As backgammon is becoming an internationally recognized sport, more and more backgammon tournament rules provide for playing with a clock. Chess clocks are used to help players and tournament directors (TD) comply with the provisions.

Rolling the dice from dice cups and using the clock makes the whole procedure - evaluation of cube action, shaking the dice in the cup, rolling, thinking, moving, pressing the clock - still longer as more devices are used - the backgammon set including a   doubling cube,  dice cups and  dice set of four, the clock.

Conflicts may arise as to the value, ownership of the cube or match score etc./b>

Sometimes, conflicts arise in respect of the last roll. Especially where two sets of dice are used.

The SSCCD is designed to help overcome most of these problems.

The digital device is programmed to produce random rolls.

There is a Fischer function (offered once by the great American chess grandmaster Bobby Fischer). If enabled, when a player's clock reaches 00 hours 55 minutes (when left with 5 minutes) and his turn comes, the clock will not run 10 seconds for his cube decision and another 10 seconds for his checker play on each subsequent roll. This "free time" is not accumulated. This means that the player with less than 5 minutes left will never increase his remaining time, but his time left will decrease each time he uses more than 10 seconds for a cube decision or for a checker play.

The Panel

has a LCD display and 2 buttons - one for each player. Every player uses his button.

The LCD shows the time for each player in hours and minutes, but when a player has 00 hours on his clock, the LCD shows his time in minutes and seconds.

The turn to roll or move is expressed by the "small arrow" - ">" or "<".

The roll of the dice is expressed by 2 digits e.g."66"

Display A:

35:59 <51

Left player has 35 minutes and 59 seconds on his clock and has rolled 51:. It is his turn to move. Had the left player not rolled yet, the digits "51" would be missing.

A "?" asks for a decision - to accept a double or a resignation, to give a value of resignation (1, 2 or 3 - simple, gammon or backgammon), or to accept reset of device.

A long arrow "==>" or "<==" shows who is offered the cube.

Two digits in brackets - i.e. "(66)" express the previous roll.

Four digits with a colon separation in the middle show the score - e.g. "01:03". The score is Left:1 Right:3

Two digits on one of the sides represent cube value. The placement of these two digits signifies cube ownership.

Display B:

(66) 01:03 02

shows the previous roll "66", score Left:1 Right:3, and cube owned by Right at 2 level. The placement of the previous roll is irrelevant to who rolled it.

Using Display B, on one's turn to roll, by pressing not one's own button, but opponent's button one gets the information about the previous roll, the score, cube value and ownership.

Three Modes of Operation

• Sleep
• Settings
• Play

The buttons can be pressed i 4 different ways

• pressed and released
• pressed and held (at least 3 seconds)
• double clicked
• both buttons pressed simultaneously and held (at least 3 seconds)

Remember, your SSCCD is always alive. Even in sleep mode all parameters are kept in memory, ready to be used when you restart your match. This is handy when playing in unfavorable environment - in a vehicle or on board a plane, using a palm held backgammon set and the SSCCD. Or any time a match is interrupted.

Sleep mode minimizes consumption and you should take care to leave the unit in sleep mode when not playing. In sleep mode, the LCD is dimmed and both clocks are stopped. Clock, score, cube, and dice parameters are held in memory. Sleep mode can be entered in automatically when it is a player's turn to roll (not his turn to move), and a roll (or a double, or a resignation) has not been produced for 15 minutes. Alternatively, sleep mode is entered immediately by pressing and holding both buttons until the LCD is dimmed.

Settings mode is available from Sleep mode only:

Settings mode has two submenus which may be entered individually from sleep mode.

• Pressing and holding the left button - enters the Settings I menu. All settings there are performed using the left button.
• Pressing and holding the right button - enters the Settings II menu. All settings there are performed using the right button.

Settings I: Here the value and position (ownership) of the doubling cube, and the score, are set. The last question (default in NO) is whether a Fischer function will be enabled. In Settings I the method to set a parameter is:

Left button - pressed and held - increments the value of that parameter.

Left button - pressed twice - saves the parameter and shows the next parameter to set. After the last parameter (Fischer function) the device goes into Sleep mode.

Settings II: This is the submenu where the players clocks are set. Players are named (Left) and (Right). In Settings II the method to set a parameter is:

Right button held - changes the value of the parameter being set (hours, minutes, seconds) - the parameter being set blinks.

Right button pressed and released saves the value for that parameter and starts setting the next.

Right button pressed twice saves parameters and starts setting next (right) player's time. Right button pressed twice on Right player time settings saves paramaters and exits into Sleep mode.

Play mode can be switched on from Sleep mode by pressing simultaneously and holding both buttons.

If the SSCCD has not been reset, it will resume with the settings parameters of the game held in memory (score, time, cube value and position, dice ownership and who is on roll). Dice roll can not be kept in sleep mode because Sleep mode cannot be entered from an uncompleted move. You cannot fold your board without picking the dice. What this means is that your SSCCD, your faithful servant, will stay on (not go automatically or manually in sleep mode) until the roll is played and dice picked.

When a game ends - a player's resignation is accepted or a double is declined - the new score appears in the middle of the LCD without any other information. When the device is globally reset the LCD will show 00:00.

This is the initial roll. It is produced every time a new game starts.

A single press of any button will produce a roll for a randomly picked player. See Display A above. When a player is on roll only his clock runs. If he presses his button once, he rolls his dice. After playing his move, he needs to press his button again, thereby clearing the dice from the display, stopping his clock and starting opponent's clock. Now his opponent has the option to double; to resign; to roll; or to see the information on Display B. Before rolling one's dice one may see the information in regard of current score, value and ownership of cube and the previous roll as on Display on Display B .