Games article

Although
the Doubling Cube is unknown to most of the backgammon casual players
it is an essential tool in advanced backgammon strategies and in money matches and tournaments.

This cube is designated for raising the stakes of the match and its introduction to the backgammon world is one of the main reasons for the rise of popularity of backgammon.

The cube has 6 faces and the numbers written on it- 2
4
8
16
32
64
the beginning of the match
the doubling cube is placed beside the board or on the Bar between the players.

Any player
who feels at any stage of the match
that he is leading sufficiently in the match
before throwing his dice
may suggest to double the stakes by placing the doubling cube with the number 2 facing up.

For example player A decided to raise the stakes.

Player B
his opponent
the player the offer is given to
after reviewing his situation
has two options:

He may refuse the offer and thus lose the game and one unit.

He may agree to double the stakes
and in this case the match continues with higher stakes.

Player B
who agreed to the offer
is now the owner of the doubling cube
meaning only him (player B) has the option to double the stakes again at any stage of the game.

If player B decides to do so
he has to do it on his turn before throwing his dice.

Now he takes the dice and places it so that the number 4 is facing up.

Player A
has now the same two options
only this time if he declines the offer he will lose two units
and if he agrees the stakes will rise to 4 times the original and the doubling cube returns to his control.

The cube can pass from player to player
each time raising the stakes.


The Crawford rule-

If you are playing a game until N- points
and your opponent is leading and reaches N-1 points
meaning he is short one point from winning the game
you are not allowed to use the Doubling cube in the following game
however
you can use the dice in the following matches if the game continues.

The reason is the weaker player will always want to raise the stakes because he has nothing to lose anymore and we want keep the use of the dice in fairness of both sides.


The Jacoby rule-

This rule is used in money games and never in match games. It decides that a backgammon or gammon may not be scored as such only if the cube has been passed and accepted. The reason behind this rule is speeding up.



The Holland rule-

The Holland rule is used in match games and decides that in post-Crawford games
the trailer can only double after both sides have played two rolls. The rule makes the free drop more valuable to the leading player but generally just confuses the issue.

Unlike the Crawford rule
this rule isn't popular
and is rarely used today.

The beavers
raccoons
otters and any other animals in the backgammon game-

These animals appear only
if wanted by both sides
in money games and never in match games.

If player A
doubles the stakes
and player B believes A is wrong and he (player B) has the advantage
B can double the stakes and keep the doubling cube on his side. For example
if A makes the initial double and puts the doubling cube on 2
B can say "Beaver"
turn the cube to 4 and keep the cube at his side. If A believes B is wrong he can say "Raccoon" and turn the cube to 8. All this time
B remains the owner of the doubling cube. If B wishes to raise the stakes once more
he only needs to say another silly name (the animal's name is a controversy among players) and so on.



The Chouette-

Chouette is a version of backgammon for more than 2 players. One of the players is the "Box" and plays against the rest of the group on a single board.

Another player is the "Captain" of the group
who throws the dice and makes the moves for the group playing against the box.

If the Box wins
the Captain goes to the back of the line and the next player becomes the Captain of the team. If the Captain wins
he becomes the new Box
and the old Box goes to the end of the line.

The rules regarding the ability of the group to consult with the Captain changes from

version to version. In some versions of the Chouette the group can freely give advice to the Captain
and in other versions
consulting is strictly forbidden.

The compromised version is the most popular- consulting is legitimate only after the dice have been thrown.

Originally
Chouette was played with a single die .The only decisions that players other than the Captain were allowed to make on their own was concerning the takes: If the Box had doubled
each player on the team could take or drop independently. Today
a multiple-cube Chouette is more popular; each player on the team has his own cube
and all doubling
dropping
and taking decisions are made independently by all players.