Editing Sugoroku (section)

==Ban-sugoroku==
[[File:漆木双陆06282.jpg|thumb|A board and pieces for playing "double six", [[Liao dynasty]]]]
''Ban-sugoroku'' is played in a similar way to western [[tables game]]s. It has the same starting position as [[backgammon]], but the aim and rules of play are different. For example:

* Doubles are not special. If a player rolls doubles, each die still counts only once.
* There is no "bearing off". The goal is to move all of one's men to within the last six spaces of the board.
* There is no doubling cube.
* "Closing out", that is forming a prime of six contiguous points with one or more of opponents men on the bar, is an automatic win.

The game is thought to have been introduced from [[China]] (where it was known as Shuanglu) into Japan in the sixth century.

It is known that in the centuries following the game's introduction into Japan it was made illegal several times, most prominently in 689 and 754. This is because the simple and luck-based nature of sugoroku made it an ideal gambling game. This version of sugoroku and records of playing for gambling continuously appeared until early Edo era. In early Edo-era, a new and quick gambling game called ''[[Chō-han]]'' (丁半) appeared and using sugoroku for gambling quickly dwindled.

This variant of the tables family has died out in Japan and most other countries, while the Western style modern backgammon (with doubling-cube) still has some avid players.