Backgammon is a video game in the strategy genre and published by APF Electronics, Inc. originally released in 1978. It is currently playable on APF Imagination Machine.
Backgammon for the APF Imagination Machine delivers the classic dice-and-strategy contest of moving checkers around the board, aiming to bear all pieces off before the opponent. The television screen presents a full backgammon layout with clearly marked triangular points, a central bar, and separate home areas for each side. A turn begins with a dice roll displayed on screen, then the game guides the player through selecting and executing legal moves based on the numbers shown.
Gameplay centers on standard backgammon decisions: advancing pieces across the board, creating safe positions, and striking opposing checkers. When a player lands on an occupied point with one opposing piece, that checker is removed and placed on the bar, where it must be re-entered before further progress can be made. The interface keeps the current player’s pieces and the legal destinations easy to identify, emphasizing the tactical tradeoffs between mobility and block-building.
The movement rules are handled automatically by the game. Each checker can be moved according to the dice values, and the player may use both dice in the same turn or combine them onto a single checker when permitted by the rules. When multiple move sequences are available, the player selects the preferred line, with the game enforcing legality at each step. Once a player has all checkers in their home board, bearing off becomes the objective, and the dice determine which pieces can be removed from the board during subsequent turns.
The look of Backgammon is functional and direct, built for high-contrast visibility on the APF hardware. Checkers appear as simple, bright shapes positioned on the points, and captures, bar placement, and bearing-off are shown with immediate on-screen updates. The central bar separates the two armies, visually reinforcing the consequences of leaving a point exposed. The board remains steady as a grid-like frame, while piece movement occurs cleanly from point to point to help the player track changes from turn to turn.
Audio feedback accompanies key events, using the system’s characteristic beeps and short tones to mark dice rolls, accepted moves, and key outcomes such as captures or successful bearing off. The player experience is a brisk rhythm of roll, choice, and confirmation, with quick visual and sound cues that keep the game flowing. Skilled play rewards careful planning of future turns, while the enforced rule set ensures a consistent, competition-ready presentation of backgammon on a home video system.
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