Marrakesh (1978)

Marrakesh (1978) Rulebook

Table of Contents

Players

Two.

If you know how to play backgammon, proceed. If not, go first to the section "Bearing Off for Beginners" before returning to this page.

Equipment

Two playing boards, each with six points (triangles) and three ovals.
Six red and six white dice.
Six red and six white men.
Three "null chips."
A special pack of 52 cards.
Two scorecards.
Two score pads.

The Pack

The 52-card pack consists of four of each card Ace through Six in the four standard suits, plus one Queen of each suit. A double-pack of 104 cards may be used; all rules of the game are the same. (The two blank cards included with each new pack are discarded.)

In Marrakesh the Queen counts zero and is always called a Null; the other cards count their face value.

Preliminaries

The two playing boards are placed in the center of the table with the three null chips in between them. Each player takes six men of the same color and six dice. The pack is shuffled, cut, and placed face down near the two boards. As the cards are used, they are placed near the pack to form a face-up discard pile.

Opening Setup: Each player takes his six dice, shakes them thoroughly in one or two hands, and throws them on or near his board. Each player then arranges his six men so as to correspond to the numbers thrown. In Diagram 1, White has rolled 6-5-3-3-1-1. If the players roll the same opening setups, the rolls do not count, and both players roll again. The dice remain exposed for the entire round, but any dice that are blocking play may be carefully moved aside.

The Deal

As the score pad shows, there are 12 deals (rounds) to a match, and the cards are shuffled after every three rounds. Either player may be dealer; there is no advantage or disadvantage in dealing.

To deal, the player distributes the cards one at a time, face down, alternately, beginning with his opponent, until each player has received six cards. Each player then picks up his cards and fans them in his hand so that only he can see all of them.

Opening Lead

The player with more Ones in his opening setup makes the opening lead. If both players have an equal number of Ones, then the player with more Twos leads, and so forth. In Diagram 1, Red leads, for both he and White have the same number of Ones and Twos, but he has more Threes.

To lead a card, the leader takes any card he wishes from his hand and places it face down in front of himself. Once his card is played, he may not take it back and lead another one instead.

Playing

The other player, the receiver, then takes any card from his hand and places it face up in front of himself. His objective is to try to guess the suit of the leader's face-down card, or to make some other strategic play.

After the receiver has played his card face up, the leader turns up the card he has led, and the particular suits of both cards played determine which player moves men on his board. The leader's card and the receiver's card together constitute a trick, and, as each player has six cards, the maximum number of tricks in a round is six. The rank of the four suits determines who wins a trick, and the winner of a trick is always the leader to the next trick.

For each trick, the leader always leads his card face down, and the receiver always plays his card face up.

Rank of Suits and Bearing Off

The suits rank: Spades (highest), Hearts, Diamonds, Clubs (lowest), but Clubs always outrank Spades.

When two cards are played that are of different suits, the player who has played the higher-ranking suit wins the trick and moves the numbers showing on the two cards.

To illustrate: if Red leads the Heart Four (face down), and White plays the Club Six (face up), Red would turn up his card, and since Hearts outrank Clubs, Red would move 6-4. In Diagram 2, he would invariably play 6-4 by bearing off a man from his 6-point and a man off from his 4-point.

Another illustration: if Red leads the Spade Ace and White plays the Club Four, White would move 4-1, as Clubs beat Spades. In Diagram 2, White would probably play 4-1 by bearing off a man from his 4-point and moving a man from his 2-point to his 1-point.

The player who wins the trick always gets to play, and when he moves men, he simply plays both numbers in the same manner as bearing off in backgammon. When a player has a choice of either bearing off a man or moving a man down from a higher point to a lower point, as in backgammon, he may make either play.

Ovals

Each player has up to three turns on each round in which to bear off his men. All men taken off on a player's first turn are placed in his first (lowermost) oval; men taken off on this second turn are placed in this second oval; and men taken off at the third turn are placed in the third oval.

Nulls

The Queens are Nulls, and although they always count zero, they are the most important defensive cards.

To illustrate: in Diagram 2, if Red leads the Heart Four and White plays the Club Null, Red would win and would play 4-0 (Four-Null), probably by bearing off one man from his 4-point.

If, in the same diagram, Red led the Heart Null and White played the Diamond Five, Red would get to play 5-0, and his only play would be to move a man down five pips from his 6-point to his 1-point; thus, he would not be able to bear off any men at his first turn.

Null Chips

When the player who wins a trick cannot bear off any men at his turn, the opponent takes one of the three null chips and places it in the corresponding oval where men would have been placed had they been taken off. In the last example, since it is Red's first turn, White would put the null chip in Red's first oval.

Note also in Diagram 2 that if Red had to play 3-2, he again would not be able to bear off any men, and so White would give him a null chip.

A player also can give null chips to his opponent in another way, and this is dealt with later.

Suit-Match

When the receiver plays a card of the same suit as the leader, it is a suit-match, and, in addition to playing both numbers, the receiver draws an extra card from the pack and exposes it face up onto the discard pile. If this card does not match in suit or number the card he just played to the trick, he plays the number on the card once.

When a man is borne off with the extra card, it is placed in the same oval as any men borne off from the original two cards.

For example, if White leads the Heart Ace and Red plays the Heart Five, Red would play 5-1 and draw a card. If this card were the Club Three, Red could play a 3 by bearing off a man from his 3-point (if he had a man there) or by moving a man down three points from a higher point.

Rematch

If the extra card drawn matches the card the winner played to the trick in suit or number, that player plays the extra card four times.

To illustrate: in the above example, if Red's extra card were the Club Five, he would play four Fives ("double-5") as his extra card matches his Heart Five in number. If Red's extra card were the Heart Deuce, he would play four Twos as his extra card matches his Heart Five in suit.

If the extra card matches the winner's card in suit and number, the player plays the extra card six times. Thus, if Red's extra card were also a Heart Five, he would play six Fives ("triple-5").

Once all the player's men are off, any remaining numbers to be played are omitted.

Doubles

When a player plays the same number as his opponent, the rank of suits decides, and the winner plays the number four times (doubles). To illustrate: if White leads the Spade Deuce, and Red then plays the Diamond Deuce, White wins the trick and would play double-2.

In addition, the player who hits a number-match (doubles) draws an extra card and plays it once, four times or six times, depending on whether the card drawn is a non-match, suit- or number-match, or both a suit- and number-match.

Note that when a Null is drawn as the extra card, no play is made even if the Null matches in suit or number, for zero played any number of times is still zero!

Triples

When the receiver plays exactly the same card as the leader, it is triples, and the receiver plays the number six times. For example, if White leads a Diamond Five and Red plays a Diamond Five, Red wins and would play triple-5 (six Fives). In addition, he draws an extra card and plays the number on it four times regardless of what the suit or number on the extra card is.

Note that with triples or a suit-match, the receiver is always the winner, but with a number-match (doubles), either player can win, for the rank of suits determines the outcome.

Subsequent Play

After a turn is over, the card each player has played remains face up in front of him, and cards played subsequently are placed overlapping the previous card so that they remain exposed in the order they were played.

Play continues at each turn with the winner of the trick leading face down to the next trick.

When a player wins a trick and does not bear off any men, after receiving a null chip, he still leads to the next trick.

Round Completed

Play to the round does not end when one player has borne off all his men; it continues until the opponent has had either three turns or has also taken off all of his men.

When a player has taken off all his men, or has had three turns and still has one or more men remaining, each time he wins a trick, he places a null chip against his opponent.

In Diagram 3, White has had his three turns. If he wins the next trick, he is not permitted to move or bear off his last remaining man; instead, he gives Red a null chip and leads to the next trick. If he wins this next trick too, he places another chip (on Red's second oval). If White wins the last trick, he places a third null chip, and the round is over.

Once a player is in a position where he cannot move men, he does not need to pick any cards in the event he matches suit or hits doubles or triples.

To illustrate, in the diagram above, if White leads the Heart Four and Red plays the Club Four, White wins, but he would neither play double-4 nor pick an extra card; he simply gives Red a null chip and leads face down to the next trick.

Unplayed Cards

All six cards that each player is dealt are played except when one or both players bear off all men in fewer than three turns. When a player bears off all his men in only two turns (a "Gammon"), the sixth card of each player is not played; when both players bear off on their first two turns, or when one player bears off all his men on his first turn (a "Backgammon"), the fifth and sixth cards are not played, and so on.

End of Play

Once a round is over, it is scored. After the scoring has been completed, the boards and ovals are cleared of men, any null chips placed are returned to the middle area, and the face-up cards of both players are gathered and put in the discard pile.

If one or both players have borne off all men in fewer than three turns, any unplayed cards are turned face up for inspection by the opponent before also being placed in the discard pile.

The next round then begins with each player throwing his six dice for his opening setup.

Winning

The object of the game is to bear off one's men as quickly as possible, or to bear off in a particular pattern (such as two men off at each turn), while preventing the opponent from doing so. The player who is more successful in these objectives will score more points, and the winner of the game is the player who has the higher score at the end of the twelfth and final round.

If the game is played for a stake, the difference in points between the two players is the margin of victory.

If the players are tied at the end of 12 rounds, the winner is the player who has scored in more rounds; if this total is the same, then the winner is the player who scored the most points in any one round.

Keeping Score

Either player may keep score. The scorer's name is written in the left-hand column on the score pad, and his opponent's name is written in the right-hand column. A running score is kept, so, for example, if the score at the end of the first round is 4-0 in favor of the scorer, and each player scores three points in the second round, the score sheet after two rounds would show 7-3.

If one player does not score on a round, the number written down is simply the same as it was for the previous round. If both players do not score any points on a round, the round still counts, and the numbers written down are exactly the same as for the previous round.

Earning Points

A player can accumulate points in a round by Offensive Score (bearing off men as quickly as possible or in a particular pattern), or by Defensive Score (stopping the opponent from bearing off men).

If a player scores offensively and defensively, the score recorded is the total of both numbers. To illustrate: if, on the seventh round, a player scores a Casablanca (6 points) and a Double-Chip (4 points), his total is 10, and if he had 23 points after the sixth round, the score to be entered for the seventh round is 33.

Scoring Table

The scoring is presented concisely on the scorecard, which also gives the suit rankings and the extra cards to which the player is entitled when he matches suit and/or number. (See the Scorecard section at the end.)

Note that bearing off in a particular pattern (a "pattern score") is often earned by skillfully and intentionally bearing off fewer than the maximum number of men at a turn.

For example, if a player gets three men off at his first turn, and on his second turn can take off two men, he may, if he is able to do so, take off only one man and play his second number by moving a man down; now he is in position to score six points for a Rabat (3-1-2 pattern) if he can bear off his remaining two men upon winning another trick.

Note that the full 12 points are scored for a Backgammon when the player bears off all six men on any one turn; thus, if the player has received null chips at his first and second turns, and he bears off all six men on his third turn, he still scores 12 for a Backgammon, and the two null chips are returned to the middle area!

Pips

One point for Pips is awarded only when both players fail to bear off their men when the round is over. Pips are determined by adding how many spaces a player has to go to bear off his remaining men.

For example, if White has one man on his 2-point and two men on his 1-point, his pips total 4; if Red has one man on his 6-point and one man on his 3-point, his pips total 9. Since White's pips total is less (even though he has more men left), White earns 1 point for Pips.

If both players' pips are equal, no point is awarded.

Chips and Fezzes

A Fez is earned by holding the opponent to zero or one man off on all three turns, and it includes the points for null chips, if any.

A common scoring combination is "Pips and Chip" (2 points), and this occurs when a player wins Pips and also has a null chip against his opponent; thus, he earns 1 point for Pips and 1 point for a Chip, or 2 points in all.

"Triple-Chip" is the same as a Grand Fez, and this is the maximum defensive score; it is awarded for scoring three null chips against the opponent.

Miscellaneous Rules and Information

Cocked Dice: If one or more of the player's dice do not land flat, or if one or more land on top of one of the men or on top of a null chip, the entire roll is void, and all dice must be re-rolled after the irregularity has been pointed out to the opponent.

Card Exposed: If a card is exposed while dealing, or an additional card is seen while picking an extra card, such card is placed face up in the discard pile and is out of play.

Card Led Face Up: If a player inadvertently leads a card face up instead of face down at any of the first five tricks, he must take the card back and lead one of his other cards for that trick only.

Extra Cards Disregarded: Whenever a player is entitled to draw an extra card but neglects to do so and instead leads to the next trick, he loses the right to play any additional numbers.

Null Chips Exhausted: Only three null chips are provided, and in the very rare case where an additional one is needed, one of the dice can be used. Whenever a player is entitled to place a null chip and neglects to do so, the null chip still counts as if it had been placed.

Discard Pile: The cards in the discard pile should be neatly stacked so that only the top card is exposed. A player may not look through the discards to inspect cards that have been previously played.

Bearing Off for Beginners

In backgammon, "bearing off" is the process of removing one's men from the board by throws of the dice. In Marrakesh, the process is the same, but instead of playing two dice, the player plays two cards, and instead of having 15 men, each player has only six.

Each player's board in Marrakesh is comprised of six "points" (triangles), and, for convenience, these points are numbered: the 6-point is the highest point, and the 1-point is the lowest point. Each player attempts to bear off his six men from these points as quickly as he can.

In Diagram A, White's six men are placed as follows: one on the 6-point, two on the 4-point, one on the 3-point, and two on the 1-point. If the two cards he had to play were a Six and Four, he could bear off a maximum of two men by playing 6-4 as follows: taking off the man from his 6-point and one of the men from his 4-point.

If White's numbers were 6-5, he would make the same play as he would for 6-4. This is because when a player does not have a man on the point that corresponds to the number to be played, he bears off a man from the highest point in which he does have a man.

To illustrate this rule further, in Diagram A, Red (the opponent) would play 6-5, 6-4, or 5-4 on his board all in the same manner: by bearing off his two highest men--from the 5-point and the 4-point.

A player does not have to bear off a man if, instead, he wishes to move a man down to a lower point. For example, if White had to play 6-3, he could bear off a man from his 6-point and a man from his 3-point, or he could bear off a man from his 6-point and move a man from his 4-point down to his 1-point; with the latter choice, he succeeds in bearing off only one man instead of two.

What if White had to play 6-2? Since he has no men on the 2-point, he would play the two by moving down from his 4-point to this 2-point or from his 3-point to his 1-point; the first choice is better as he is able to spread his men, and this would make bearing off at his next turn easier. Note that White would not be able to play 6-2 by bearing off a man from the 6-point and 1-point. He would be able to make this play only if his numbers were 6-1.

In Diagram B, how would Red play 5-2? Since he has no men on either the 5-point or the 2-point, he could play the five by moving from his 6-point to his 1-point and the two from his 3-point to his 1-point, but this would yield no men off at all.

Instead, Red should play 5-2 as follows: he should play the two first by moving down from the 6-point to the 4-point; then, he should play the five by bearing off the man just placed on the 4-point! Thus, a player can play his two numbers in any order he wishes.

When a player has to play two cards that are of the same number, such as a five on each card, he moves the number four times.

To illustrate, Red, in Diagram B, would play double-5 (5-5) by moving a man from the 6-point to the 1-point and then removing three men from his 3-point.

How would Red play double-2 in the same diagram? His best play would be to bear off the man on his 6-point for three of the twos, and then move a man down from his 3-point to his 1-point for his fourth two.

What if White had to play double-2? He would bear off the three men on his 2-point, and the fourth two he would play by moving a man down from either his 6-point or his 3-point.

Marrakesh Sidelights

The maximum score on one round is 30: a Backgammon or El Ayun [pronounced EL AH-YOON] (12 points) plus a Grand Fez (18), and this ultimate scoring feat is called a "Marrakesh." A score of 45 in a 12-round match is average; a score of 100 or more is extremely rare.

With six dice, the chances of throwing a "Straight" (6-5-4-3-2-1) are about 1 in 75; Five-of-a-Kind: about 1 in 250; Six-of-a-Kind: 1 in 7776; a perfect 1-1-1-1-1-1 setup: 1 in 46,656.

Oasis Bonuses

(This option is in effect only when Marrakesh is played for a stake and only with the consent of both players.)

If the winner of the match scores in 10 out of 12 rounds, it is an Oasis, and the difference in final scores is doubled to arrive at the payoff; if the winner scores in 11 out of 12 rounds, it is a Great Oasis, and the margin of victory is tripled; if the winner scores in all 12 rounds, it is a Perfect Oasis, and the payoff is quadrupled.

When a player does not score the first time, the scorer can place a mark near his scoring box; when he fails to score a second time, he places a double mark, and the third time a triple mark, so as to keep track of how many rounds a player does not score.

Winning Strategy by Oswald Jacoby

Know the suit rankings. Remember that the suits rank as in bridge and poker, except for Clubs beating only Spades. Spades and Hearts can be considered the major suits, as they each win over two other suits when led; Diamonds and Clubs, then, are the minor suits, as they each beat only one other suit when led.
Know the receiver's advantage. Only the receiver can match suit and draw an extra card, so he has the advantage over the leader.
Keep your hand balanced. When you are dealt several cards of the same suit, play the suit early so as to give yourself flexibility later. For example, if you are dealt two Spades, a Heart and three Diamonds, tend not to play the Spades and Heart on the first tricks, as you would leave yourself with only Diamonds for the last tricks.
Lead to your opponent's weakness. If your opponent's opening setup lacks a particular number, you should tend to lead a card of that number. To illustrate, in Diagram 1, Red should tend to lead a Five, Three or Ace so that if White wins the trick, White will bear off only one man (unless he succeeds in matching suit or number).
Go for null chips. Leading to your opponent's weakness also gives you the best chance to give him a null chip. Thus, in Diagram 1, White's best lead is a Three, Deuce or a Null.
Avoid receiving a null chip. Sometimes you can avoid a null chip just by playing carefully. For example, in Diagram 1, if White has to play 5-3, he should move from the 6-point to the 3-point and then bear off a man from the 4-point, so as to avoid being chipped.
"When in doubt, lead low." This is an axiom in Marrakesh. It is very difficult for your opponent to get a Backgammon even if he hits triples when you lead an Ace or a Deuce. In contrast, when you lead a Six early and he hits triples, he automatically sweeps off all his men. Mix up your leads to keep your opponent guessing, but, in the long run, the lead of a low card will do less damage.

Similar "uneconomical" plays are made in quest for the other Game pattern scores. As regards Gammon patterns, the Tangier (4-2) is often earned by intentionally not taking off a fifth man on the first turn. The Gibraltar, however, is really a bonus for matching twice and bearing off in a 3-3 pattern; you really cannot play subtly for this arrangement.

Play a low card effectively. When you are unable to bear off a man with a low number, you often have the choice of which man to move down one or two pips. In Diagram 4, if Red has to play 5-1, how should he play the Ace? He should look at the remaining cards in his hand; if he has a Three, he should move off the 4-point; if he has an Ace, he should move down from his 2-point.
Know your opponent. Does your opponent often lead a Club or Diamond at his first opportunity? Does he save a Null for the end? Hone in on your opponent's habits and you will succeed in outguessing him more than chance says you will. Herein lies the ESP factor in the game of Marrakesh!

Scorecard

The printed scorecard summarizes the scoring, the suit rankings and the extra-card rules.

Offensive Score

Name	Points	Result / Pattern
Game	3	Off in three turns (not off in one of the patterns below)
Casablanca	6	Off in 2-2-2 pattern
Rabat	6	Off in 3-1-2 pattern
Bogart	9	Off in 1-1-4 pattern
El Ayun	12	Off in 1-4-1 pattern
Gammon	6	Off on first two turns (not off in one of the patterns below)
Gibraltar	9	Off in 3-3 pattern
Tangier	9	Off in 4-2 pattern

Defensive Score

Name	Points	Chips / Fez
Chip	1	1 null chip
Double-Chip	4	2 null chips
Little Fez	4	1-1-1
Common Fez	6	1-1-0; 1-0-1; 0-1-1
Royal Fez	9	0-0-1; 0-1-0; 1-0-0
Grand Fez (Triple-Chip)	18	0-0-0

Suit Rankings

Spades beat Hearts and Diamonds.
Hearts beat Diamonds and Clubs.
Diamonds beat only Clubs.
Clubs beat only Spades.

Extra Cards

Suit-match: Receiver plays both numbers and draws extra card.
Doubles: Player with higher-ranking suit plays number four times and draws extra card.
Triples: Receiver plays number six times and draws extra card.
Extra card plays: Winner plays extra card once if it does not match his card in suit or number, four times if it does match in suit or number, and six times if it matches in both suit and number.
Triples (extra card): Winner plays extra card four times regardless of whether or not it matches.