backgammon
Enable an AI agent to recognise backgammon, assess a recorded game state and determine which checker moves, cube decisions or settlement actions its governing rules permit.
Research draft, second pass
A second pass drafted this model: the structure a model of this thing needs, and what is known about it in the world. The line under this one says how the second half was obtained - researched against sources, or recalled without web access, in which case nothing here was read anywhere and every claim is a lead to verify. Unreviewed either way.
Researched by: Codex
Purpose and description
Enable an AI agent to recognise backgammon, assess a recorded game state and determine which checker moves, cube decisions or settlement actions its governing rules permit.
It can be Identify whether a supplied game record represents backgammon under a stated rules profile.; Reconstruct and validate a position from a board observation or move record.; Enumerate legal checker-play sequences and explain forced moves or inability to move.; Determine whether a double may be offered and which responses are permitted.; Compare candidate plays or cube decisions under a declared evaluation method and uncertainty.; Classify a completed game, calculate its score and update match status..
Distinguishing features
Standard backgammon uses 24 points and 15 checkers per side; a record with different counts needs an explicit variant designation.
Opponents move in opposite directions along a shared track toward their respective home boards and then bear off.
A lone opposing checker can be hit and placed on the bar, whereas a point occupied by two or more opposing checkers blocks landing.
A player with checkers on the bar must enter them before moving other checkers.
Ordinary play uses two dice, with doubles supplying four moves of the rolled value; cube use and gammon scoring require the applicable rules profile to distinguish related games and variants.
Scope
+ Identification of backgammon and the rules profile governing a game
+ Checker positions, movement directions, bar occupancy and borne-off checkers
+ Dice results, legal move obligations and turn completion
+ Doubling-cube state, offers, responses and applicable restrictions
+ Game termination, result classification and match progression
- Manufacture, materials, ownership and physical condition of boards, checkers and dice
- Player identity, biography, general ability and account administration
- Tournament registration, scheduling and venue management
- Payments, betting accounts and financial settlement
- Implementation of game servers, interfaces and analysis engines
Characteristics
- Rules profile
- Named ruleset, edition and explicitly recorded local variations Determines which movement, doubling, scoring and procedural rules apply.
- Board position
- Checker counts by side on each of 24 points, on the bar and borne off Provides the position from which recognition, legality and termination can be assessed.
- Board orientation
- Point-numbering convention, each side's home board and movement direction Prevents a valid position or move from being misread after rotation or transcription.
- Turn phase
- Opening roll, pre-roll decision, cube response, checker play or completed game Determines who may act and which actions are currently available.
- Dice entitlement
- Rolled die values and remaining move values, including four uses for doubles Supports checking move sequences and whether the turn has been fully played.
- Cube condition
- Cube enabled status, current value, holder or centred status, and pending offer Determines doubling authority and the value at stake.
- Competition context
- Single game, money play or match play, with relevant scoring conventions Changes how game results and cube decisions affect the larger contest.
- Match score
- Points per side and target points, when playing a match Determines match completion and score-dependent cube restrictions.
- Game result
- Unfinished or completed, with winner, termination reason, result class and awarded points Separates the way a game ended from how its result is scored.
- Record completeness
- Known, unknown or disputed position, dice, cube, score and action-history components Prevents missing evidence from being treated as a settled game state.
Also called
Where this came from
wikidata · CC0 1.0
Drafted structure
Bundle to layer to finding to question, as the second pass will find it: 5 bundles · 10 layers · 10 findings · 22 questions.
Backgammon identity Establishes which backgammon conventions govern the represented game.
The game's name alone does not settle variant, cube or scoring rules.
Game recognition
Tests whether the represented game has the defining structure of backgammon.
Recognition evidence
Records evidence for the point layout, checker complement, opposing movement, hitting, bar entry and bearing-off mechanics.
- Does this game use the standard 24-point board and 15 checkers per side, or is a departure explicitly identified? definition
- Do its hitting, bar-entry and bearing-off rules identify backgammon or require classification as a related game? boundary
Governing conventions
Connects the game to the rules needed to interpret its state and actions.
Applicable rules
Records the governing rules source and explicit variations affecting play, cube use or scoring.
- Which rulebook, platform rules or agreed conventions govern this game, and which edition applies? provenance
- Which departures from standard play have been agreed, and which unresolved conventions prevent a legality or scoring decision? boundary
Checker position Represents where the checkers are and how that position should be read.
Move legality depends on exact occupancy, movement direction and checker locations outside the points.
Position interpretation
Establishes an unambiguous reading of board coordinates and checker counts.
Oriented checker inventory
Records point occupancy, bar and borne-off counts using an explicit orientation for both sides.
- Which numbering convention, home board and movement direction apply to each side? definition
- How many checkers of each side occupy every point, the bar and the borne-off area, and do the totals reconcile to 15? measurement
Position constraints
Identifies the occupancy conditions that enable or block checker movement.
Entry, hitting and home status
Records bar-entry obligations, opposing blots and blocked points, and eligibility to bear off.
- Which checkers must enter from the bar, and which candidate landing points are open, opposing blots or blocked? measurement
- Are all of the acting side's remaining checkers in its home board so that bearing off is permitted? action
Dice and checker play Tracks the acting side, dice entitlement and legal completion of a checker turn.
A plausible individual move can still form part of an illegal turn if dice-use obligations are ignored.
Roll and action phase
Separates opening-roll resolution, pre-roll decisions and checker movement.
Active roll
Records whose action is due, the accepted dice result and the remaining move values.
- Is this the opening roll, a pre-roll decision or an active checker turn, and which side is entitled to act? measurement
- Which dice values were accepted, and which move values remain after accounting for doubles and moves already made? measurement
Complete-turn legality
Assesses entire move sequences against movement and dice-use requirements.
Permitted move sequences
Determines legal sequences, including entry priority, intermediate landings, bearing-off conditions and mandatory dice use.
- Which complete sequences satisfy bar-entry priority, legal intermediate landings and exact or permitted oversized bearing-off moves? action
- Does the sequence use both dice when possible, the higher die when only one of two different dice can be used, and as many moves as possible for doubles? action
- If the turn ends with unused move values, what position evidence demonstrates that no required additional move was available? provenance
Doubling decisions Represents cube authority, pending offers and their consequences.
Checker position alone cannot determine whether doubling is available or what accepting or declining means.
Cube availability
Determines whether the acting side may offer a double.
Doubling authority
Records cube value and ownership alongside phase and match restrictions.
- Is cube use enabled, what is its current value, and is it centred or held by a particular side? measurement
- May this side double at this point in the turn, considering cube ownership and any Crawford-game restriction? action
Cube offer resolution
Tracks an offered double until its permitted response is resolved.
Take and pass consequences
Records the offer, respondent and resulting cube or game state.
- Who offered the pending double, what value is proposed, and which responses does the rules profile permit? action
- What cube value and ownership follow acceptance, or what game value is awarded if the offer is declined? measurement
Game and match resolution Determines how a game ends, what it scores and whether the contest continues.
A win, its multiplier and its effect on a match are distinct judgments requiring different evidence.
Termination and result
Distinguishes bearing-off completion, cube refusal, resignation and procedural endings.
Result classification
Records the termination basis and evidence for a single game, gammon or backgammon result where applicable.
- Did the game end through bearing off, a declined double, an accepted resignation or a ruling, and what confirms that ending? provenance
- For a bearing-off win, has the loser borne off any checkers, and if none, does the loser still have a checker on the bar or in the winner's home board? measurement
- If resignation ended the game, what result level was offered and accepted under the governing rules? action
Score and continuation
Applies the result to the governing game or match context.
Award and next game
Records awarded points, updated match score and restrictions affecting any next game.
- What points follow from the termination reason, applicable cube value and result multiplier, including any agreed scoring exceptions? measurement
- Has either side reached the match target, or must another game begin with an updated Crawford status and reset board and cube? action
What the second pass must settle
- Does the registry intend this entry to cover only standard two-player backgammon, or also named variants and multiplayer formats such as chouette?
- Which authoritative rules source and edition should anchor default movement, cube, resignation and scoring judgments?
- Which optional money-play conventions, including Jacoby rules, beavers and automatic doubles, must the model represent explicitly?
- Should clocks, illegal-move correction windows, disputed dice and tournament rulings belong here or in a linked competition-procedure model?
- What evidence and evaluation method are required before an agent may recommend a checker play or cube decision, and how should uncertainty be expressed?