Acey-Deucy
Thanks To Oswald Jacoby/John Crawford
In this game all the men start off the board. They enter and move around the board in the same way as men sent home in regular backgammon. In other words, the white men enter in black's home board and move around through black's outer board and white's outer board until all are gathered in white's home board; then white can start to bear them off. Black enters his men in the white home board and moves around in the same manner.

Rules are the same as for backgammon, except that you can move any man you want to at any time, whether or not you have men to bring in. In addition, the roll of 1-2 -- acey-deucy -- is an especially valuable roll. You begin by playing your ace-deuce. Then you play any number four times (in other words, you pick any double you wish). Then you get an extra roll, and if this extra roll is also 1-2 you get the same extras with it.

Early game strategy in acey-deucy is to try to establish advanced points as quickly as you can, and if possible also establish adjacent points as base for a prime. If both sides develop primes right smack up against one another, the advantage lies with the prime that is farther advanced. Even if the man with the farther-advanced prime has to break his first, he will probably win the game; if he can hold his prime longer, he almost surely will win.

One Point Matches
This variant is played the same as `regular' backgammon with two exceptions; the cube is not used, and gammons/backgammon don't exist. This often leads to very strategicaly played games, where a back-game is more of an option than in the regular version since staying back forever never leads to losing more than one point. Since all games are played to to completion, `slime vigorish' to turn a game around suddenly occurs more frequently since you cannot cube your opponent out.

Why play `one point matches'? Well, similar games occur all of the time in tournament play. Double match point, and crawford to an even score are examples.

One point matches have been labled the `Crack' of backgammon at the New England Backgammon Club, and the opium of the game by others.

Hyper-Backgammon
Each side starts with 3 checkers on their respective 24, 23, and 22 points. The cube is in play. Jacoby rule in effect. Matches will start at 7 points and work their way up in later rounds. All other normal backgammon rules apply.

Nackgammon
The same as backgammon, but with a different starting position: instead of five men on both your midpoint and 6-point, you just put four there. The remaining two men end up at the 23-point. This was invented by Nack Ballard (hence the name), to force his bg students to practice positional play. Games tend to be much longer, since you can't easily start a race with a 65 or 66 opening-phase roll.