What is Hypergammon?
Hypergammon is backgammon with three checkers per side instead of fifteen. Each player starts with one checker on each of its 24-, 23- and 22-points, deep in the opponent's home board, and every rule of standard backgammon applies: hitting, entering from the bar, bearing off, the doubling cube, gammons and backgammons.
With so few checkers, a game takes a few minutes. Every checker matters: blots are everywhere, a single hit can turn the game, and a player who falls behind in the race often has to wait back and hope for a shot. Gammons are common, because a player whose checkers are trapped may not bear off any before the opponent finishes.
The small size makes it a good way to practise hitting, timing and cube decisions in quick games.
Rule changes
| Rule | Standard Backgammon | Hypergammon |
|---|---|---|
| Starting position | Standard BackgammonFifteen checkers each: two on your 24-point, five on your 13-point, three on your 8-point and five on your 6-point. | HypergammonThree checkers each: one on your 24-point, one on your 23-point and one on your 22-point. |
| Length of a game | Standard BackgammonEach side starts 167 pips from bearing off all its checkers. | HypergammonEach side starts 69 pips away, so a game takes a few minutes. |
| Bearing off | Standard BackgammonBear off once all fifteen of your checkers are in your home board. | HypergammonBear off once all three of your checkers are in your home board. |
| Winning and scoring | Standard BackgammonOne point for a win, two for a gammon (the loser has borne off no checkers) and three for a backgammon (the loser also still has a checker on the bar or in the winner's home board). | HypergammonThe same, and the doubling cube can be used as in standard backgammon. |
History
Hypergammon is a modern variant, and who first proposed it is not recorded. Its appeal grew with computers: with only three checkers a side, the number of possible positions is small enough for a computer to work out the exact value of every one of them.
That makes Hypergammon a solved game. Programs such as GNU Backgammon can build complete tables for it, so players can check every move and every cube decision against perfect play. It is used as a training game and played for fun as a quick alternative to a full game of backgammon.