two to seven pennies per game, with losses of ten and up being considered a bit of a drubbing. This custom has worked well for many games.
Lorelei and I have been playing backgammon like fiends. She looked at websites and researched the game to the best of her ability, and we came to the conclusion that the game was played a variety of ways, all interesting and sometimes with differences to the modern manner of playing. Some variations we have tried are as follows:
Triple Dice (from the Manessa Codex): Three instead of two dice are used. There is no provision for doubles. Each dice is played as normal. We have found that this variation makes for a slightly faster game, provided that the players are sharp on the use of three dice instead of two. For novices, the game is slightly longer as they must factor in the ramifications of that third move. Because three instead of two moves per turn are available, blots which are “open” are in greater jeopardy, and the opportunity for covering is somewhat greater. Woe to the player who is behind when their opponent begins bearing off, because up to three checkers per turn can be bourne off.
Long Road Home (suggested by some illustrations) : All checkers are placed in the farthest board. The exact placement is moot. We have played where the 24, 23, and 22-point each have five, and we have played where the checkers are evenly distributed among the 24 through 19-point in a 2-3-2-3-2-3 format. Two or three dice are used, and the pieces move all the way around the board. The crisis point of the game is in the middle, as all of the pieces move past one another. We have found that this can be a most strenuous style of play, though the results of a checker being struck to the bar are mitigated by the fact that it is not very likely that there will be so many enemy pieces present to block the checker’s return to play.
Exact Roll Required (modern variation, source indeterminate) : In this style of play, placement of checkers in the initial set-up can be either normal or Long Road Home, but the exact roll is required to bear a checker off—for example to bear a checker off of the 4-point, a four is required on a die. This has the tendency to flatten the game and make margins of victory smaller.
In any case, these variants breathe life into an enduring and exciting game of chance and discipline.
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