501 Essential Backgammon Problems: 2nd Edition Paperback – September 1, 2004

I had played backgammon causally for years. My understanding of the game was sooo primitive. After I read this book, all of a sudden I was winning WAY more with friends. Backgammon is a lot more fun when you’re playing realizing what good things can be accomplished with the rolls of your dice.

Great book. If you're an average or above player, you will enjoy this book and learn from it. Problems are divided into categories (based on different stages of the game) and the "solutions" are explained clearly and with good insight (for the most part). ..... But, as far as I know, this book is out of print. At the time of this review, used copies are going for about $35 while new copies are offered at $90 and more. A third edition (or a new printing of the second edition) at a more reasonable price would help refuel the sales and hopefully attract new players to this wonderful game.

I'm a big fan of Robertie's intructional style and this book is packed with so many tips and strategies that you could get really better just reading it. Most of the 501 problems comes with a simple one sentence general rule that you can remember when playing. Usually each rule has several examples. The content is five starts, but the one knock on the book is the format. A lot of reviews of newer books complain about "white space" on pages because each page will have just one problem diagram and then the discussion of the problem. This book has pages of problems in a row and then pages of discussion. You spend a lot of time flipping back and forth from problem to discussion. It was worth it, but it can get annoying at times.

I had this book 10 years ago and sold it. I bought it again with my renewed love of the game. Glad that its updated, though I would think they would fix a few grammatical errors. I would buy it again, and I did.

Want to save a couple dollars? Buy a copy of the 1st edition. Except for the cover, the problems are the same, with the same answers (that's according to the author).The fad today is to compare 'human' choices against those generated by a computer program. How right you are then depends on the computer program you are being compared to. This book has been put to the test against 'rollouts' performed by the GNUBG program, which although very good (and free) is not considered to be the best computer program. In those cases where that program considers a move 'better' than Roberties's, the difference is very small. You can see the GNUBG rollout results at [...]In any event, a 'bot' just gives you a number, but it doesn't tell you why it ranked a particular move higher. This book, on the other hand, is based on human thought analysis. Take the time to pick a move and identify your reasoning, then compare your choice to the author's move and reasoning. That will sharpen your game.

A+

Best beginner/intermediate backgammon book, even after all these years. Simple concept, just review the 500 problems and learn. Each chapter has a theme and each problem has a simple straightforward explanation why each solution is correct.(Some problems are slightly "incorrect" based on the latest computer analysis, but this should not deter you from learning!)

This is the best of what I've seen to help sharpen your game. A series of board setups with which you decide the next move. Each has a discussion of the alternatives and a conclusion as to the best option. His comments and asides are often as instructive as well, sometimes discussing the relative odds. I have a way to go to finish and then absorb it all, it's comprehensive, but already I have made headway in improving my ability.

Everything's is Awesome, Everything is Cool then you're part of the Team.

バックギャモン初心者です。バックギャモンブックを一通り読んで、アプリで対戦しながら感覚を掴んでいるところです。麻雀の本のように「こんなとき何切る？」的な本を探していたところこの本に行き着きました。序盤の解説についてはバックギャモンブックと重複してますので、その知識ありきでこの本の解説を読んだ印象としては、英検準2級程度あれば苦では無いかと思われます（写真ご参照ください）。問題はこれから解いてみようかと思います。

Absolutely loved this book as I learnt a lot from it compared to other backgammon books , even though I only play backgammon against computer AI online .It has also provided me hours of entertainment so far including futile shouting at the book because I disagree with the author's suggested moves :) !Highly recommended .

Die Backgammonaufgabe sorgen dafür, dass man sich mit den Aspekten eingehender beschäftigt, als bei einem Lehrbuch, das einem nur die Theorie erläutert. Die theoretischen Aspekte für werden einem dann in der Erläuterung zu der Aufgabenlösung geliefert. Insgesamt geht das Buch auf sehr viele Aspekte des Spiels ein und vermittelt einem ein recht gutes Gespür für deren Einschätzung. Zumindest bei weitem mehr als ein herkömmliches Lehrbuch. Und der Aufbau über die Problemstellungen macht die Lektüre wesentlich spannender, wenn auch "anstrengender". Für mich das beste Buch, um die eigene Spielstärke zu verbessern.

366 pages of game positions, 501 altogether as the title states, divided into 30 chapters of different problem groups with varying numbers of examples. After a month I have managed to work my way through to the 300th problem of which I have probably solved 250 by myself while being surprised by the explanations of the solutions for the fifty remaining situations where I was wrong. It is certainly not an easy book to digest and you have to invest time staring at the graphics before a possibly correct answer is found. I can't help the notion that the purpose of this title is not to make one memorize game positions, but subconciously transform the reader into a much more aggressive player who takes solutions into consideration that before were shrouded by ignorance. I don't much like the flipping forth and back between problems and solutions, could have easily done without the books title, author and publisher on every page instead of the chapters' titles, the bold printed font is ugly as can be. Still I recommend the book for the reasons above, compared to other pro player publications it's great value for an affordable price.