Multi-Gam

1. Equipment

• The Board: A quarter backgammon board consisting of 6 points (numbered 1 to 6).
• The Goal: There is an OFF area (beyond Point 6) and a BAR area (Point 0).
• The Pieces: 4 Players. Each player has 5 Checkers.
• The Dice: 2 standard six-sided dice.

2. Setup

• All 20 checkers (5 per player) begin on the BAR.
• Players are designated Player 0, 1, 2, and 3. Play proceeds clockwise.

3. Object of the Game

• Move all 5 of your checkers from the BAR, through points 1–6, to the OFF area.
• The game continues until 3 players have finished.
• Scoring (Reverse Prime):
  • 1st Place: 5 Points
  • 2nd Place: 3 Points
  • 3rd Place: 2 Points
  • 4th Place: 1 Point

4. Starting the Game (The High/Low Split)

• All players roll one die.
• The player with the highest roll goes first.
  • Tie-breaker: If there is a tie for highest, only the tied players re-roll.
• The First Turn: The starting player does not roll two fresh dice. Instead, their roll consists of:
  1. The Highest die (the one they won with).
  2. The Lowest die currently visible on the table (from the losing players).
  • Note: This guarantees no doubles on the first turn.

5. Movement

• On their turn, a player rolls two dice.
• Each die constitutes a separate move. You may use them on the same checker or different checkers.
• Doubles: If you roll doubles (e.g., 3-3), you play the number four times.
• Direction: All players move in the same direction: Bar → 1 → 2 → 3 → 4 → 5 → 6 → OFF.

6. Legal Moves & Blocking

• A checker may move to a point corresponding to the die roll (Current Point + Die).
• The Prime Rule (Blocking): You cannot land on a point occupied by 2 or more opponent checkers (a “Prime”).
  • Note: Primes are owned by a specific opponent. You cannot co-habit a point with an enemy.
• Friendly Stacking: You may stack as many of your own checkers on a point as you wish.

7. Hitting (The Bowling Ball Rule)

• The Blot: A point occupied by exactly 1 opponent checker is called a “Blot.”
• The Hit: If you land on an opponent’s Blot:
  1. The opponent’s checker is sent immediately to the BAR.
  2. Your checker occupies the point.
• Note: Hitting is mandatory if it is the only legal move, but otherwise optional if other moves exist.

8. The Bar (Jail)

• If you have checkers on the Bar, you must attempt to enter them onto the board (Points 1–6).
• The “Loose Bar” Rule: Unlike standard backgammon, you are NOT required to clear your Bar before moving other pieces.
  • If you roll a 6 and a 1: You may use the 1 to enter from the Bar, and then use the 6 to move that same checker (or another checker) further.
  • This enables the “Snipe”: Enter on Point 6 -> Move to OFF in a single turn.

9. Bearing Off

• You may bear off a checker if you roll a number that lands it exactly in the OFF area (Point 7).
• Overshoot Rule: You may use a die roll higher than necessary to bear off (e.g., rolling a 6 to clear Point 5) ONLY IF you have no other checkers further away from the exit (on lower-numbered points or the Bar).
• You do not need to clear your Bar before bearing off other pieces.

10. Game End

• As soon as a player bears off all 5 checkers, they are locked into their finishing rank.
  • Their remaining turns are skipped.
• The game ends when the 3rd player finishes. The remaining player automatically takes 4th place.

Mini-Gam

MINIGAM — RULES

Equipment

A quarter backgammon board (6 points per side) and 2 dice.

Each player has 8 checkers and a bar.

Players move in opposite directions. For one player, the points are numbered 1 → 6; for the other, 6 → 1.

Setup

All 8 checkers for each player begin on that player’s bar.

Object of the Game

Bear off all 8 checkers.

Starting the Game

Each player rolls 1 die. If it’s a tie, roll again. The player with the higher roll goes first, using the dice that were rolled.

Doubles are therefore excluded as an opening move.

Movement

On their turn a player rolls two dice.

Each die is a separate move. A player may move one checker twice (in the chosen die order) or move two different checkers.

Doubles count as double the moves. The player must play as many of the four moves as is legally possible. For example, a roll of 3, 3 would allow 4 moves of 3, 3, 3, 3

Entering from the Bar

A checker on the bar may enter using a die that corresponds to an open point in that player’s entry direction.

A checker enters onto the point that matches a die, counted from that player’s entry side.

Entry is allowed only onto an open point (empty or containing a single opposing checker).

A checker cannot enter onto an opponent’s made point (a point with two or more opposing checkers).

Entering onto an opposing blot hits it and places it on the opponent’s bar.

Movement and Hitting

Landing on an opposing blot sends it to the opponent’s bar.

A made point is any point with two or more of a player’s checkers; opponents may not enter onto or land on it.

Forced Moves

If a player can make moves for both dice, they must do so. If only one number can be played, the player must play that number. If either number can be played but not both, the larger number must be played.

If neither die can be played, the turn ends with no move.

Bearing Off

A player may not bear off any checker until all 8 of that player’s checkers are on the board (none on the bar).

A checker may always bear off with an exact roll matching the distance from its point to the exit.

A checker may bear off using a die roll larger than the distance to the exit only if there are no checkers on points further from the exit. For example, point 4 could bear off with a 5 if it’s the highest point. It could not bear off if there was a checker on point 6.

A checker may enter from the bar and bear off in the same turn if both moves are legal.

Winning

The first player to bear off all 8 checkers wins.