Hypergammon

Three checkers each — backgammon at double speed

Hypergammon is backgammon stripped to its bones: three checkers per player instead of fifteen, starting on the 24-, 23- and 22-points. Every rule is unchanged — the moves, hitting, the bar, bearing off, gammons, the doubling cube. What changes is the tempo: a game lasts a couple of minutes, and one hit can decide it. You can play it free here against the computer or a friend.

The starting position

Each player puts one checker on the 24-point, one on the 23-point and one on the 22-point — three in total, all of them deep inside the opponent's home board, as far from home as a checker can be. Six checkers on the whole board.

The starting pip count is 69, against 167 in the standard game. That single number explains everything about how the variant plays.

What the rules say

Nothing is new. Everything in the backgammon rules applies:

• Both dice are played, doubles four times, use as many dice as you can.
• A lone checker is a blot and can be hit to the bar — which here means every checker is a blot until you stack two on a point.
• You bear off once all your checkers are home. With three, that comes quickly.
• Gammons count double and backgammons triple, and both are common.
• The doubling cube and match play work the same way.

What the game feels like

• It is over fast. Three checkers, 69 pips each — a game can be finished in five or six rolls if the dice cooperate.
• Everything is exposed. With three checkers you can hold at most one made point, and only by giving up a third of your material to do it. Blots are the normal state of affairs, not a mistake.
• A hit hurts twice as much. Sending one of three checkers back to the bar costs a third of your position, and there is little left to cover the damage with.
• Gammons everywhere. Because bearing off takes so few rolls, the loser has often not borne off anything at all when the winner finishes. Playing with the cube, that changes what a double is worth.
• It is a study tool. Hypergammon is small enough that it has been solved by computer — every position has a known best play. Players use it to sharpen bear-off and hitting judgement without the noise of a full board.

If you want more material to work with, Nackgammon goes the other way: the standard fifteen checkers, but four of them stuck at the back.

Questions people ask

How many checkers do you have in Hypergammon?

Three per player, six on the board. They start on the 24-, 23- and 22-points — one checker on each, deep in the opponent's home board.

Are the rules of Hypergammon different from backgammon?

No. Movement, hitting, the bar, bearing off, gammons and the doubling cube all work exactly as in backgammon. Only the number of checkers and where they start is different.

Why do so many Hypergammon games end in a gammon?

Because bearing off three checkers takes only a few rolls. A player who falls behind often has not borne off a single checker by the time the leader finishes, which is a gammon and counts double.

Is Hypergammon just luck?

Luck weighs more than in the full game because there is less material to work with, but the decisions are real: when to hit, when to run and when to leave a checker exposed. Hypergammon has been solved by computer, so it is also a favourite for studying exact play.

What is the starting pip count in Hypergammon?

69 for each player: checkers on the 24-, 23- and 22-points add up to 69 pips, against 167 in standard backgammon.

Play Hypergammon now

Pick Hypergammon above the board, choose the computer or send a friend a private link, and roll. Free, no signup, rules enforced for you.

More: how to play backgammon, the board setup, the complete rules, the best opening moves, strategy, and Nackgammon.