Have you ever looked at a backgammon board and thought "What the heck"? To the beginning backgammon player, it can look completely foreign and slightly confusing, but it looks really nice does it not? Of course, there is more to backgammon that just a nice looking board. So, let's dissect the backgammon board and find out just what is what.

The first thing you need to do is open it of course, but I bet you already knew that! Here is what you should find:

- Fifteen White Checkers

- Fifteen Black Checkers

- Two White Dice

- Two Black Dice

- Two Shakers

- One Doubling Cube

Make sure you have everything, it is virtually impossible to play a proper game of backgammon, without the proper setup. Furthermore, depending on the game you have, the pieces may be of different colors and could possibly only come with one set of dice for you to share.

The backgammon board has a series of triangles, which are also referred to as points and there are twenty-four of them, and sections that are referred to as quadrants and there are four of these. It is necessary to count the points in order to place the checkers properly.

The checkers are placed as followed, keep in mind that the first point is located at the bottom right hand corner, the last point will be at the upper right hand corner, this is according to wherever you and your partner is sitting:

The players place:

- Two on point 24

- Five on point 13

- Three on point 8

- Five on Point 6

Remember, the points are counted according to where you are sitting. Therefore, your number 24 point will be on the opposite side as your opponents 24 point.

The doubling cube a tricky little thing and generally confusing to new players, is a dice that carries the numbers 2, 4, 18, 16, 32, and 64 on six sides. This cube is used for doubling whatever stakes are currently on the game, which may include losing some points. Generally, doubling cube is only used when money is at stake during game play.

The backgammon board has a division bar, which separates the inner board from the outer board. The whole point of the game is to get your checkers into your side of the inner board, which will be the side nearest you. At the end, you will each have a section for holding your checkers. Once all of your checkers are in your section of the inner board, you will be able to "bear off" and remove them from the board, into your section to go for the win.