50 Challenging Situations for You to Rate Your Ability with the Experts. Suggestions, and rules of thumb for improving your strategies during the various stages of the game. If you already play backgammon, don't you sometimes wonder how good you really are? Well, this book is your chance to really find out. The 50 situations presented here cover most of the aspects of the game, from initial moves to bearing off strategies. Each problem is graded on the basis of five points for the optimum play and some partial credit for sub-optimum but adequate ones, if such exist. If you rack up a score of 225-250, you rank right up there with the experts—you should think seriously of competing in Backgammon Tournaments. If you score 200-224, you are not an expert yet, but you are rapidly approaching this point. A score of 135-199 indicates that you are a good, sound player, probably the best in your neighborhood. If you score less than 135 points, there is no need for despair. Study this book carefully. It can serve as a case studies tool for improving your game. Besides, the problems presented are not only mind-taxing, they are also entertaining. And the justifications for the optimum play are clearly explained, often culminating in various useful rules of thumb (the closer-closest rule, the rule of even, etc. ) for difficult, but commonly occurring situations. Good luck!