Over the past few years, the U.S. Backgammon Federation (USBGF) has actively collaborated with the World Backgammon Federation, the Japan Backgammon League, and independent directors to align rules for tournament play.
The primary goal behind this mutual effort is to ensure consistency, allowing players to participate in international tournaments with the confidence that the rules applied will mirror those familiar to them locally — be it in Japan, Europe, the United States, or elsewhere. We are immensely grateful for the spirit of cooperation and compromise displayed by the worldwide Development Committee.
Today, we are sharing our proposed USBGF tournament rules amendments. We are soliciting public comment for a period of 30 days, concluding on July 25, 2023. The new rules, once finalized, will take effect for the 2024 ABT calendar year.
Please note that while changes are still possible, it is important to acknowledge that successful negotiations with other organizing backgammon bodies have involved compromise from all parties. As a result, there is a possibility that further amendments may not be accepted by the other organizing bodies.
Proposed Rules
- Proposed Rules (PDF) – The full proposed USBGF ruleset.
- USBGF Rule Changes (PDF) – Details specifically what is changing from the current USBGF Rules and the rationale behind each change.
- USBGF Rule Change Summary (PDF) – Summarizes the rule changes that will affect how US tournaments work.
Please direct your comments to rules@usbgf.org, prior to July 25, 2023.
