Shesh Besh Rules

Shesh Besh, also known as “Backgammon”, is one of the oldest and most famous board games globally. It relies on strategic thinking, tactics, and a bit of luck for players to succeed against their opponents. The primary goal of the game is to move all of one's checkers from their initial positions to the opponent's home board, which is the last section on the board, with the player who manages to take off all their checkers first declared the winner.

The game is played on a wooden board divided into four quadrants, each containing six points. Players use playing checkers, and at the beginning of the game, each player has 15 checkers, which are divided into two colors, typically white and black, with the colors serving only to distinguish between the players.

Starting Positions

Before starting the game, each player places their 15 checkers in their designated areas.

How to Play

1.      Determining the Starting Player:

Each player rolls a single die, and the player with the higher value starts the game by rolling the dice and moving the checkers. In case of a tie in the initial die roll, the players reroll until a winner is determined, with the application automatically handling this process when starting the game.

2.      Moving the Checkers:

At the beginning of the game, the player rolls two dice on the playing table. The movement of the checkers is based on the values obtained when rolling the dice. The player can move one checker for each die or move a single checker by the total value of both dice. Players can only move checkers to empty points or points that have their own checkers. Checkers cannot be moved to points containing two or more opponent checkers.

3.      Rolling a Double:

If the player rolls a double (both dice show the same value), it is called a "double”. In this case, the player gets to make double moves (example: rolling a double 5 allows the player to move four checkers by 5 points each instead of two).

4.      Removing Opponent's Checkers:

When moving checkers to a point occupied by a single checker belonging to the opponent, that checker is removed from the board and placed in the center. In this case, the opponent cannot make a move or move other checkers until reintroducing the removed checker back onto the board.

Removing Checkers

- A player can remove their checkers only when all checkers are in the last quadrant, known as the home board.

- Removing checkers must match the exact value shown on the dice.

- Checkers can be removed only if there are no checkers with the same value as the roll.

- Removing checkers is optional, and the player can instead move checkers within the last quadrant based on the dice roll.