hey people
im totally new to the game and i need some help. i know the rules but i dont know the termanology. what does it mean when the cube is on black? how do i calculate the pips? what are ankers and all the other things???

and i would like to know some basic taktics, i dont know when to move with the last two checkers.

finally, the weekly problems seem kinda odd to me because some of the situations aint possible the way we play it (2 on first, 5 on six A, 3 on eight A and 5 on twelve). plus when we paly we play kinda safe there is very little attacking going on.

You need to start with a basic beginner's book and move on from there. Try "Backgammon for Winners" or "Backgammon for Blood" by Chris Bray. Both will teach you how to play and a lot of the terminology.

Not sure why the problem positions wouldn't be possible. If I understand what you're saying, you're describing the correct starting position.

Playing too safe is a basic problem for beginners. You need to take small risks early on in order to make good points.

An anchor is just a high point in your opponent's inner board, which prevents him from blocking you in. For instance, if you rolled 2-2 and moved your two back checkers up 4 pips each, you'd now own his 5-point and that would be a strong anchor.

playing to safe ?

Is that a question?