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 CONTENTS
Section A: ESSENTIALS
Section B: ELECTRONIC BACKGAMMON: VS OTHER HUMANS
Section C: ELECTRONIC BACKGAMMON: VS MACHINE
Section D: RESOURCES
Section A: ESSENTIALSA1. What is backgammon?``Backgammon is an obstacle race between two armies of 15 men each, moving around a track divided into 24 dagger-like divisions known as points.'' ``It's just a game.'' ``Sport of mind.'' ``It's a game of skill and luck. When I win I can claim it's due to my good skill. When I lose I can claim it's due to my bad luck.'' ``Backgammon is one of the oldest games in existence, dating back some 5000 years and believed to have been developed by the ancient Egyptians. It is not a game of luck as many believe, but a strategic game of war; in many ways as difficult to master as chess or Go. A random element (luck) is certainly involved, but a champion player also uses the laws of probability, intuition, imagination and psychology to outwit his opponent''. ``There's an aesthetic to the game, a flow. People think the game consists primarily of math --- calculating odds and so forth. That's not true. It's essentially a game of patterns, a visual game, like chess. Certain patterns fit together harmoniously, make sense in a away that is nontrivial.'' Answering ``Why do you play backgammon'': ``We have become a spectator society, one that experiences excellence and creativity only by watching it on television or by reading about it in newspapers or magazines...Perhaps the best way of becoming something more than a spectator is to pursue activities that do not receive mass media coverage. We can invent our own art forms, or at least re-label existing forms as art. Backgammon, though it is very old and very common, is an excellent art form. Patterns of points and blots undergo poignant mutations. The player strains to work with them, to control them. One's identity is not entirely intrinsic, nor is it purely acquired. We can shape ourselves just as we can shape our surroundings. By playing backgammon, that is - by creating patterns of blots and points - I help to shape my identity, I set myself apart from the spectators. I become alive.'' A2. What are the basic rules of the game?Backgammon Equipment
The backgammon boardBackgammon is an obstacle race between two armies of 15 men each, moving around a track divided into 24 dagger-like divisions known as ``points''.The Backgammon layout is divided down the center by a partition, known as the ``bar'' (See Diagram 1), into an outer and inner (or home) board or table. The side nearest you is your outer and home tables; the side farther away is your opponents outer and home boards. The arrows indicate the direction of play. For purposes of convenience we have numbered the points in the diagram. Though the points are not numbered on the actual board, they are frequently referred to during play to describe a move or a position. Your (X's) 4-point or 8-point will always be on your side of the board; your opponent's (O's) will always be on his side of the board. A move from your 9-point to your 5-point is four spaces (the bar does not count as a space). A move from White's 12-point to your 12-point, though it crosses from his board to yours, is but one space, for these two points are really next to each other. Diagram 2 shows the board set up ready for play. Each side has five men on his 6-point, three men on his 8-point, five men on his opponent's 12-point, and two men, known as ``runners'', on his opponents' 1-point. The runners will have to travel the full length of the track, the other men have shorter distances to go. Note that play proceeds in opposite directions, so that the men can be set up in two ways. Turn the diagram upside down to see the layout if play were proceeding in the other direction.
+-------------------------------------------------->
|
| +-----------------------------< X moves this direction
| |
| |
| | 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24
| | +------------------------------------------+
| | | . . . . . . | | . . . . . . |
| | | . . . . . . | | . . . . . . |
| | | . . . . . . | | . . . . . . |
| | | . . . . . . | | . . . . . . |
| | | . . . . . . | | . . . . . . |
| | | | | | +----+
^ v | Outer Board |BAR| Home Board | | 64 |
| | | | | | +----+
| | | P O I N T S | | . . . . . . | Doubling
| | | . . . . . . | | . . . . . . | Cube
| | | . . . . . . | | . . . . . . |
| | | . . . . . . | | . . . . . . |
| | | . . . . . . | | . . . . . . |
| | +------------------------------------------+
| | 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
| |
| +---------------------------------------------->
|
+---------------------------------< Y moves this direction
Diagram 1 (Numbered from X's point of view)
13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24
+------------------------------------------+
| X . . . O . | | O . . . . X |
| X O | | O X |
| X O | | O |
| X | | O |
| X | | O | +----+
| |BAR| | | 64 |
| O | | X | +----+
| O | | X |
| O X | | X |
| O X | | X O |
| O . . . X . | | X . . . . O |
+------------------------------------------+
12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Diagram #2 (Numbered from X's point of view)
Object of the gameThe object of Backgammon is for each player to bring all his men into his home board, and then to bear them off the board. The first player to get all his men off the board is the winner.
Starting the gameEach player casts one die. The player with the higher number makes the first move, using the two numbers cast by his die and his opponent's. In the event that both players roll the same number, it is a standoff and each rolls another die to determine the first move. In the event of subsequent ties, this process is repeated until the dice turn up different numbers. (In some games, players double the unit stake automatically every time they cast the same number; others limit the automatic doubles to one. In tournament play, there is no such thing as an automatic double.)
Moving your menEach player's turn consists of the roll of two dice. He then moves one or more men in accordance with the numbers cast. Assume he rolls 4-2. He may move one man six spaces, or one man four spaces and another man two spaces. Bear in mind that, when moving a single man for the total shown by the two dice, you are actually making two moves with the one man---each move according to the number shown on one of the dice.
DoubletsIf the same number appears on both dice, for example, 2-2 or 3-3 (known as doublets), the caster is entitled to four moves instead of two. Thus, if he rolls 3-3, he can move up to four men, but each move must consist of three spaces.The players throw and play alternately throughout the game, except in the case where a player cannot make a legal move and therefore forfeits his turn.
Making pointsA player makes a point by positioning two or more of his men on it. He then ``owns'' that point, and his opponent can neither come to rest on that point nor touch down on it when taking the combined total of his dice with one man.
PrimeA player who has made six consecutive points has completed a prime. An opposing man trapped behind a prime cannot move past, for it cannot be moved more than six spaces at a time---the largest number on a die.
BlotsA single man on a point is called a blot. If you move a man onto an opponent's blot, or touch down on it in the process of moving the combined total of your cast, the blot is hit, removed from the board and placed on the bar.A man that has been hit must re-enter in the opposing home table. A player may not make any move until such time as he has brought the man on the bar back into play. Re-entry is made on a point equivalent to the number of one of the dice cast, providing that point is not owned by the opponent.
Closed boardA Player who has made all six points in his home board is said to have a closed board. If the opponent has any men on the bar, he will not be able to re-enter it since there is no vacant point in his adversary;s home board. Therefore, he forfeits his rolls, and continues to do so until such time as the player has to open up a point in his home board, thus providing a point of rentry. It should be noted, the he doesn't loses his turn, as he still retains the ability to double his opponent before any of his opponents rolls, assuming the cube is centered or on his side.
Compulsory moveA player is compelled to take his complete move if there is any way for him to do so. If he can take either of the numbers but not both, he must take the higher number if possible, the lower if not.[Another way of saying this...]
--kw
Bearing offOnce a player has brought all his men into his home board, he can commence bearing off. Men borne off the board are not re-entered into play. The player who bears off all his men first is the winner. A player may not bear off men while he has a man on the bar, or outside his home board. Thus if, in the process of bearing off, a player leaves a blot and it is hit by his opponent, he must first re-enter the man in his opponents home board, and bring it round the board into his own home board before he can continue the bearing off process.In bearing off, you remove men from the points corresponding to the numbers on the dice cast. However, you are not compelled to remove a man. You may, if you can, move a man inside your home board a number of spaces equivalent to the number of a die. If you roll a number higher than the highest point on which you have a man, you may apply that number to your highest occupied point. Thus, if you roll 6-3 and your 6-point has already been cleared but you have men on your 5-point, you may use your 6 to remove a man from your 5-point. In some cases it may be advantagous to play the smaller die first before applying the higher die to your highest point (See Compulsory Move). For example, suppose you have one checker on your 5 point, and two checkers on your 2 point. Your opponent has a checker on the ace (one point) and on the bar. You roll 6-3. You may play the 3 to the 2 point then the 6 to bear a checker off the 2 point leaving your opponent no shots (no blots for the opponent to hit). The alternative, using the 6-3 to bear checkers off both the 5 and 2 points, would leave your opponent 20 out of 36 ways to hit your remaining blot.
Gammon and BackgammonIf you bear off all 15 of your men before your opponent has borne off a single man, you win a gammon, or double game.If you bear off all 15 of your men before your opponent has borne off a single man, and he still has one or more men in your home board or on the bar, you win a backgammon, or a triple game.
Cocked diceIt is customary to cast your dice in your right-hand board. Both dice must come to rest completely flat in that board. If one die crosses the bar into the other table, or jumps off the board, or does not come to rest flat, or ends up resting on one of the men, the dice are ``cocked'' and the whole throw, using both dice, must be retaken.
A3. What is the doubling cube for?The introduction of the doubling cube into the game is largely responsible for the leap in popularity of modern backgammon.Each face of the doubling cube bears a number to record progressive doubles and redoubles, starting with 2 and going on to 4, 8, 16, 32 & 64. At the commencement of play, the doubling cube rests on the bar, between the two players, or at the side of the board. At any point during the game, a player who thinks he is sufficiently ahead may, when it is his turn to play and before he casts his dice, propose to double the stake by turning the cube to 2. His opponent may decline to accept the double, in which case he forfeits the game and loses 1 unit, or accept the double, in which case the game continues with the stake at 2 units. The player who accepts the double now ``owns'' the cube---which means that he has the option t redouble at any point during the rest of the game, but his opponent (the original doubler) may not. If, at a later stage he exercises this option, his opponent is now faced with a similar choice. He may either decline the redouble and so lose 2 units, or accept and play for 4, and he now ``owns'' the cube. A player may double when he is on the bar even if his opponent has a closed board and he cannot enter. Though he does not roll the dice, for he cannot make a move, he still has the right to double. Note that gammon doubles or backgammon triples the stake of the cube.
A4. What is the Crawford rule? (Why won't FIBS let me double?)From the FIBS help screens: If you are playing an n-point match and your opponent is ahead of you and he gets to n-1 points you are not allowed to use the doubling cube in the next game to come EXAMPLE: 5 point match score game # You opponent 1 0 3 2 0 4 3 1 4 (you were not allowed to double in this game) 4 3 4 (you were allowed to double again) ... ... ... The Crawford rule is universally used in backgammon match play. A5. What is the Jacoby rule?The Jacoby rule is used in money games. It states, that a gammon or backgammon may not be scored as such unless the cube has been passed and accepted. The purpose is to speed up play by eliminating long undoubled games.The Jacoby rule is never used in match play.
A6. What is the Holland rule?This rule applies to match games and states that in post-Crawford games the trailer can only double after both sides have played two rolls. It makes the free drop more valuable to the leader but generally just confuses the issue.Unlike the Crawford rule, the Holland rule has not proved popular, and is rarely used today.
A7. What are those critters --- Beavers, raccoons?In money play, if player A doubles, and player B believes that he is a favorite holding the cube, he may turn the cube an extra notch as he takes, and keep the cube on his own side. For example, if A makes an initial double to 2, B may, instead of taking the double and holding a 2 cube, say ``beaver'', turn the cube an extra notch to 4, and continue the game holding a 4 cube.If A believes that B's beaver was in error, some play that he may then ``raccoon'', turning the cube yet another notch (to 8 in the example). Cube ownership remains with B. B may then if he wishes turn the cube yet another notch, saying ``aardvark'', or ``otter'' or whatever silly animal name he prefers (the correct animal is a matter of controversy), and so forth. Beavers and the rest of the animals may be played or not in money play, as the players wish. Beavers and other animals are never used in match play. -- Andy Latto
It should be noted that the original cube turner can drop a beaver. For example, suppose I miscount a bearoff and double, you accept and say you want to beaver. I realize something is wrong and recount. If I am horribly behind, I can drop the beaver, paying you the value on the cube before you beavered. -michael j zehr
A8. What is a Chouette?A Chouette is a social backgammon variant for more than 2 players. One player is ``the box'', and plays against all other players on a single board. One other player is the captain, and rolls the dice and makes the plays for the team that opposes the box. If the box wins, the captain goes to the back of the line, and the next player becomes captain. If the captain wins, the box goes to the back of the line, and the captain becomes the new box.Customs vary as to the rights of the captain's partners: In some Chouettes, they may consult freely as to the way rolls should be played. In others, consultation is prohibited. A compromise, where consultation is allowed only after the cube has been turned, is popular. Originally, Chouettes were played with a single cube. The only decisions that players other than the captain were allowed to make independently concerned takes: If the box doubled, each player on the team could take or drop independently. Today, multiple-cube Chouettes are more popular; each player on the team has his own cube, and all doubling, dropping, and taking decisions are made independently by all players. -- Andy Latto
A9. Basic Strategy for Beginners.Single checkers (blots) on a point are vulnerable to enemy attack and must start over if hit by n opponent's checker. Two or more checkers on a point are safe from attack and can also be used for blocking or trapping your opponent.Essentially backgammon is a race to see who takes off all of his checkers first. However, the shortest distance between two points is not always a straight line. Most beginners, rarely leave exposed checkers and hit as often as they can. As you will find out, this seemingly logical approach is not the best strategy. The following is a simplification of some of the factors that you should consider in forming a winning game plan:
From Macintosh Expert Backgammon Documentation
by Tom Johnson komodo@netcom.com
A10. Opening Rolls.From: kwoolsey@netcom.com (Kit Woolsey) Subject: Re: What are the best ways to play the opening rolls? Date: Sun, 19 Mar 1995 05:19:43 GMT [...] Now, on the what I believe is an accurate synopsis of the 15 possible opening rolls: 2-1: The slotting play 13/11, 6/5 and the splitting play 24/23, 13/11, the two most common plays, seem to be about equal. Nothing else is a serious contender. 3-1: 8/5, 6/5 is obviously the only play. 4-1: The splitting play 24/23, 13/9 has come out clearly superior to the slotting play 13/9, 6/5. Probably the reason is that with the builder on the 9 point there are so many good pointing numbers next turn anyway that you don't need the 5 point slotted. 5-1: The splitting play 24/23, 13/8 has come out a bit better than the slotting play 13/8, 6/5. A third less common alternative, 24/18, came out clearly worse. 6-1: The obvious 13/7, 8/7 is correct. Magriel's experiment of 13/7, 6/5 is awful. 3-2: The splitting play 24/21, 13/11 came out a bit better than building with 13/10, 13/11. 4-2: 8/4, 6/4 of course. 5-2: The normal play for years has been 13/11, 13/8. However the newer splitting play, 24/22, 13/8, (shunned because of the crushing 5-5 threat) has come out a bit better. The slotting play of 13/8, 6/4 (which used to be my choice) did not survive the rollouts -- it was clearly inferior. 6-2: The splitting play of 24/18, 13/11 comes out fairly clearly superior. Running with 24/16 is 2nd, but the run isn't far enough. Slotting with 13/5 (a common choice several years ago) was definitely in third place. 4-3: The building play of 13/10, 13/9 and the common splitting play of 24/20, 13/10 were just about tied. The alternative split of 24/21, 13/9 was only a little behind. 5-3: The simple 8/3, 6/3 is clearly best. The once common 13/10, 13/8 has been found vastly inferior. 6-3: The splitting 24/18, 13/10 comes out best, but the running play of 24/15 is not too far behind. 5-4: Splitting with 24/20, 13/8 and building with 13/9, 13/8 come out quite close (that builder on the 9 point is powerful), with the split generally a tiny bit better. 24/15 is weaker still. 6-4: Both running with 24/14 and splitting with 24/18, 13/9 are about equal. However the once laughed at 8/2, 6/2 has reared its head as a serious contender and comes out about equal with the other choices -- nice play to try if you get familiar with it, since your opponent probably won't be. 6-5: The simple 24/13 is clearly better than any other possibilities. Section B: ELECTRONIC BACKGAMMON: VS OTHER HUMANSB1. FIBS (First Internet Backgammon Server)FIBS IntroductionOn July 19, 1992 at 10:56:22 GMT, Marvin announced the birth of the FIBS. FIBS is an abbreviation for First Internet Backgammon Server. It is a server program written by Andreas Schneider marvin@fraggel65.mdstud.chalmers.se. Praise to him!After using a site in Aachen Germany, It moved to the present site ins Sweden on December 3, 1993. You can connect to FIBS using telnet; the server runs on machine fraggel65.mdstud.chalmers.se (raw address 129.16.235.165). Be sure to telnet to port 4321, because telnetting to the default port will give you a regular unix login prompt, which will be of no use to you since you probably have no account on that machine. For instance, on a unix machine which is connected directly to the internet, you issue one of the following commands:
telnet fraggel65.mdstud.chalmers.se 4321
telnet 129.16.235.165 4321
and then you are connected to FIBS. Now you have to log in to FIBS. If you already have an account on FIBS, you use the login name and password you selected. If you're a first time user, you must log in as guest. Then you are granted a limited kind of access, until you make yourself known by choosing a FIBS user name and a password. From that moment on, you can use FIBS to play against other players, human or otherwise, from all over the world. Here is an example connect and login sequence for new users:
%telnet fraggel65.mdstud.chalmers.se 4321
Trying 129.16.235.165 ...
Connected to fraggel65.mdstud.chalmers.se.
Escape character is '^]'.
WELCOME TO THE
_______ _ ______ _____
| _____| | | | __ \ / ____|
| |___ | | | |__| | | |____
| ___| | | | __ < \____ \
| | | | | |__| | ____| |
|_|irst |_|nternet |______/ackgammon |_____/erver
If something unexpected happens please send mail to:
marvin@fraggel65.mdstud.chalmers.se (Andreas Schneider)
Bug reports are welcome.
This server is on the net to meet people from all countries.
All sorts of racists and fascists are not allowed to login here!
Rude language will not be tolerated on this server. Be nice.
LOGIN AS guest IF YOU ARE NEW TO THIS SERVER!
One account per person only!
Friday, September 30 10:23:10 MET ( Fri Sep 30 09:23:10 1994 UTC )
login: guest
Welcome to FIBS. You just logged in as guest.
Please register before using this server:
Type 'name username' where username is the name you want to use.
The username may not contain blanks ' ' or colons ':'.
The system will then ask you for your password twice.
Please make sure that you don't forget your password. All
passwords are encrypted before they are saved. If you forget
your password there is no way to find out what it was.
Please type 'bye' if you don't want to register now.
ONE USERNAME PER PERSON ONLY!!!
> name Newbie
Please give your password:
Please retype your password:
You are registered.
Type 'help beginner' to get started.
>
Once logged in, you are wise to read the help screens of FIBS. Read about how not to hear other people's shoutings, how the rating system works, how to watch other people play, how to talk to other people, how to invite people to play, and of couse, how to play. Everything you need is in the help screens. One thing: if you wish to read the help screens without logging into FIBS, they have been made available to WWW by Mike Quinn at http://www.cybercom.net/~damish/backgammon/mike_quinn/fibs.htm. Mark Damish made a version available for ftp or online reading from http://www.cybercom.net/~damish/backgammon/fibshelp.html When you are a little accustomed to FIBS, you can enter tournaments, which are organised occasionally by volunteers. Read newsgroup rec.games.backgammon, check out FIBS' login message, or listen for rumours spreading. Also, if you like FIBS, it will pay you to take the trouble to install/use a more friendly interface than a simple telnet client program. Several of these are available, see section Are there any GUI's for FIBS?. FIBS description last updated on October 4th, 1994 by Vincent Zweije (zweije@wi.leidenuniv.nl) FIBS HelpFIBS Command Help Summary. (One liners)
[Last updated June 1995. Are there any missing commands?]
For more detailed information on FIBS commands, type ``help'' at the while on FIBS or check out Michael Quinn's Guide to FIBS at: http://www.abekrd.co.uk/FIBS FIBS RatingsFIBS Rating Formula [From the FIBS man pages.]
From:gmortens@newstand.syr.edu (Gerald E Mortensen) Subject: fibs ratings formula plots Date: 23 Dec 1994 22:28:16 GMTi made these plots from the fibs ratings formula. experience >500. if you can't read these try setting your font to fixed or courier.
P(win) vs. ratings difference
0.8 ++-----+-------+------+-------+------+------+-------+-----++
+ + + + + + + + C +
| : C |
0.7 ++ : C B ++
| : C B |
| : B |
| : C B |
0.6 ++ : C B A A ++
| : B A A |
| : B A A |
0.5 ++ A A A ++
| A A B : |
| A A B : |
0.4 ++ A A B C : 1 pt match A ++
| B C : 5 pt match B |
| B : 9 pt match C |
| B C : |
0.3 ++ B C : ++
| C : |
+ C + + + + + + + +
0.2 ++-----+-------+------+-------+------+------+-------+-----++
-400 -300 -200 -100 0 100 200 300 400
ratings change for a win vs. ratings difference
10 ++-----+-------+------+-------+------+------+-------+-----++
+ + + + + + + + +
9 ++ C : ++
| C C : |
8 ++ C : 1 pt match A ++
| : 5 pt match B |
| C : 9 pt match C |
7 ++ C : ++
| B C : |
6 ++ B B C ++
| B B : C |
5 ++ B : C ++
| B B C |
4 ++ : B C ++
| : B B C |
| : B B C |
3 ++ : B B ++
| A A A A A : |
2 ++ A A A A A A A A ++
+ + + + + + + A A +
1 ++-----+-------+------+-------+------+------+-------+-----++
-400 -300 -200 -100 0 100 200 300 400
ratings diff (your rating - opponent's)
ratings change is the same for both players if both
have experience > than 500 (or have equal experience < 500).
jay (wilfo)
FIBS - Rating Changes 2/16/95
change in rating when favorite wins
rate points in match
diff 1 2 3 5 7 9 11
------------------------------------------------------------
0 2.00 2.83 3.46 4.47 5.29 6.00 6.63
40 1.95 2.74 3.33 4.24 4.97 5.59 6.13
80 1.91 2.64 3.19 4.01 4.65 5.18 5.63
120 1.86 2.55 3.05 3.79 4.34 4.77 5.14
160 1.82 2.46 2.92 3.56 4.03 4.38 4.67
200 1.77 2.37 2.78 3.35 3.73 4.01 4.22
240 1.73 2.28 2.65 3.13 3.44 3.65 3.79
280 1.68 2.19 2.52 2.93 3.16 3.31 3.39
320 1.64 2.11 2.39 2.73 2.90 2.99 3.02
360 1.59 2.02 2.27 2.54 2.65 2.69 2.68
400 1.55 1.94 2.15 2.35 2.42 2.41 2.37
440 1.50 1.86 2.03 2.18 2.20 2.15 2.08
480 1.46 1.78 1.92 2.01 1.99 1.92 1.83
change in rating when underdog wins
rate points in match
diff 1 2 3 5 7 9 11
------------------------------------------------------------
0 2.00 2.83 3.46 4.47 5.29 6.00 6.63
40 2.05 2.92 3.60 4.70 5.61 6.41 7.14
80 2.09 3.01 3.74 4.93 5.93 6.82 7.64
120 2.14 3.10 3.88 5.16 6.25 7.23 8.13
160 2.18 3.19 4.01 5.38 6.56 7.62 8.60
200 2.23 3.28 4.15 5.60 6.86 7.99 9.05
240 2.27 3.37 4.28 5.81 7.14 8.35 9.48
280 2.32 3.46 4.41 6.02 7.42 8.69 9.88
320 2.36 3.55 4.53 6.22 7.68 9.01 10.2
360 2.41 3.63 4.66 6.41 7.93 9.31 10.6
400 2.45 3.72 4.78 6.59 8.17 9.59 10.9
440 2.50 3.80 4.89 6.76 8.39 9.85 11.2
480 2.54 3.88 5.01 6.93 8.59 10.1 11.4
ratio - points lost to points won by favorite
rate points in match
diff 1 2 3 5 7 9 11
------------------------------------------------------------
0 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00
40 1.05 1.07 1.08 1.11 1.13 1.15 1.17
80 1.10 1.14 1.17 1.23 1.28 1.32 1.36
120 1.15 1.22 1.27 1.36 1.44 1.51 1.58
160 1.20 1.30 1.38 1.51 1.63 1.74 1.84
200 1.26 1.38 1.49 1.67 1.84 2.00 2.15
240 1.32 1.48 1.61 1.85 2.08 2.29 2.50
280 1.38 1.58 1.75 2.06 2.35 2.63 2.91
320 1.45 1.68 1.89 2.28 2.65 3.02 3.39
360 1.51 1.80 2.05 2.53 2.99 3.47 3.95
400 1.58 1.92 2.22 2.80 3.38 3.98 4.61
440 1.66 2.05 2.40 3.10 3.82 4.57 5.37
480 1.74 2.18 2.60 3.44 4.31 5.25 6.25
Batting Average for favorite to maintain rating
points in match
diff 1 2 3 5 7 9 11
--------------------------------------
0 .500 .500 .500 .500 .500 .500 .500
40 .512 .516 .520 .526 .530 .534 .538
80 .523 .533 .540 .551 .561 .569 .576
120 .534 .549 .560 .577 .590 .602 .613
160 .546 .565 .579 .602 .619 .635 .648
200 .557 .581 .598 .626 .648 .666 .682
240 .569 .596 .617 .650 .675 .696 .714
280 .580 .612 .636 .673 .701 .725 .744
320 .591 .627 .654 .695 .726 .751 .772
360 .602 .642 .672 .716 .750 .776 .798
400 .613 .657 .689 .737 .772 .799 .822
440 .624 .672 .706 .756 .793 .820 .843
480 .635 .686 .723 .775 .812 .840 .862
FIBS ratings tables submitted by William C. Bitting FIBS ratings reports are posted regularly to Rec.games.backgammon. Back issues are available from: http://www.columbia.edu/~radev/backgammon/fibsratings/ http://www.cs.ualberta.ca/~banks/fibs/test.html Computer Programs On FibsCurrently there several computer programs on FIBS:tesauro (the original neural net bg program TD-Gammon) mloner (neural net) idiot (neural net (JellyFish)) jellyfish (nn) loner (The 1-pt version of mloner) EXBGthree fatboy (nn) fattest (nn) jemina (Algrithmic, entering cocoon, to emerge as a nn) music Big_Brother (only logs matches) Some programs play with humans entering the data, while others are full fledged bots. FIBS Misc.FIBS (and FIBS/W) Instruction book.Hunter Jones has put together a very nice reference to FIBS and FIBS/W. It is nicely typeset and printed on heavy paper stock. The contents make a nice reference to FIBS and the FIBS/W interface. Commands are pre-sorted by catagory, and it makes looking for an answer extremely easy. It is 8 pages on 6 sheets of paper, and is especially worthwile for the new player. It is not just a rehash of the man pages. Price is $4 for U.S. addresses, $6 US for foreign addresses. All payments must be in US funds (check, money order or cash). If you wish expedited shipment, enclose suitable payment. (For example, $10 additional for US FedEx overnight.) Be sure to enclose your address (FedEx and the like cannot deliver to PO Boxes.) Contact Hunter Jones at: hunter@ix.netcom.com
6617 Struttmann Lane From: thrash@mercury.interpath.net Newsgroups: rec.games.backgammon Subject: online FIBS help for OS/2 users Date: 7 Mar 1995 03:45:57 GMT For FIBS players who use OS/2: I recently created an online help file (.INF) for all the FIBS commands. It's basically the same help you get from the FIBS server but with hyper-text links to related commands. If you're new to FIBS, I'm sure it will help - although I can't guarantee it will increase your FIBS rating ;) Email me if your interested, I can send it via uuencode mail. -J- B2. What is the Internet and how do I get onto it?[This is copied verbatim, with permission, from OK.FAQ. References to 'OK' are referring to the bridge server.][Permission from mclegg@cs.ucsd.edu (Matthew Clegg) for use here.] In addition to having access to a Unix system, you must also be connected to the Internet. The Internet is a worldwide computer network which was founded for the sake of promoting research and education. Recently, the Internet has been broadening its mission and it's likely that soon the Internet will be open for commercial as well as educational uses. Already it is possible for the general public to obtain access to the Internet for a modest fee in many metropolitan areas of the US. A few representative Internet providers include: Area Served Voice No. Email Organization ----------- -------- ----- ------------ West Coast 408-554-UNIX info@netcom.com Netcom Online Comm. Svcs Boston 617-739-0202 office@world.std.com The World New York City 212-877-4854 alexis@panix.com PANIX Public Access Unix Many OKbridgers play from home using a PC or Mac and a modem. Frequently, these people have obtained access to the Internet by purchasing an account from a "public access Unix system connected to the Internet," which is the jargon describing the service provided by the above companies. Having obtained such an account, it is usually a simple matter to obtain OKbridge and begin playing (see below). If you will be searching for a means to use OKbridge, it is important to remember the wording, "public access Unix system (directly) connected to the Internet." There are a number of BBS operators who have Email connections to the Internet, but this is not sufficient. Also, there are several network services which provide access to the Internet but which are not Unix based (Delphi is a notable example). For more information about the Internet, which is an amazing and wonderful resource, see the books:
Krol, Ed, The Whole Internet: User's Guide & Catalog,
Kehoe, Brendan P., Zen and the Art of the Internet: A Beginner's Guide,
LaQuey, Tracy, with Jeanne C. Ryer, The Internet Companion: These books are filled with useful information about Unix and the Internet, including how to send electronic mail, how to download free software, and how to access some of the many information services which are available on the Internet. The World Wide Web (WWW or 'Web' for short) is a system by which text, pictures, audio files and movies can be transmitted across the internet. Old resources you may have heard of -- telnet, news, gopher, ftp -- can all now be regarded as part of the Web. Many of the 'pages' on the Web are written in a language called HTML. This language allows basic formatting of the text, and images to be included within the text, but also it allows 'links' to other documents which may be local or on the other side of the world. For example, I could say 'I have information about cows' and the word 'cows' would be highlighted somehow (underlined or in a different colour). If you select that word -- typically by clicking your mouse on it or pressing Enter if you have no mouse -- you will be taken to a page about cows which could be another page of mine or of someone in Australia. It does not take much imagination to see how I can then hop all over the world, following these links and reading all manner of information. In order to access the Web, you need a so called 'client program' or 'browser'. The two most popular are called Mosaic (for graphical terminals) and 'lynx' for text based terminals. If you have got one of these programs, you can start browsing the Web immediately. If not, do what you can to get one! [The Netscape browser is also now worth a mention. It was only in beta test at the time I originally wrote this, and a bit buggy, but now it's my preferred browser. You can get it via anonymous ftp from ftp.mcom.com in the directory /netscape : it's free for academic and non-profit use. S.T. 30/1/95] Stephen R. E. Turner
e-mail: sret1@cam.ac.uk
Good places to find local internet providers are listed at the following web sites: http://www.internic.net http://thelist.com B3. Are there any GUI's (Graphical User Interfaces) for FIBS?TinyfugueTinyfugue is a telnet client program which breaks the screen into separate 'panes' for input and output. A specialized version exists where a non scrolling backgammon board is displayed in a third pane. The specialized version is available for anonymous ftp from figment.csee.usf.edu in the directory /pub/misc/FIBS_client.The FIBS command "help tinyfugue" will provide some hints on using this program. Patches made by:
David Eggert eggertd@aisb.ed.ac.uk
Andreas Schneider marvin@fraggel.mdstud65.chalmers.se figment.csee.usf.edu /pub/misc/FIBS_client From: jlehett@mailhost.gate.net Newsgroups: rec.games.backgammon Subject: OS/2 Native FIBS-Tinyfugue Client Available now! Date: 11 Dec 1994 01:49:27 GMT I just uploaded my port of the fibs-tinyfigue client to the incoming directories of the hobbes and ftp-os2/cdrom OS/2 sites. It only works via TCP/IP connections (SLIP/TIA are fine!) and requires the emxrt.zip support, so be sure to get that too. The included text file tells about the port so have a look all OS/2 fibsters! Send along any bugs, etc, and I'll see what I can do. ---- John J. Lehett Land-J Technologies JLEHETT@GATE.NET [ It has been reported (95-06) That this e-mail address is no longer in use] xfibsxfibs - graphical interface to FIBS (First Internet Backgammon Server) DESCRIPTION XFibs is a Motif-based interface to FIBS. FIBS allows you to play backgammon against other people (and an increasing number of computer programs). Unfortu- nately, FIBS is text-based and moves must be typed in numeric notation. XFibs graphical interface provides a mouse-driven board, which minimises text input. Below is an explanation of the various feautures of XFibs, and what you may do to further customize it according to your own desires. At the very end you'll also find the backgammon rules. HOW TO PLAY XFibs draws two windows, one to display a backgammon board which is fully resizable and scalable; and another for the text information. FIBS is a vibrant and lively place, often with lots of banter going on as well as matches starting and finish- ing. With XFibs you'll only really use the text window occasionally because you can forget all about how the board is numbered, in XFibs you move your pieces with the mouse. The right button brings forward a popup-menu with several choices like "roll dice", "double" etc., selecting "roll dice" when it's your turn will cause two dice to appear. The left button allows you to click on a piece and drag it to where you want to put it. You can then release the left button to drop the piece. If the move is valid, XFibs will draw the piece at the new location. (You can now pick-up a piece and move both dice in one action: i.e. 24-13 with 6-5, pick up from 24, drop on 13. The left-hand die is the default first die of a move, the the right-hand die. If the left-hand die can't move, XFibs will try the reverse combination. So If you have a roll in both combinations are legal, but only one hits an opponent, you may need to drag-and-drop to guarantee a hit or a miss). Alternatively, you can double-click on the middle button over a piece to have XFibs move it (again the left-hand die is the default first die of a move). If you decide that you didn't want to move a piece, you can take it back (either by drag-and-drop or by popup). Once you are happy with a move, it has to be sent to FIBS. This is done by clicking your right mouse button again. This popup menu changes according to what is going on. Now it says "accept move", "undo move" etc. Between games in a match it says "join" "leave". Try it out! If you get a text description of the board in the output window, you have to issue a 'set boardstyle 3' to FIBS. You may then save your setup my typing 'save' or include this command after a 'on_login' command in your startup file. (see below) All in all, just fool around with it, it isn't that hard to figure out... (At least I hope it isn't) [...] AUTHOR Torstein Hansen Available from: ftp://itekiris.kjemi.unit.no/pub and/or ftp://www.abekrd.co.uk/pub/fibs/ The source is available from: ftp://ftp.x.org/contrib/games/xfibs08.tar.gz MacFIBSMacFIBS greatly enhances the virtual backgammon experience; it's backgammon played "The Macintosh Way".MacFIBS provides a multi-window, graphical front end to FIBS , vastly superior to the "dumb terminal" telnet scrolling text format that FIBS uses underneath. It also makes excellent use of sound to reinforce the backgammon playing experience. Rather than viewing backgammon positions as a series of X's and O's in a crude character-based text window, MacFIBS offers a full color backgammon board. Instead of typing cryptic commands like 'm 24 22 15 14', you drag colored checkers around the board, exactly like playing a real game. The user can select from two board sizes and choose which color and direction to play. Real-time pip count information is also displayed. Other windows include: a Player window to invite, get info, or watch other players, an elegant Chat window for conversing with other players, and a Terminal window for full access to FIBS and telnet. The user can color code and keep private notes about other players (the color coding is also used in the Chat window). MacFIBS is freeware and is my contribution to the 'net. The program requires a color Macintosh and MacTCP, and is available via ftp at the Info-Mac Archives (sumex-aim.stanford.edu) as well as numerous mirror sites around the world. MacFIBS 2.0* is a self-extracting archive file: ftp://ftp.best.com/pub/fergy --fergy [MacFIBS is also available on AOL, as well as Info-Mac mirror sites.
TkFibsFrom: keithv@chiwaukum.CS.Berkeley.EDU (Keith Vetter) Subject: TkFibs - an X interface to FIBS available Date: 4 Apr 1994 19:31:41 GMT Organization: University of California, Berkeley Announcing TkFibs, an X based, graphical user interface to Fibs. TkFibs is a tcl/tk client that provides a better interface to Fibs. It displays two windows: one a graphical depiction of the board, the other session window with Fibs ala the bottom two windows in tinyfugue. I've been using the program for over 5 months now so it should be very solid. I've run it on DecStations, SparcStations, HP 735 and Alphas. The biggest caveat is that it requires TCL/TK to run. TCL/TK is a very nice scripting / user interface package for X. It is available from ftp.cs.berkeley.edu in /ucb/tcl. TkFibs is located at ftp://shuksan.cs.berkeley.edu/pub/tkfibs Send comments, suggestions, bugs, etc to: tkfibs@shuksan.cs.berkeley.edu Enjoy keith vetter FIBS/WFIBS/W is a Microsoft Windows(TM) based client for FIBS. FIBS/W provides a graphical game board and mouse-driven interface to the FIBS server. Most operations required to play a game can be executed using mouse, keyboard, menus or toolbar buttons.Powerful configuration options for many common Internet host systems, and communications service providers, and a built-in communications scripting language allow FIBS/W to automatically dial and connect to FIBS via the Internet with a single mouse click. To use FIBS/W you must be able to satisfy one of two conditions:
FIBS/W is provided as Shareware. The registration fee is US$40. This version of FIBS/W includes a Nag Screen (a mildly annoying dialog which is displayed every time the program is run) but is otherwise fully functional. FIBS/W is available via anonymous FTP at: resudox.net in the directory /pub/pc/windows/games/fibsw. FIBS/W is available via the web at http://www.magic.com/~rdavies/fibsw.html A WWW page for FIBS/W is available at ftp://resudox.net/pub/pc/windows/games/fibsw/html/fibsw.html Best regards, Robin Davies.
xibcFrom: d9jesper@dtek.chalmers.se (Jesper Blommaskog) "xibc" is an X11 client to the First Internet Backgammon Server (FIBS). It is using the freeware packages Tcl, Tk and Expect. Normally, you have to fetch and compile those to be able to run xibc, but not anymore (provided you have a SunSparc!). ftp.cd.chalmers.se:pub/xibc/xibc-X.XX.tar.Z ftp.cd.chalmers.se:pub/xibc/xibc-X.XX.README ftp://ftp.cd.chalmers.se/pub/xibc/ # If you need an executable (Sun-SparcOS 4.1.x only): ftp.cd.chalmers.se:pub/xibc/binREADME ftp.cd.chalmers.se:pub/xibc/BX.enc # If you need an executable and don't have a Sparc, then you need # to compile Tcl, Tk and Expect on your own. Here's the ftp addresses: sprite.berkeley.edu:/tcl/tcl7.3.tar.Z sprite.berkeley.edu:/tcl/tk3.6.tar.Z sprite.berkeley.edu:/tcl/tk3.6p1.patch ftp.cme.nist.gov:/pub/expect/alpha.tar.Z (all but the patch are present at cme.nist.gov) Features of xibc include: * Log out from FIBS but keep the interface on the screen (maybe iconified). Permits you to start xibc in your X startup files and keep it up all time. * X resource Tk*xibcLogfile that names a file where to log match results. Example from my own file ~/.Xdefaults: Tk*xibcLogfile: ~/spel/backgammon/xibc.log * Resource Tk*xibcDelay that sets the programmed delayes in the interface (the time interval between the different moves in a sequence). Time is in milliseconds. May also be changed during a session from a menu (but may not be saved). Example: Tk*xibcDelay: 500 * The command line has some emacs/tcsh-style "cooked" line features: C-n next line in history C-p previous line in history C-a first on line C-e last on line C-u delete whole line C-d delete the character after the insertion marker and also C-s toggle "autoscroll" mode of the text window C-l toggle logging of game to a log file C-c log out from server and quit the interface * There is a menu option called "Emergency". It may also be invoked with "M-e". It reloads the whole board position from the server. Nice when the interface screws up (it does sometimes). * A menu option "Empty textwindow" will delete all rows in the text window in access of 500. May someday become an X resource. Don't try to push the interface to hard, that is, don't try to break it. You will most definitely succeed (not hard at all, I guess). Since I'm sort of an artist, I don't like breaking my own things so I haven't really tried to find the bugs. Special features (also called known bugs): * Try the "look" command. * Play a game against "You". * Do several things at "the same time". * Answer questions like "Accept double" or "join/leave" from the command line, not by using the interface. If you try them out, remember there's always the "Emergency" command around. -Jesper Blommaskog, author of "xibc" ----- [Just a reminder to client writers. Some of us live behind 'firewalls', or can only obtain phone access. Please remember us!] B4. What is LDB? (Long Distance Backgammon. BG by Email)Long Distance Backgammon. Play backgammon by E-mail.Program written by Perry R. Ross (perry@aap.com) From the ldb man page: Ldb allows two people to play backgammon over a network using electronic mail. It runs on character-oriented terminals, or emulators thereof, using the curses screen package. It will run on most UNIX dialects, as well as VAX-C under VMS 5.0 and above. Ldb handles all aspects of starting, playing, checking, and scoring games. It enforces all normal game rules, as well as several optional rules, and will not let you make an illegal move. When you have made your moves, ldb will automatically package your move and send them to your opponent. The latest version is 1.3.2. Version 1.3 can be found in directory volume36. Patches can be found in subsequent volumes at your favorite comp.sources.misc archive site. Patch 1 is in volume 39. Patch 2 is in volume 41. Use: 'unix_prompt$ archie ldb' to locate the sources. [from Perry] [Has anybody written a PC/Mac version using CC-mail via a Novell network?] [from Perry...] [Anybody have a little ambition?] The ldb 'game starter' operated by leopard@midnight.WPI.edu (Leo Gestetner) has been shut down. [ Are there others? ...Mark] LDB may be obtained on the net from: ftp://ftp.funet.fi/pub/vms/games/board/ldb.shr and ftp://ftp.funet.fi/pub/unix/games/ldb.tar.gz B5. What other ways are there to play people via nets/modems/e-mail?Netgammon backgammon serverGarrett has shut down Netgammon as of late February 1995. It will be remembered and missed.
GEnieRSCARDS Backgammon on GEnieGEnie (General Electric's Consumer Information Service) offers on-line multi-player games in RSCARDS including backgammon. Features:
To sign up to GEnie, just follow these simple steps:
Once you have a GEnie account, simply type RSCARDS from
any GEnie prompt. This will take you to the main area, where you can download
GUI's and get general information on RSCARDS. TOURNAMENT INFORMATION: GEnie Backgammon Tourneys are held quarterly. Sign-ups
start: Tourney play starts the third Wednesday of those months [Section on tourney rules is available online at GEnie]
outlandBackgammon is among a package of eight Macintosh only internet games offerred for a flat monthly fee ($9.95) by the on-line service Outland, Inc. The games are advertised and offerred for ftp and free trial at http://www.outland.com/OutlandBackgammon.html Judging from the web page it appears to share many features with FIBS plus providing a nice built-in graphical (draggable pieces) interface.
PBeMPlay By E-MailWhile not quite in thte same league as FIBS, I have a PBeM Server that supports Backgammon as one of its' games. Send mail to: pbmserv@vtsu.prc.com with 'help' as the Subject: line for details, or visit Richards page at: http://coyote.vtsu.prc.com:8080/~pbmserv JavaGammonThis appears to be a backgammon server that allows players with the hotjava browser to play other players. The server has been created by Lee Smith.http://www-leland.stanford.edu/~leesmith/JavaGammon.html JavaGammon http://www-leland.stanford.edu/~leesmith/hotjava.html Info on Java extensions, programs, etc... B6. Are there any electronic tournaments?There are tournaments on FIBS and GEnie.Tournaments on FIBS have been organized by David Escoffery (davide), and David Eggert (snoopy). contact: davide@sco.com eggertd@aisb.ed.ac.uk http://www.dai.ed.ac.uk/staff/personal_pages/eggertd/backgammon.html GEnie has a quarterly single elimination tournament. $25 entry fee. Cash and credit prizes for first-fourth place. Hourly fee in effect while you play. The draw is non random, in that previous winners are placed such that they do not play each other in the first several rounds. B7. Do other game servers exist?BackgammonThere are no backgammon servers other than FIBS in operation on the internet at present.
BridgeGet 'OK.FAQ' from rec.games.bridge or rtfm.mit.edu for info on the Internet bridge server. Reported servers:
telnet okbridge@irc.nsysu.edu.tw 4321
login: okbridge password: okbridge
telnet bridge:bridge.0@zaphod.ttu.ee
login: bridge pasword: bridge.0
[The above servers have been reported to have an annual fee.]
telnet vanderbilt.okbridge.com
[Free guest trials are availble for the above server.]
A further source of information is available at:
http://www.cts.com/~okbridge/
Scrabble-liketelnet seabass.st.usm.edu 7777 or 134.53.14.112.7777 Chinese Chess (Xianqi) USA: telnet coolidge.harvard.edu 5555 or 128.103.28.15 5555
Sweden: telnet hippolytos.ud.chalmers.se 5555 or 129.16.79.39 5555
Taiwan: telnet 140.112.50.160 5555
A Xianqi Web page may be read at: http://www.io.org/~sung/xq/xq.html
OthelloOthello(tm)/Reversi: telnet faust.uni-paderborn.de 5000 Chessrafael.metiu.ucsb.edu 5000 128.111.246.2 5000 anemone.daimi.aau.dk 5000 130.225.18.58 5000 chess.lm.com 5000 129.15.10.21 5000 It has been reported that the chess servers now charge an anual fee. Goigs.nuri.net 6969 203.255.112.3 6969 information: tweet@ig.nuri.net tcasey@adobe.com It has been mentioned that it is possible to play chinese chess on this server. CheckersInformation about the checker playing program
``Chinook'' may be obtained by visiting the web page: Besides information, the Chinook page lets you play a game on-line against the computer program which has beaten the human world champion. Other Games Servers and Web Pageshttp://www.yahoo.com/Entertainment/Games YAHOO WWW Games Directory http://www.dcs.qmw.ac.uk/~steed/Games/bygame.html Games and Puzzles on the Internet http://www.io.com/games/servers.html A list of game servers http://www.inrete.it/games/telnet_e.html A list of game servers. Section C: ELECTRONIC BACKGAMMON: VS MACHINECommercial backgammon playing programsC1. Are there any BG programs out there for my computer? Where are they?JellyFishEver since Gerry Tesauro finished TD-Gammon, it was only a matter of time before a neural network program would become available to the public. That time has come. Fredrik Dahl's masterpiece, Jellyfish, is a breakthrough for backgammon. Both the checker play and cube action of the program are at an expert level, making Jellyfish a truly enjoyable and challenging competitor. In addition the program looks over your plays and points out when you have made a serious error, making it extremely valuable for learning purposes.Jellyfish is run under Windows for the PC. Moves are made with the mouse, and can be done very quickly and efficiently. The display is nice and easy to see. Some additional features of the program: Plays both single games and matches (yes, it understands match equities). Allows the user to construct positions and save them. Gives the user the program's evaluation of the equity of a position upon request, and the evaluation function is surprisingly accurate. Tells the user when he has made an error in checker play or cube decision, making the program the most valuable tutor in the world. In addition, a separate version is expected which will also permit the user to roll out positions. In the past computer rollouts were always suspect because the program didn't play well enough so the results could be very distorted. This is no longer the case, since Jellyfish definitely plays well enough to handle almost any position adequately. Results from its rollouts can be trusted, and we will be able to find the answers to many backgammon questions which we previously did not know. For the casual player, Jellyfish provides an excellent opponent and a way to improve while playing. For the serious student of the game, this program is an absolute must. Our knowledge of the game is about to take a quantum leap, and the player who does not have access to Jellyfish will be left far behind. Kit Woolsey
Hardware requirements: 386sx or better Also available from: The GAMMON PRESS , Carol Joy Cole and The Dansk Backgammon Forlag. The program, and technical support are also available from Larry Strommen within the USA. Contact: L. A. Strommen; 6866 Meadow View Dr.; Indianapolis, IN 46226Fredrik Dahl may be contacted at fredrikd@ifi.uio.no It should be noted that JellyFish uses a copy protection scheme. The program requires that you ``confirm'' your installation once a month, at the first of the month, by inserting the original disk. There are no limits to how many machines you may install the program on. The DOS rollout module is not protected at all, although the rollout files must be created using JellyFish. TD-GammonFrom wbitting@crl.com Sat Sep 16 20:40:09 PDT 1995Article: 9552 of rec.games.backgammon From: wbitting@crl.com (William C. Bitting) Newsgroups: rec.games.backgammon Subject: TD-Gammon & IBM Family FunPak Date: 14 Sep 1995 22:41:22 -0700 Excerpted from: by Jeri Dube (This section is out of sequence as presented in original article.) Although playing backgammon on a computer that plays as well as a world class master seems somewhat awe-inspiring, you can work up to it. The game comes with five skill settings, where each higher setting uses an increasing larger and more complex neural network as its underlying engine. If you want to use TD-Gammon to improve your backgammon skills, it is quite good as a learning device. Not only do you get feedback from the results of your playing but the system is quite supportive of you. It gives a modest, `I win' message when you lose and a hearty `Congratulations, you win!', when the computer loses. To embody this expert backgammon-playing neural network into an OS/2 game, IBM Research hired Keith Weiner, a professional PC game developer, to add a front end written for OS/2's presentation manager. TD-Gammon is fully 32-bit and takes full advantage of OS/2 Warp's multi-threading capabilities. Like all presentation manager programs, TD- Gammon comes with a settings notebook where you can set things such as the background color and the animation speed. Given the success of the TD-Gammon game, I asked Gerry what his next neural network game would be. He told me that researchers have used other games such as Chess, Othello, and Go with varying degrees of success to study neural network learning. None have been as successful as backgammon. Gerry theorizes that the stochastic element of backgammon (i.e. throwing the dice) is what makes backgammon so useful in modeling the self-learning process. With that in mind, Gerry's next venture into self-learning is with financial time series analysis. If that project is as successful at learning as the backgammon game, then I'm really looking forward to that program. For more information on Gerry's work, you may want to read his article ``Temporal Difference Learning and TD-Gammon'' published in Communications of the ACM, volume 38, number 3, pp. 58-68 (March 1995). (The newsletter article starts here and ends with the above 4 paragraphs.) When most people think of IBM Research, they tend to think of fractals, scanning- tunneling-electron microscopes, or high temperature superconductivity. Games are not usually one of the thoughts that come to mind. However, the TD- Gammon game included in the IBM Family FunPak for OS/2 Warp was developed by IBM Research. By virtue of being created at such an auspicious place, you would think that this version of backgammon is quite special. Well, to be quite honest and not so humble, it is! TD-Gammon is the most advanced computer version of backgammon. It can play at the most advanced levels. If the system were a human, it would be rated as a World Class Master. TD-Gammon was developed by IBM Research Staff Member, Gerry Tesauro. Gerry is not a game developer, rather he is a theoretical physicist who has been working in the area of neural networks and artificial intelligence for several years. He did not initially intend to develop an OS/2 game for the Family FunPak. All he wanted to develop was a basic research project to study learning algorithms that would enable a computer to teach itself a task. Gerry chose backgammon as the task because it appeared to be a good domain in which a neural network might work well. At this point you may be wondering now that I've mentioned it twice, what is a neural network? Well, in short, it's a model of interconnected neurons (also known as nodes) that was inspired by the logical neurons in the human nervous system. Each connection between neurons has a particular weight value associated with it. In the case of backgammon, the state of the backgammon board is fed into input neurons that have connections to hidden neurons (or units). These hidden neurons in turn connect to an output layer that holds the value of the state (that is, the chances of winning from that particular state). The computation between the input neurons and the hidden neurons is a weighted linear summation of all the input neurons. The result of the summation is put through a thresholding function. This function compresses the value to lie within a certain range of probabilities. (In case it ever comes up in conversation, the function is known as a squashing function.) The squashing function is a non- linear function. The non-linearity allows a system to learn more complex functions. To use this model to teach a system backgammon, all the initial weights between the neurons are randomly set. The neural network starts from the opening backgammon position and plays both sides until one of the sides wins. The outcome of the game is used as a reward signal for reinforcement learning. That is, the neural network takes the outcome of the game and adjusts the weights accordingly. The adjustments improve the network's ability to evaluate board states for subsequent plays of the game. This learning process is repeated hundreds and thousands of times. Using an RS/6000 computer, the learning actually took about two weeks. Gerry and his colleagues were amazed at how well the neural network learned to play backgammon. The system kept getting better and better until it reached the world class master status. Actually, the neural network could improve its play even more with further training and a larger network. TD-Gammon is available on the new IBM Family FunPak for OS/2. The FunPak may be purchased from Indulable Blue [add url] or from a number of other mail order software houses. From: jiml@teleport.com (Jim Little) IBM has made TD-Gammon, their supposedly groundbreaking neural network- based version of Backgammon, available for free download. It seems to be part of an attempt to promote their IBM Family FunPack. You can get it by surfing to http://www.austin.ibm.com/pspinfo/funtdgammon.htm and following the "Read the license information" link. You will have to fill out a form with your name, address, etc. (But nothing forces you to enter valid information. ;) ) From their web page: "TD Gammon requires OS/2 2.1 or higher, an Intel 386-SX or higher, with Advanced and Expert levels requiring a 486-DX 33MHz or higher, and a minimum of 6 meg of memory is recommended." -Jim Little (jiml@teleport.com) [md] The original article is available at: http://www.austin.ibm.com/psinfo/m4bakgam.htm Newsgroups: rec.games.backgammon From: tesauro@watson.ibm.com (Gerry Tesauro) Subject: TD-Gammon paper available by FTP Sender: Gerald Tesauro (tesauro@watson.ibm.com) Date: Wed, 2 Jun 1993 18:06:35 GMT Disclaimer: This posting represents the poster's views, not necessarily those of IBM.The following paper, which has been accepted for publication in Neural Computation, has been placed in the neuroprose archive at Ohio State. Instructions for retrieving the paper by anonymous ftp are appended below. ---------------------------------------------------------------
TD-Gammon, A Self-Teaching Backgammon Program,
Achieves Master-Level Play
Gerald Tesauro
IBM Thomas J. Watson Research Center
P. O. Box 704
Yorktown Heights, NY 10598
(tesauro@watson.ibm.com)
Abstract: TD-Gammon is a neural network that is able to teach itself to play backgammon solely by playing against itself and learning from the results, based on the TD(lambda) reinforcement learning algorithm (Sutton, 1988). Despite starting from random initial weights (and hence random initial strategy), TD-Gammon achieves a surprisingly strong level of play. With zero knowledge built in at the start of learning (i.e. given only a ``raw'' description of the board state), the network learns to play at a strong intermediate level. Furthermore, when a set of hand-crafted features is added to the network's input representation, the result is a truly staggering level of performance: the latest version of TD-Gammon is now estimated to play at a strong master level that is extremely close to the world's best human players. ---------------------------------------------------------------
FTP INSTRUCTIONS
unix% ftp archive.cis.ohio-state.edu (or 128.146.8.52)
Name: anonymous
Password: (use your e-mail address)
ftp> cd pub/neuroprose
ftp> binary
ftp> get tesauro.tdgammon.ps.Z
ftp> bye
unix% uncompress tesauro.tdgammon.ps
unix% lpr tesauro.tdgammon.ps
For a list of articles written by Gerry Tesauro, check out: A List of Backgammon Articles in Science and Business
Expert BackgammonExpert Backgammon 2.1 for PC: List of features.Mark Damish E-Mail: damish@ll.mit.edu Here is some initial information on Expert Backgammon version 2.1 for the IBM PC.
Shareware and Public Domain backgammon playing programsBLOTA backgammon program for MS-DOS"I believe Blot makes primarily other mistakes than the backgammon programs I know. Due to the selective (rather speculative) style definitely Blot is tactically the weakest program of all (with outrageous blunders in the endgame), but positionally not as flawed as many computer opponents." Blot has good results against many backgammon progs (see blot.doc). If you have any comments on blot, the authors are glad to receive mail from you. In case you don't want to bother with sending (real) mail, you can E-mail me, I'll forward your comments to the authors. The programm is still being developed, so be prepaired to get new blot versions soon :-). I hope you enjoy the programm! Alexander Fuchs available from: ftp://ftp.cybercom.net/pub/users/damish/backgammon/ Backgammon, By George!Backgammon, by George! Version 1.50 has been available since June 1995. This shareware ($15) program is suitable for Windows 3.x and Windows 95 and may be downloaded from the WINFUN forum in CompuServe and other places on the net. If you can't find it contact the author:George Sutty P.O.Box 6247 bg06Backgammon for Windows version 0.6A fairly weak backgammon program for windows, originally introduced in 1990. bg06 is available for anonymous ftp from ftp.cica.indiana.edu in the directory /pub/win3/games/
A PD mac program called ?There is a backgammon game for the Macintosh by Stephen Young, Debra Willrett, and David Young. The 1.0 version is fairly widespread, although there is a 2.0 version (dated May 25, 1989) available on America Online. The play is pretty weak, and the graphics are designed for the original small B&W Mac screen, but if you're really bored and can't find a human opponent, it works. The game is freeware, and you get what you pay for.-- Paul Ferguson
Death by BackgammonFor those interested in a good bg game for Windows, why not try Death By Backgammon for Windows. It runs under Windows 3.1 or OS2/2.1, and features animated dice/game pieces, comprehensive help, move undo, suggest move, speed control over all motion, and is fully resizeable. Best of all, its strategy is very competitive (I wrote the thing, and have a roughly 50:50 average against it over many hundreds of games). If you are interested, I would be happy to send out a shareware version for evaluation. The shareware version is fully functional, except that the computer's moves are painfully slow. There is also a DOS version, which is a bit older, but still features animation and VGA graphics.To get hold of the program there are two options:
Prices: Shareware - Nil
Registered: WIN $AS 35.00, $US 30.00.
DOS $AS 20.00, $US1 5.00.
My Postal address is: Chris Kanaris
PO Box 495
Essendon,
Victoria, 3040
Australia.
[ People who have tried the shareware version claim that the program plays a pretty weak game. Hopefully computer bg game writers will continue to make their games stronger and stronger. Not and easy task! ]
xgammonFrom: klasen@obelix.uni-muenster.de at SMTP-Post-Office Subject: contribution to FAQ xgammon.0.96 xgammon is a BG-playing programm originally written for Linux. The authors are Lambert Klasen (klasen@uni-muenster.de) and Detlef Steuer (steuer@amadeus.statistik.uni-dortmund.de, blotstorm on FIBS) Features: xgammon is Freeware under the Gnu Copyright. xgammon has nice graphical interface, you move by clicking on mousebuttons. You can do a maildump for a position, that means you get a file with a FIBS style board with current position in it. You can do money game or tournament game. You can edit positions via mouse on the board or via ascii plain text files. You can turn doubling on and off. You can do rollouts with doubling turned on and off. The programm uses an endgame database for perfect bearing off (and for reasonable running game). There is an compi_finish for shorten the boring part of the game. and and and .... You can have fun with xgammon. Give xgammon a chance getting compiled on your machine. We'd like any reactions, especially porting reports to OS different from Linux. (heard of AIX and Sun OS compiling), especially bug reports . Send a mail if you use it, please! You find the latest Version of xgammon, at the time xgammon.0.96.tar.gz, at ftp sunsite.unc.edu /pub/Linux/X11/games/strategy/xgammon.0.96.tar.gz. Detlef Steuer steuer@amadeus.statistik.uni-dortmund.de (blotstorm on FIBS) MiscOther programs that can be found around the net include: backga.zip, egagam20.zip pcgame.zip, pcgam416.zip and pcgammon.zip. Check DOS related ftp sites for locations.
C2. Which programs are good? How good is good? Program Name Source Type Score
----------------- ------ ------ ------
TD-GAMMON 2.1 N/A N/A -0.05
TD-GAMMON IBM OS/2
JellyFish 1.0 Dahl IBM-PC/Win -0.15
Expert BG 2.1 Weaver IBM-PC -0.20
Expert BG 1.61 Weaver IBM-PC -0.35
Championship BG Spinnaker IBM-PC -0.66
Expert BG Komodo Macintosh -0.82
Sensory BG 2 Scitek Portable -0.94
Backgammon Odesta IBM-PC -1.20
BG by George GS Labs IBM-PC/Win -1.52
Video Gammon Baudville IBM-PC -1.61
PC-Gammon Repsted IBM-PC -3.67
Gammon Gakken Portable -12.40
Windows BG Baudville IBM-PC/Win -13.83
Gammon Pal Fidelity Portable -15.63
Micro BG Fidelity Portable -15.53
Games People Play Toolworks IBM-PC -26.60
[ From the 1994 The GAMMON PRESS catalog.
and program reviews in Inside Backgammon.]
Score is the number of points won per game, on average, against a top
flight human player. Very large numbers are caused by bad doubling algorit |
