Tables: backgammon against the computer in Games by Zaweba

Backgammon is one of the oldest board games still played, and its traditional English name is tables. Games by Zaweba uses that name for its version: a wooden board, fifteen white checkers for you, fifteen black ones for the computer, and two dice. The aim is to race all your checkers into your home board and bear them off before your opponent does.

It looks complicated the first time you see it, with its long pointed triangles and stacks of checkers. It settles down quickly once you know the handful of rules that matter.

Moving your checkers

Your white checkers travel anticlockwise round the board towards your home board, which is the bottom right quarter. At the start of your turn you roll two dice, by clicking Roll or pressing Space or R. Each die is a separate move: you might move one checker by both numbers, or two different checkers by one number each. Roll a double and you play that number four times, which can be a big swing.

To move, click a checker and then click one of the glowing points. The glow shows where that checker can legally go with the dice you have left, so you are never left counting pips to check whether a move is allowed.

If you change your mind partway through, press U to undo this turn and start it again. That is worth using freely while you are learning.

Hitting and the bar

A point with just one checker on it is called a blot, and it is vulnerable. If your opponent lands on it, your lone checker is hit and goes on the bar in the middle of the board. Before you can move anything else, that checker must re-enter at the far side and begin its journey again. The same applies to the computer, so hitting one of its blots can set it back a long way.

This is where most of the decisions in Tables come from. Moving two checkers together to make a point keeps them safe, since a point with two or more checkers cannot be landed on. Leaving a blot can be worth it when it gets a checker moving, but think about which numbers would let the computer hit it.

Bearing off and scoring

Once all fifteen of your checkers are in your home board, you can start bearing them off, using the OFF tray. The first side to bear off all fifteen wins.

How much you win by depends on the state of the loser. If your opponent has borne off at least one checker, a win is a single game. If they have none off, that is a gammon and scores 2. A backgammon scores 3. Those bigger wins usually come from keeping the computer's checkers trapped while you race home.

Playing Tables well

Early on, aim to build points in and near your home board: they block the computer's checkers and give you safe landing spots. In the middle of the game, weigh up whether you are ahead in the race. If you are, avoid contact and run. If you are behind, hitting blots and holding a point deep in the computer's territory gives you chances.

When bearing off, try not to leave gaps that give the computer something to hit if it still has a checker behind you.

Tables sits on the Board games shelf of Games by Zaweba, next to the pure luck of Serpents & Ladders and the dice-free planning of Star Marbles. It keeps your plays and wins, so you can watch your record against the computer improve. Press Esc to pause and F1 for a reminder of the rules.