Acey-deucey

Acey-deucey is a variant of backgammon. Since World War I, it has been a favorite game of the United States Navy, Marine Corps, and Merchant Marine. [ cite web|url=http://www.bkgm.com/variants/AceyDeucey-American.html |title=Backgammon Variants: American Acey-Deucey |accessdate=2008-01-22 |work=Backgammon Galore! ]

Compared to standard backgammon, acey-deucey features a differing starting position, opening play, and rules for the endgame and the use of the doubling cube. Because checkers may be retained in one's opponent's home board, the game offers substantial opportunities for backgame play.

Initial setup

The components of acey-deucey match those of backgammon, including identical boards, number of pieces, and dice. To begin the game, none of either player's 15 checkers are on the board.

Opening play

The initial play is markedly different from that of standard backgammon. Play passes back and forth, with each player rolling both dice. No piece may be moved by a player until either both dice reveal the same number (doubles) or a roll of a '1' and a '2' is obtained (a roll of 1-2 is referred to as an acey-deucey). A player who rolls doubles may move a total of 4 times, each move traversing as many spaces as the rolled amount (two fives rolled result in four moves of five points each). Moving from the starting position counts as one space.

Although normally any piece may be moved legally, in acey-deucey, no piece on the board may be moved until all pieces belonging to the player in question have been moved from the starting position. After rolling these doubles, another turn is taken by the player. Upon rolling an acey-deucey, a player may move one piece one space, and one piece two spaces (may be the same piece as the earlier piece) and an additional four moves of a number to be chosen by the player. In other words, a 1-2 followed by any doubles. After rolling Acey-Deucey another turn is taken by the player. After this initial movement from the starting position, the player who rolled doubles or acey-deucey does not need to roll these specific values to move from the starting position, but if the other player has not yet rolled these specific values, the restrictions still apply.

Play

After the opening, gameplay is nearly identical to that of backgammon, with some notable differences:
#Upon rolling doubles or acey-deucey, the player must roll and move again.
#A roll of acey-deucey counts as a 1-2, and as doubles of the player's choice.
#Upon reaching one's own home board, a piece may not be moved again until all others have arrived.
#An exact roll is required to bear off.

Variants

Variants of the above rules exists that makes the game more restrictive.
#Upon rolling acey-deucey, the player does not choose the doubles for his next move. Instead, he rolls one die and uses that number for the doubles choice
#If a player rolls acey-deucey but is unable to utilize both the 1 and 2 (most likely because he is blocked), his turn ends. He does not get any doubles, and he does not get another roll.
#If a player rolls doubles but is unable to utilize all 4 moves (most likely because he is blocked), his turn ends. He does not get another roll. This rule also holds for doubles following an acey-deucey
#Pieces may be freely moved inside one's home (bear-off) area until all other pieces have arrived. This is the opposite from the description above
#Once all pieces have arrived to the player's home area, they may not move any more.
#Unlike regular backgammon, you may only bear off pieces that exactly match the dice roll. For instance, if the 6 and 5 points are open and you roll a 6-5, you may not use that roll to bear off a checker from the 4-point.
#Pieces may be only moved from the bar upon rolling doubles.
#The ability to take extra rolls for doubles and acey-deucey during bearing off have the same rules stated above. If you roll an acey-deucey but cannot bear off a checker from both the 1-point and the 2-point, you are not entitled to a roll for doubles or another turn. If you roll a 6-6 and only have three checkers on your 6-point to bear off, you may not take another turn (although you can bear off the three checkers from that point).

References