Thursday, January 7, 2021

Play Backgammon with Google Slides and Drawings

So I am a big fan of tabletop games, as my bookcase full of games will show. They are a great way for people to connect, as well as build critical thinking skills. Although I mostly play newer games, I still love some classics such as backgammon.

Recently I created a backgammon template in Google Slides and Google Drawings that anyone can use to play the game in person or remotely with a partner.

See below for links to templates so you can get your own copies, as well as a short video and written directions on how to use the templates.

Tutorial Video (4 minutes)




Get the Templates

Below are links to both versions of the template, one in Google Slides and the other in Google Drawings. Both versions are the same, so it really just depends on if you have a preference between the two tools. The only big difference is that Google Drawings does not allow you to lock down the background, so you can accidentally move the board when playing. If so, you can always just drag it back to the correct place.




Share with your Opponent

Once you have your own copy of the backgammon template, if you plan to play remotely, you will now want to share the slideshow or drawing with your opponent so they can play with you.
  • Click on the "Share" button in the top right corner.
  • Now type in the email address of the person you want to play with.
  • Make sure they have "Editor" rights so they can make changes to the game with you.
  • And then click "Send" to share the file.



Play the Game

Once you and your opponent have the file open, you can begin playing. In both templates I have included a video from WikiHow that goes over the rules for backgammon in case you need a refresher on how to play the game. 

As far as the technical aspects of using my template though, here are a few key points.

Rolling the dice
  • To roll the dice in the game you will want to click once on the embedded YouTube video that shows the two dice, which will start the video playing, and start the dice rolling.
  • This is a video I created that runs very quickly through all 36 possible outcomes of the two dice. Each frame of the video is a different outcome, so all 36 possibilities go by in just 1.2 seconds.
  • When you are ready to stop rolling the dice, just click the video a second time and the video will pause, showing you the results of your roll.


Moving your pieces
  • Each player has 25 game pieces, which are already set on the board in their starting positions.
  • To move a piece, simply click and drag the piece to its new location.
  • When you get to the end of the game, you will start moving your pieces off of the board into your box on the right hand side.

Other Games

And if you have fun with this backgammon template, be sure to check out the other game templates I have on my site including my:

Post by Eric Curts. Connect with me on Twitter at twitter.com/ericcurts

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