Acey-deucey

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Acey-deucey is  a variant of backgammon, which features a differing starting position, opening play, and  rules for the endgame and  the use of the doubling cube. Because checkers may be retained in one's opponent's home board, the game offers substantial opportunities for backgame play.

Contents 1 Initial setup 2 Opening play 3 Play 4 Variant

[edit] Initial setup

The components of acey-deucey match those of backgammon, including identical boards, number of pieces, and  dice. To begin the game, none of either player's 15 checkers are  on the board.

[edit] Opening play

The initial play is  markedly different from that of standard backgammon. Play passes back and  forth, with each player rolling both dice. No piece may be moved by a player until either both dice reveal the same number (doubles) or  a roll of one '1' and  one '2' is  obtained (a roll of 1-2 is  referred to as an  acey-deucey). A player who rolls doubles may move a total of 4 times, each move traversing as many spaces as the rolled amount (two fives rolled result in four moves of five points each). Moving from the starting position counts as one space.

Although normally any piece may be moved legally, in acey-deucey, no piece on the board may be moved until all pieces belonging to the player in question have  been moved from the starting position. After rolling these doubles, another turn is  taken by the player. Upon rolling an  acey-deucey, a player may move one piece one space, and  one piece two spaces (may be the same piece as the earlier piece) and  an additional four moves of a number to be chosen by the player. In other words, a 1-2 followed by any doubles. After rolling Acey-Deucey another turn is  taken by the player. After this initial movement from the starting position, the player who rolled doubles or  acey-deucey does not need to roll these specific values to move from the starting position, but if the other player has not yet rolled these specific values, the restrictions still apply.

[edit] Play

After the opening, gameplay is  identical to that of backgammon, with some notable differences:

1. Upon rolling doubles or  acey-deucey, the player must roll and  move again.
2. A roll of acey-deucey counts as a 1-2, and  as doubles of the player's choice.
3. Upon reaching the one's own home board, a piece may not be moved again  until all others have  arrived.
4. An exact roll is  required to bear off.

[edit] Variant

A variant of the above rules exists that makes the game more  restrictive.

1. Upon rolling acey-deucey, the player does not choose the doubles for his next move. Instead, he rolls one die and  uses that number for the doubles choice
2. If a player rolls acey-deucey but is  unable to utilize both the 1 and  2 (most likely because he is  blocked), his turn ends. He does not get any doubles, and  he does not get another roll.
3. If a player rolls doubles but is  unable to utilize all 4 moves (most likely because he is  blocked), his turn ends. He does not get another roll. This rule also holds for doubles following an  acey-deucey
4. Pieces may be freely moved inside one's home (bear-off) area until all other pieces have  arrived. This is  the opposite from the description above
5. Once all pieces have  arrived to the player's home area, they may not move any more.
6. Unlike regular backgammon, you may only bear off pieces that exactly match the dice roll. For instance, if the 6 and  5 points are  open and  you roll a 6-5, you may not use that roll to bear off a checker from the 4-point.
7. The ability to take extra rolls for doubles and  acey-deucey during bearing off have  the same rules stated above. If you roll an  acey-deucey but cannot bear off a checker from both the 1-point and  the 2-point, you are  not entitled to a roll for doubles or  another turn. If you roll a 6-6 and  only have  three checkers on your 6-point to bear off, you may not take another turn (although you can bear off the three checkers from that point).

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