Winning Backgammon
by John Leet

Publisher:  Sterling Publishing Co., Inc.
ISBN:  0806904593

All but the most accomplished backgammon players will be able to glean some wisdom from Winning Backgammon, which is well-written and full of illustrations (there's at least one on the vast majority of pages).

Author John Leet is a longtime backgammon enthusiast. Nothing is specifically revealed about the author, but in this case nothing else is needed. His love for and knowledge of the game are both clear and contagious.

Included are strategies for the opening, mid-game and end game, as well as tips related to doubling and rollovers, plus a section devoted to match play and tournaments. The official rules are presented along with several variants (Chouette, Acey-Deucy, the Jacoby Rule, etc.), some more common than others are. The content builds upon itself, with the early basic material laying the foundation for later complexities. In some cases, it's helpful to read a chapter twice before moving on.

An example of how helpful this book is can be found at the beginning of Chapter Six, "Opening and Early-Game Moves." Leet has compiled a list of all possible dice rolls and enumerates the best opening move to make with each.

Much time is spent discussing probabilities. The first such reference is to the fact that in games between players of roughly equal skill, the one playing a blocking game (as opposed to a running game) will win about 65 percent of the time. The quantity of statistics can be overwhelming, but they are presented in an easy-to-understand way.

If you're always losing backgammon to your father, wife or second cousin, Winning Backgammon could be what it takes to turn things around. Leet has developed a comprehensive explanation of the strategy behind one of the most deceptively simple games ever invented.

Erik Arneson, your Guide for Board Games