Backgammon Tournament: What is Match Play?
One exciting way to play backgammon is on tournaments. We get a chance to test our backgammon skills against an array of different players. Backgammon players in a tournament will tee off with each other to determine an overall winner.
When you have a chance to compete in such backgammon tournaments, you get to experience a different style of competition that is called a match play. During match play in a backgammon tournament, players will be paired off.
Each pair of players in match play will play a series of games to decide which backgammon player wins and get to move off to the next rounds in the tournament.
The series of backgammon games that are played is called a match (thus the name match play). During match play, players will race to gain a certain predetermined amount of points. The backgammon player who can accumulate the said required points wins.
Here's how the point system would usually work during match play. Every single game in match play is usually worth one point. So if you win a game of backgammon then you get one point, but there are ways to get more than one point per game.
One way to raise the amount of points you win per game is to use the doubling cube during match play. If you offer a double to your opponent during match play and your opponent accepts you can get double the amount of points if you win the game.
Another way to get more points out of a single game in match play is to win a gammon. A gammon is a game where you win and your opponent fails to bear off even a single checker. This is a great way to win a match because you get a minimum of two points for this backgammon game.
Gammons are otherwise known as double games. This is due to the fact that if you use the doubling cube during match play you raise the value of the game to the value stated on the doubling cube and double that again because of the gammon.
Yet another way to raise the amount of points per game is by getting a triple game or "backgammon". Don't get confused, we're referring to a completed game between two players during match play not the game itself.
If you win via a backgammon you get at least three points after one game during match play. You get a backgammon if you win a game during match play and your opponent still has checkers on the bar on your home board.
Like a gammon, if you win a backgammon and use the doubling cube, you triple the amount of points after applying the doubles from the doubling cube.
Match play is an interesting way to play backgammon. The point system in match play works pretty well to your advantage by using the doubling cube and winning by a gammon or a backgammon.