A club has been set up in the Huddersfield area for fans of the board game backgammon.
A backgammon club was set up four weeks ago and now meets every Tuesday night from 7pm at the Clothiers Arms in Stocksmoor.
The club is attended by about 16 players from areas including Shelley, Halifax, Berry Brow and Holmfirth.
Some have competed in national championships and the world championships held in Monte Carlo.
However, don't panic if all you know about backgammon is that it is the game with the red and black board normally found on the back of travel draughts packs.
Tuition for beginners will be given at the club and within an hour novices could be playing a basic backgammon game.
The aim of the game is to move your 15 chequers past your opponent's 15 chequers first.
According to club founder Michael Butterfield - who has competed in the world championships - the game is full of strategy.
Mr Butterfield, of Shelley, said: "It is a challenge and you get quite hooked once you start.
"It is not just for a certain type of people, it is for people from all walks of life, of all ages and abilities.
"We want to encourage people to play, especially youngsters. The aim of setting up the club was to give people some practice every week. Otherwise you would only play once a month at competitions."
Contact the Clothiers Arms on 01484 602752 or Mr Butterfield on 07760405139.
BACKGAMMON: RULES AND FACTS
It is believed to be the oldest known game in history, dating back to at least 117BC.
It was started in Mesopotamia (now Iran and Iraq) but played by Persians, Egyptians, Sumerians and Romans over the centuries.
The game is played on wooden boards, with stones or bones as markers.
The board has 24 points, depicting hours in a day, with 12 points on each side depicting months of year.
There are two players, each with 15 checkers, also known as men, pieces, stones or counters.
The object is for a player to move all the pieces by throw of dice into home board and then to bear off, or remove, the opponent's counters one by one.
