.\" Automatically generated from backgammon/backgammon/backgammon.6.in. Do not edit. .\" $NetBSD: backgammon.6,v 1.11 2003/08/07 09:36:55 agc Exp $ .\" .\" Copyright (c) 1980, 1993 .\" The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved. .\" .\" Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or without .\" modification, are permitted provided that the following conditions .\" are met: .\" 1. Redistributions of source code must retain the above copyright .\" notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer. .\" 2. Redistributions in binary form must reproduce the above copyright .\" notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer in the .\" documentation and/or other materials provided with the distribution. .\" 3. Neither the name of the University nor the names of its contributors .\" may be used to endorse or promote products derived from this software .\" without specific prior written permission. .\" .\" THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY THE REGENTS AND CONTRIBUTORS ``AS IS'' AND .\" ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE .\" IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE .\" ARE DISCLAIMED. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE REGENTS OR CONTRIBUTORS BE LIABLE .\" FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL .\" DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS .\" OR SERVICES; LOSS OF USE, DATA, OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION) .\" HOWEVER CAUSED AND ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, STRICT .\" LIABILITY, OR TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) ARISING IN ANY WAY .\" OUT OF THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF .\" SUCH DAMAGE. .\" .\" @(#)backgammon.6 8.1 (Berkeley) 5/31/93 .\" .Dd May 31, 1993 .Dt BACKGAMMON 6 .Os .Sh NAME .Nm backgammon .Nd the game of backgammon .br .Nm teachgammon .Nd learn to play backgammon .Sh SYNOPSIS .Nm .Op Fl .Op Fl nrwb .Op Fl pr .Op Fl pw .Op Fl pb .Op Fl t Ar term .Op Fl s Ar file .br .Nm teachgammon .Sh DESCRIPTION This program lets you play backgammon against the computer or against a "friend". All commands are only one letter, so you don't need to type a carriage return, except at the end of a move. The program is mostly self-explanatory, so that a question mark (?) will usually get some help. If you answer `y' when the program asks if you want the rules, you will get text explaining the rules of the game, some hints on strategy, instructions on how to use the program, and a tutorial consisting of a practice game against the computer. A description of how to use the program can be obtained by answering `y' when it asks if you want instructions. .Pp The possible arguments for backgammon (most are unnecessary but some are very convenient) consist of: .Bl -tag -width indent .It Fl n don't ask for rules or instructions .It Fl r player is red (implies n) .It Fl w player is white (implies n) .It Fl b two players, red and white (implies n) .It Fl pr print the board before red's turn .It Fl pw print the board before white's turn .It Fl pb print the board before both player's turn .It Fl t Ar term terminal is type .Ar term , uses .Pa /usr/share/misc/termcap .It Fl s Ar file recover previously saved game from .Ar file .El .Pp .\" .\" Arguments may be optionally preceded by a `-'. .\" Several arguments may be concatenated together, .\" but not after `s' or `t' arguments, .\" since they can be followed by an arbitrary string. Any unrecognized arguments are ignored. An argument of a lone `-' gets a description of possible arguments. .Pp If .Ar term has capabilities for direct cursor movement (see .Xr termcap 5 ) .Nm ``fixes'' the board after each move, so the board does not need to be reprinted, unless the screen suffers some horrendous malady. Also, any `p' option will be ignored. (The `t' option is not necessary unless the terminal type does not match the entry in the .Pa /usr/share/misc/termcap data base.) .Sh QUICK REFERENCE When the program prompts by typing only your color, type a space or carriage return to roll, or .Bl -tag -width indent .It Ic d to double .It Ic p to print the board .It Ic q to quit .It Ic s to save the game for later .El .Pp When the program prompts with 'Move:', type .Bl -tag -width indent .It Ic p to print the board .It Ic q to quit .It Ic s to save the game .El .Pp or a .Em move , which is a sequence of .Bl -tag -width indent .It Ic s-f move from .Ic s to .Ic f .It Ic s/r move one man on .Ic s the roll .Ic r separated by commas or spaces and ending with a newline. Available abbreviations are .Bl -tag -width indent .It Ic s-f1-f2 means .Ic s-f1,f1-f2 .It Ic s/r1r2 means .Ic s/r1,s/r2 .El .El .Pp Use .Ic b for bar and .Ic h for home, or 0 or 25 as appropriate. .Sh AUTHOR .An Alan Char .Sh FILES .Bl -tag -width /usr/share/misc/termcap -compact .It Pa /usr/games/teachgammon rules and tutorial .It Pa /usr/share/misc/termcap terminal capabilities .El .Sh BUGS The program's strategy needs much work.