Backgammon Glossary
A comprehensive guide to the terminology of this classic game.
- P -
Pass
Refuse to accept a double.
Pick and Pass
To hit an opponent's blots and then continue to land upon one of your own points.
Pip
A dot on a die. Also the distance between points expressed as a unit. e.g. The distance from the 24 point to the 13 point (Mid Point) is 11 pips.
Pip Count
The total number of points (or pips) that a player must move his men to bring them home and bear them off. The pip count is made by multiplying the point number by the men upon it and adding together all the men around the board. e.g. One man on the 13-point = 13 pips, 5 men on the 6-point = 30 pips, total pip count = 43 pips.
Play
The movement of men in accordance with the dice roll.
Point
One of the twenty-four narrow triangles, twelve on each side of a backgammon board, where the players' men sit. The points are numbered for each player 1 to 12 across the near side of the board and 13 to 24 in the other direction across the far side of the board. Either player's one point is the other player's twenty-four point.
Point on a Blot
Hitting an opponent's blot with two men at once.
Pressure
To directly threaten an opponent's builder or blot forcing them to move it, make the point or be hit.
Prime
Two or more consecutive blocks, which restrict an opponent's men. Ideally primes should be 4-, 5- or 6 blocks.
Prop (or Proposition)
A prearranged position played several times, usually for money, as a means of settling a dispute over which man play or cube action is best.
Pure Play
Playing in such a way as to make a prime using builders and slotting.
Pure Race
(see Break Contact)
- Q -
Quadrant
One quarter of the playing area on a backgammon board.
- R -
Raccoon
An immediate re-double by the player who just accepted a beaver.
Race
A stage in the game where there is no longer any contact between opposing men and both players are racing to the finish.
Rail
(see Bar)
Re-circulate
Purposely leaving blots to be hit and thus to re-enter the game to gain timing and to preserve points.
Re-cube Vig (or Re-cube Vigorish)
The value of cube ownership to the player being offered a double.
Re-double
A second or subsequent turn of the doubling cube.
Re-enter
Moving a man from the bar to a point in an opponent's home board according to the dice roll.
Reference Position
A position of known value used as a guide in assessing the value of similar positions.
Refuse a Double
To resign a game at the current stakes rather than continue to play at twice the stakes, after the opponent offers a double.
Return Shot
A hit an opponent will have on his next roll after being hit.
Roll a Double
Both dice on the same number. In backgammon this double roll is moved four times instead of the normal two for non-double rolls.
Roll Out
To analyze a position by repeatedly playing it to a later point in the game using different dice rolls. To estimate the equity of a position by playing to completion the same position many times using different random dice rolls and averaging the results (often using a computer). Such an estimate is called a roll out.
Rolling Prime
Move a prime forward by using men from the rear.
Root Number
A particular roll of the dice which causes a position to crunch.
Run
Move your last man from an opponent's home board.
Runner
The farthest man from home; usually in an opponent's home board or on the bar.
Running Game
A stage in the game where there is no longer any contact between opposing men and both players are racing to the finish. (see Race)
- Michael Crane
