the base of the point concerned. Only then will the player be able to play the other men. Obligation to play highest die If one or the other of the two dice can be played but not both, one is obliged if possible to play the higher. This is the reason why, after the roll of the dice, the dice are called starting with the strongest (for example "4 and 2" and not "2 and 4"). It should be noted in passing that the "1" is not said to be "one" but "Ace" (As). In the event of a doublet, the greatest possible number of points must be played (while remaining, of course, an integer multiple of the value of a die). Bearing off The process for bearing off the men is identical to that practised in Backgammon. Once they have entered the last quarter, they are removed from the board according to the following rules: In this phase, the outer rail of the board is counted as an additional point. A man landing on the rail to the exact value, either of one die or both dice, has left the board. If it is not possible to move as above because the value of a die is greater than the distance of the furthest man from the end rail, it may be borne off e.g. if Marie rolls "6 and 5" but there are no men further than 4 from the rail, she may bear off those furthest away. Blocking When a player occupies six adjacent points, it causes a bouchon ("bottleneck" or "blockade") which completely blocks the progression of the adversary's subsequent men; we speak of "blocking" the passage. This bouchon can be made anywhere on the board and its purpose is to slow down the advance of the opponent. However, there are two restrictions on blocking: the blocking of the postilion is prohibited; in order for a player to form a bouchon occupying the six points of the first quarter, the very last point of the route must also be occupied by that player. Scoring The first player to bear off all 15 men scores 1 point. If this is achieved before the opponent bears off a single man, 2 points are scored. Jacquet de Versailles A variant called Jacquet de Versailles was invented to speed up the game. The changes are: Doublets are squared, not doubled