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USBGF Rules - permitting dice to land on checkers is a bad rule (pictures)

Posted By: Dorn Bishop
Date: Sunday, 9 October 2016, at 10:03 p.m.

In Response To: USBGF Rules - permitting dice to land on checkers is a bad rule (pictures) (Ken Larsen)

Ken, your interpretation of the new rules in your photos is correct. As stated in section 4.1(iv)(a), a roll is valid EITHER if the dice land flat on one or more checkers (or the board itself), OR IN THE CASE OF DIMPLED CHECKERS when they land flat or even slanted so long as their top-facing number is clearly identifiable. So:

If a die lands at an angle on a flat checker (due inferentially to contact with a side wall, the floor, or another checker), then the player must re-roll.

And, theoretically, if a die lands on a dimpled checker in such a way that the top-facing number can't be identified, then the player must re-roll. In practice and implementation at the recent Vietor Cup, however, we have yet to come across a dimpled checker situation where the top-facing number could not be identified.

I liken it to the game of craps, where a similar principle applies because the house wants more rolls, bets, etc. Yes, in craps, we are talking about dice usually coming to rest against the wall or on chips instead of a dimpled checker, but the same principle applies and there (at least so far) has never been any confusion to my knowledge.

And there clearly are problems that the new rule addresses. The first is the lost clock time for the player rolling on the home board side, especially during the bear-off when all the checkers are located there.

A related problem concerns the frustration/distraction/potential effect on play that a player short on time experiences from having to worry about the issue (especially with dimpled checkers involved).

Finally, the new rule has the added benefit of enhancing the pace of play and the timely completion of matches.

While an innovation -- and because of that, one that was exhaustively discussed before adoption -- the Board concluded that the new rule is significantly better than either doing nothing or adopting the European approach of resetting delay time whenever dice land on checkers.

I'd appreciate it if you would play some matches with the new rule. See how it goes, and report back.

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