Home of the Underdogs

http://www.the-underdogs.org/
Beginning - Each player rolls one die; the player with the higher number
LOADING INSTRUCTIONS moves first, using the number on these two dice for this move. Ties are re-rolled.
After this first throw, players alternate turns, using their own pair of dice. Each
1. Insert a DOS (2.0 or higher) disk into Drive A, close the disk drive door, and turn on
turn consists of one roll of two dice and the moving of pieces along the board the
the computer. number of points corresponding to the value of the dice. Players move around the
2. Insert the CHAMPIONSHIP BACKGAMMON™ disk in Drive A, type GAMMON
board in opposite directions toward their respective home boards. Pieces may not
and press RETURN.
NOTE: Some monitors may not display the color screen clearly. In this case, follow the be moved backwards.
above instructions, but instead of the word "GAMMON", type MONO-BG. This will
display the game in monochrome. Playing - The player moves one piece for the number on one die, and another
piece for the number on another die; alternately, one piece may be advanced twice
RULES OF BACKGAMMON using both dice. If both dice show the same number (doubles), that number is
moved four times. So, with a roll of 3-3, the player has to make four moves of
Object of Game - Backgammon is an exciting game of strategy designed for 3 points each. One piece or any combination of up to four pieces may be
two players. The play consists of moving the pieces toward and into the home advanced with this roll.
board and then taking the pieces off. The first player to remove all his pieces A player cannot pass a turn and must use the entire roll if it can be legally played.
wins the game. Either die may be played first, but if only one die can be played, and there is a
The Board - The board has 24 triangles called points, numbered in choice, then the higher-numbered die must be used.
Championship Backgammon™ from 01 to 24. The player's home board consists
of point 01 to 06 and the computer's home points are 19 to 24. The strip dividing Moving - Only pieces of one color may occupy the same point. A piece may
the playing board is called the bar and it is not counted as a point. Both players be moved to a point where there are no other pieces, or it may land on a point
start with 15 matching pieces and a pair of dice. having other matching pieces. A player may have any number of his own pieces
on one point. Pieces may also be moved to a point containing one opposite
Starting Position piece (a blot). That piece is then considered "hit" and placed on the bar.
A player may not move to a point having two or more of the opponent's pieces
(blocked point). A player's piece may move past points blocked by the opponent,
but may not stop, even in passing, on such a point when using both dice to move
one piece.
A piece on the bar must be re-entered before any other move can be made. It is
put back into play in the opponent's home board. The dice determine on which
points the player may attempt to enter. For example, with a roll of 3-1, the
player may land on the first point (the 24 point) or the third point (the 22 point)
in the computer's home board. In the example to follow, the 24 point is occupied
by 2 of the computer's pieces, so re-entry is not possible. However, the 22 point
is open, and therefore, you would be able to re-enter your piece here and continue
the game. If points are blocked and re-entering is not possible, the player loses
his turn.
 A player rolls a 3-1, in hopes of re-entering the board... A player with 4 pieces left, ready to bear-off, rolls a 5-5...

Doubling - The doubling cube indicates the number of points being played for
and is used to raise the stakes of the game. When the game begins, the doubling
cube has a value of one and is displayed midway between the players on the right
side of the board (left side on the monochrome version). If a player feels he has an
advantage during the game, he can double the stakes by turning the cube before he
rolls, offering it to his opponent. The opponent may refuse (drop) the offer of the
Bearing Off - When a player has all of his pieces in his home board, he may cube and thereby concede the game, which would be worth the number of points
start to bear off (take off pieces). One piece may be removed from each point shown on the cube before the double was made. On the other hand, he may
corresponding to the number rolled. With a roll of doubles, up to four pieces can choose to accept the cube, thereby doubling the number of points being played for
be taken off in one turn. If the player rolls a number higher than the points any and taking possession of the cube on his side of the board. Only the player who
of his remaining pieces are on, the piece on the next highest point may be taken owns the cube has the right to re-double. Either player may offer the first double.
off. For example, if a player has four pieces left, one each on the 01, 02, 03 and The game may therefore end in one of two ways: either by being played to its
06 points and rolls a 5-5, as shown in the following diagram, the piece on the 06 natural conclusion or having the doubling cube offered and refused.
point would have to be played on the 01 point and then 3 pieces could be taken off Scoring - A game may be worth 1, 2, or 3 points. A score of 1 point is given
(1 from the 03 point, 1 from the 02 point, and one from the 01 point). While to the winner of a standard game. However, if a player wins before his opponent
bearing off, if a player's piece is hit by the opponent, that player cannot continue bears off any pieces, he wins a "gammon" worth 2 points. If, in addition to
to bear off until all his remaining pieces are again on his home board. The first having borne off no pieces, the opponent has one or more pieces on the bar or in
player to bear off all his pieces wins the game. the winner's home board, he loses a "backgammon" worth 3 points. The score is
multiplied by the current value of the doubling cube to determine the total number
of points won in each game.
Match Play - A method of scoring used in tournaments. The first player in a At the end of your turn, the program asks "READY?" This gives you the
series of games whose total score reaches or exceeds a specified number of points opportunity to change your move. Type Y for Yes if you are satisfied with your
wins the match. The Crawford Rule says that, " when a player is within one move (for your convenience, you can press either the SPACE BAR or ENTER
point of winning a match, no doubling is allowed for one game." key instead). Or, type N for No and your pieces will be put back so you can
replay the roll.
HOW TO PLAY CHAMPIONSHIP BACKGAMMON Take Back a Move- Type T to take back your move anytime during your
turn.
The Board Advice- Type A to get the computer's advice on how to play your roll. You
Your playing pieces and dice are white. The computer's are black. Points are always get the computer's best suggestion, regardless of the level at which you are
numbered from 01 to 24 on the screen. You move your pieces from playing. In fact, this is the move the computer would make in your position.
high-numbered points to low-numbered points; toward your "home" board in the Doubling- To double or redouble, type D when prompted. Press the SPACE
lower left quadrant. Dice rolls are randomly generated, and either die may be BAR to roll the dice.
played first. Score- To display the score, simply type S.
Pip Count- To display the pip count for both sides, type P. The pip count is
How to Move the total number of points (sometimes called pips) each player would have to
When prompted "FROM--", type the 2-digit number corresponding to the point move in order to bear off all of his pieces. The player with the lower pip count is
from which you want to move. For points numbered less than 10, use a leading leading in the race.
zero: 01, 02, 03, etc. It is not necessary to hit the ENTER key. Or, if you Bearing Off- Bear off (take off pieces) by typing 00 in response to the "TO-"
prefer, you can strike 1, 2, 3, etc. and then the ENTER key. prompt.
At the prompt "TO-", type in the number of the position to which you want to Quit During Game- Type Q during your turn to begin a new game or exit to
move. Each die number must be used individually, i.e. with a roll of 3-2, move DOS.
first from 13 to 10, and then 10 to 08, rather than 13 to 08 in one jump. Help- Type H to review the keys you may use during the game.

Options
The following options have been preset (the default settings). You may change
A player rolls a 3-2, and wishes to move from point 13 to 8... any of them by using the Options Menu.
24 23 22 21 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13
1. Choose the level of difficulty - Five levels of increasing difficulty are
available. Level 5 is the most challenging. All computer moves are made
within a few seconds, regardless of the level you have chosen (default level is
5).
2. Use doubling cube - you may choose to play a game in which neither side
can double (default is with doubling).
3. Turn off the sound effects (default is onX
4. Speed of game - pieces normally blink while moving, making it easy to
follow the move in progress. For a faster game, you may choose the No
Blink option. For a very fast game, try the Lightning option.
Note: The computer's strategy is identical at all three speeds.
5. Match Scoring - allows you to choose a target number of points (default is
cumulative totalling of points with no match target).
6. Set UP vour own board - allows you to play from the starting position of
your choice.- just follow the screen prompts (when putting pieces on the
board, you can simply press ENTER to skip a point). This is great for
testing difficult positions (default is standard opening placement of pieces).
7. Set the dice yourself - choose whatever rolls you want for you and the
computer (default is randomly generated rolls).

Keys - Here is a review of the letter keys available to you during your turn:
A - Advice
D - Double
H - Help (display list of keys to use)
N - "No" response to Y/N question
TM
P - Pip Count
Q-Quit BACKGAMMON
S - Score
T - Take back move
Y - Yes response to Y/N question

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©1987 SSC. This software product is copyrighted and all rights are reserved by Spinnaker
Software Corporation. The distribution and sale of this product are intended for the use of
the original purchaser only and for use only on the computer system specified. Lawful
users of this program are hereby licensed only to read the program for its medium into
memory of a computer for the purpose of executing this program. Copying, duplicating,
selling or otherwise distributing this product is hereby expressly forbidden.

IN-D-BKG