Frequently Asked Questions
A practical FAQ covering the most-asked questions about GamesGrid Backgammon — what the platform is, how it works, what's free, how dice fairness is handled, what happens to legacy GamesGrid accounts, and where to go for support. Sections are grouped by topic. For the deeper background on any answer, follow the cross-links.
About the Platform
What is GamesGrid?
GamesGrid is a backgammon platform with roots going back to December 1996. The original server operated until 2008 and was one of the first dedicated online backgammon platforms in the world, home to the legendary GG bots (GG Weasel, GG Raccoon, GG Forever, GG Otter, GG Chipmunk, MrHyperBot). The domain was re-acquired in 2021 and the platform is being rebuilt as a modern browser-first backgammon server. The full thirty-year arc is on the history page.
When does the new GamesGrid launch?
The platform is in active development. Specific launch dates have not been announced. The fastest way to be notified the moment the browser version is live is the newsletter — sign up on the homepage or the downloads page.
Do I need to download anything?
No. The 2026 platform is browser-first. Open gamesgrid.com in any modern browser (Chrome, Safari, Firefox, Edge), sign in, and play. Native apps for iOS, Android, Windows, and macOS are planned for future releases. Details on the downloads page.
What happened to my old GamesGrid account from 1996–2008?
The original CyberArts Inc. servers were shut down between 2008 and 2010, and the account databases from that era no longer exist. The 2026 platform is a fresh start — every player creates a new account. The original GamesGrid community is welcome to return; the original accounts are not technically recoverable.
Accounts & Membership
Is GamesGrid free to play?
A free tier will exist at launch. Premium membership tiers will offer additional features. The specifics of pricing, tier benefits, and what stays free forever will be published closer to launch — see the membership page for the current statement of the model.
Can I play on multiple devices?
Yes. Match state and ratings live on the GamesGrid server, not on your local device. You can start a match on a desktop browser, continue on mobile, and finish on another desktop — the position, the cube, and the clock are all preserved server-side.
Will my rating carry over from another platform?
No. Ratings on GamesGrid start fresh for every account. Strong players ascend the rating ladder quickly; the FIBS-style match-length-weighted ELO formula (documented here) ensures that a few rated matches against strong opponents establish a reliable rating within a few sessions.
The Backgammon Board, Pieces, and Movement
What does a backgammon board look like?
A backgammon board is a long rectangle divided into four quadrants by a raised central bar, with 24 narrow triangular points (also called pips or spikes) arranged around the perimeter — six per quadrant. Each player has a home board (the six points nearest their bear-off tray) and an outer board (the six points beyond the bar). The full geometric layout and quadrant naming is on the backgammon setup page.
How many pieces does each player have in backgammon?
Each player has 15 checkers (sometimes called pieces, stones, or men). The 15-checker count is universal across standard backgammon, Turkish Tavla, and Greek Tavli (Portes). The variants change this: Hypergammon uses 3 checkers per player; Nackgammon keeps the standard 15 but in a different starting arrangement.
What's the right way to set up a backgammon board?
Place 2 of your checkers on your 24-point, 5 on your 13-point, 3 on your 8-point, and 5 on your 6-point. The opponent's setup is the exact mirror image. The opening pip count is 167 for both players. Full step-by-step setup, including board orientation and a verification table, is on the backgammon setup page.
Which direction does each player move?
Players move in opposite directions around the board, each toward their own home board and bear-off tray. From a player's own perspective their checkers move from the 24-point through the outer board, across the bar, into the home board (the 6-point down to the 1-point), and off the board. Each player numbers the points from their own perspective — Player A's 1-point is the same physical location as Player B's 24-point.
What happens when you roll doubles in backgammon?
When you roll doubles (both dice showing the same number), you play that number four times instead of twice — for example, 4-4 lets you move four separate checkers four pips each, or any combination totalling sixteen pips. Doubles occur on 6 of the 36 possible rolls (16.67% probability). Note that dice doubles are unrelated to the doubling cube — see the rules page for the cube mechanics.
How is backgammon scored?
A normal win counts one point at the current cube value. A gammon — winning while the opponent hasn't borne off any checkers — counts two points at the cube value. A backgammon — winning while the opponent still has a checker in your home board or on the bar — counts three points at the cube value. Match play tracks running point totals; the first player to reach the announced match length wins.
What are the instructions for backgammon?
Each player rolls a single die to decide who plays first (higher number, using the combined roll as the opening play). Players then alternate turns: roll two dice, move two checkers (or one checker twice) by the values shown, hit any opposing blots in your path, and work to bring all 15 checkers into your home board and then bear them off. The first player to bear off all 15 wins. Full instructions including the doubling cube, hitting, the bar, and re-entry are on the backgammon rules page.
Gameplay
Which ruleset does GamesGrid use?
Standard international tournament rules. Full documentation on the rules page and step-by-step board setup. Cube play with Crawford (documented here) and Jacoby (documented here) for money games. Beavers and raccoons are available in money play. The Hypergammon and Nackgammon variants are also supported.
Does GamesGrid support regional variants?
Yes. Greek Tavli (Portes, Plakoto, Fevga), Turkish Tavla (Uzun Tavla, with future support for Kırık Tavla and Gül Bar), and Russian/Persian Nardi (short and long forms) are on the roadmap. The rules page covers the variants in detail.
Are there time controls?
Yes. Standard tournament clocks with reserve time per point of match length, plus the casual no-clock option for friendly play.
Can I export my matches for analysis?
Yes. Every match plays back from the server-side record into standard SGF or JF (Jellyfish) format. You can import the file into GNU Backgammon, eXtreme Gammon (XG), or BGBlitz for independent post-game analysis. There is no proprietary lock-in on match data.
Bots & Career Mode
What are the GG bots?
The legendary GamesGrid bot family from 1996–2008 — GG Weasel, GG Raccoon, GG Forever, GG Otter, GG Chipmunk, and MrHyperBot — are returning, recreated from their documented playing fingerprints. The original bots were built on a fork of GNU Backgammon and were graded by induced-error frequency to produce a skill ladder from novice (GG Chipmunk) to full-strength (GG Forever, 2-ply). The full historical detail is on the Bots & AI page.
Will the new bots be the same as the old bots?
The classic cast returns with the same character identities and the same approximate playing styles. They are joined by a new generation of named bot opponents covering the full skill ladder. More detail closer to launch.
What is Career Mode?
A new single-player career mode is in development alongside the multiplayer rooms. Specific structure and mechanics will be published closer to launch.
Will bot opponents be calibrated to lose to me?
No. This is explicit platform policy. Every bot plays at its published level — it makes errors at its published rate, not more, not less. There is no algorithmic adjustment of bot strength based on player frustration, session retention, or any other player-modelling signal. The dice are uniform and the bot's evaluation is the same for every player, every game.
Dice Fairness & RNG Integrity
How are dice rolls generated?
Through the Mersenne Twister pseudo-random number generator (MT19937), with seed sources logged to an append-only audit trail. The algorithm has a period of — astronomically larger than any plausible lifetime of dice rolls on the platform — and is 623-dimensionally equidistributed, meaning successive sequences of 623 outputs are statistically uniform in a high-dimensional sense.
The original CyberArts-era GamesGrid (1996–2008) used the same Mersenne Twister algorithm. The new platform inherits that commitment to a named, transparent, audit-logged RNG. The full technical treatment, including a documented contrast case (SafeHarbor Games), is on the Bots & AI page.
Can the platform "fix" the dice for or against specific players?
No. Dice are generated from the Mersenne Twister stream and assigned to game requests in the order they arrive at the server, with no per-account or per-game manipulation. The seed for each match is logged and can be independently audited. The architectural design makes per-player manipulation impossible without falsifying the audit log — which would itself be detectable.
Do bots get better dice than humans?
No. Bots receive dice from the same Mersenne Twister stream as human players, in the same way as human players. The original CyberArts-era documentation made the same statement; modern engineering preserves it. Strong bots (and strong human players) appear to receive better dice because they make better use of every roll — but the underlying distribution is uniform.
Analysis & PR Ratings
What is a Performance Rating (PR)?
A measure of the quality of play across a match (or sequence of matches), expressed in millipoints lost per move versus a reference bot. Lower is better. PR < 3 is world-class; PR 3–5 is expert; PR 5–8 is strong club player. The full treatment is on the PR & ELO page.
Will my PR be visible?
Yes. PR is the published rating, not a hidden internal score. Rolling PR over your recent matches appears on your profile alongside your ELO.
How does GamesGrid PR compare to PR from XG2 or GNU Backgammon?
GamesGrid PR is calibrated against XG2 4-ply rollouts — the same reference oracle used by the wider competitive community. Per-move equity loss calculations match GNU Backgammon's 2-ply analysis within roughly 0.5 mEMG. You can export your matches and re-analyse them in XG or GNU Backgammon and the resulting PR will be substantially consistent with what GamesGrid reports.
Disputes, Conduct, and Support
What if my opponent disconnects mid-match?
Disconnection handling follows the historical GamesGrid convention: matches that are interrupted without resolution are scheduled for Automated Match Resolution (AMR) after a defined period of inactivity. The trailing player who refuses to resume after request can be classified as a dropper and is subject to penalty under the community standards.
What counts as cheating?
Cheating is dealt with in detail on the standards page. The categories are unchanged from the original GamesGrid policy: cheaters (players who deliberately lose to boost another player's rating), boosters (players who win points from cheaters), droppers (players who intentionally exit games in disadvantageous positions), and collusion (coordinated multi-account or live-aided play). All are grounds for account suspension.
How do I report a problem?
Contact channels are on the contact page. Standards-related reports route to the community operations team; technical issues route to platform support.
See Also
- Rules — full standard ruleset.
- Bots & AI — RNG details and engine lineage.
- Performance Ratings — PR and ELO methodology.
- Community Standards — the code of conduct.
- Membership — what's free, what's premium.
- Downloads — browser, mobile, and analysis software.
- Contact — how to reach support.