Roll for Good
A social impact program connecting the youth to the game and to each other.
Led by Backgammon.comIn partnership with USBGF & WBGF
Our Purpose
Why Roll for Good Exists
Backgammon has been bringing people together for thousands of years. Roll for Good ensures that legacy reaches every young person, regardless of background, zip code, or circumstance. Led by Backgammon.com and delivered in partnership with the United States Backgammon Federation and the World Backgammon Federation, Roll for Good teaches backgammon to young people in universities, colleges, and K–12 schools globally. It funds the creation of scholastic clubs and connects the next generation to a game that builds strategic thinking, patience, and human connection.
Backgammon belongs to everyone. Roll for Good makes that literally true.
Our Partners
Built on Institutional Strength
Roll for Good is led by Backgammon.com and delivered in partnership with two of the world’s leading backgammon organizations. Together, we bring funding, infrastructure, and a global community of players to every school and youth organization we serve.
Backgammon.com. Program lead. Provides funding, game boards, teaching resources, and program coordination.
USBGF. US partner. Connects the program to its network of American clubs, certified players, and scholastic communities.
WBGF. Global partner. Provides endorsement and local infrastructure across 40+ member nations for international rollout.
What We Deliver
The Program in Practice
Roll for Good works at the community level, entering schools, youth organizations, and community centers with everything needed to get a club up and running, and the ongoing support to keep it thriving.
Scholastic Club Startup Funding. We provide startup grants to establish backgammon clubs within schools and youth organizations, covering the costs of launch so no institution faces a financial barrier to getting involved.
Game Boards & Teaching Resources. Every partner school and community center receives a set of physical backgammon boards and a full suite of teaching materials, designed to make learning accessible, structured, and fun.
Professional Player Instruction. Through our partnerships with the USBGF and WBGF, we bring experienced players directly into classrooms and club sessions. These players deliver lectures, run workshops, and mentor newer players, giving young people access to high-quality instruction from within the game’s community.
Youth Organization Outreach. We promote backgammon clubs within established youth organizations, meeting young people in the spaces where they already gather: after-school programs, community leagues, and youth centers.
What the Game Builds
More Than Moves on a Board
Every session delivers something that lasts well beyond the game itself. Through structured play and guided instruction, young people develop skills that serve them for life.
Mind
Strategic thinking and patience
Connection
Social skills and friendship
Heritage
Cultural history and curiosity
Resilience
Handling chance and setbacks gracefully
Program Structure
How We Grow
Roll for Good launches as a named program within Backgammon.com, with a clear path to becoming a registered 501(c)(3) foundation as the program scales globally.
Structure
Named program within Backgammon.com in Year 1. Converted to a registered 501(c)(3) foundation as global scale justifies the governance structure.
Year 1
US pilot across 10–20 schools and youth organizations in 3–4 cities, in coordination with the USBGF and its network of local clubs and players.
Global
International rollout through WBGF endorsement, with 40+ member nations providing local infrastructure, player networks, and community relationships to carry the program worldwide.
The Board
Who Guides Roll for Good
Roll for Good is guided by a board that brings the game, the finances, and the legal footing under one roof.
John Accardi
John first fell in love with backgammon in college, and years later passed that same passion on to his daughter. So when the opportunity came to lead Backgammon.com, it felt less like a career move and more like coming home. Most recently, John served as a Partner at Forvis Mazars, where he built the firm’s Microsoft practice from scratch into a team of 65 professionals and exceeded profit projections by 40% in just three years. Before that, he spent seven years at DXC Technology as Vice President of Business Development for Microsoft Business Applications, managing over 1,200 customers across North America, and prior to that held sales leadership roles at Oracle spanning nearly a decade. Across a career that has taken him from enterprise software to consulting to digital media, John has made a habit of building things that last. At Roll for Good, he is bringing all of it to bear on turning the game he has loved his entire life into a force for good.
Erik Rohrmann
With a professional background in finance and operations, Erik brings a strategic mindset and attention to detail to Roll for Good. Beyond his career, he has spent most of his life coaching youth sports and has cultivated a deep appreciation for strategy and board games, like backgammon. Joining this program is a meaningful opportunity for him to merge his professional experience with his passion for helping young people grow through play. He believes that when we create spaces for young people to learn through games, we build stronger thinkers, stronger communities, and a brighter future for everyone.
Tim Horner
Tim began his career in Manhattan as founding partner of Alspach & Horner, a boutique firm specializing in corporate and securities law. After ten years of expansion to include offices in San Francisco and Newport Beach, California, he and his original partner left the firm to explore new adventures. For Tim, that included working with musicians, artists and entrepreneurs exploring the opportunities developing with the early commercialization of the Internet. Since then, he has assisted numerous enterprises as outside and inside general counsel. Currently, Tim continues to work with startup and mature tech companies as well as brick-and-mortar enterprises.
Oliver Ripley
Oliver first played backgammon with his grandfather growing up and ever since then has loved to play with his friends. A British entrepreneur, he co-founded Ocean Group, a diversified investment group with businesses across technology, real estate, mining and agriculture across Europe, US and Asia, and is the founder and CEO of Black Ocean, a technology group where he founded and sold digital media and software businesses including Elite Daily and Kite.ly. In 2016 he co-founded Habitas, the award-winning hospitality group that was voted one of the most creative companies in the world in 2024 for its disruptive approach to hospitality. Through Habitas Rise, its impact initiative, the group funds education and community projects for the people who live around those resorts. Since then he has founded Sekra, and is looking to reimagine how people live in cities. He has made a career out of building disruptive companies, and focusing on human connection and building communities. At Roll for Good, he puts that experience behind a game that has been bringing people together for thousands of years, so that the next generation gets the same thing from it that he does: time with friends, and a reason to keep coming back to the table.
Get Involved
How to apply
If you or your organization are interested in starting a Backgammon.com club in your school or youth organization, we would love to hear from you. Getting started is simple. Reach out to us directly and we will take it from there.
Every great club begins with a single move. Make yours today.
Funding
Independent by Design
Roll for Good is funded independently from the Backgammon.com product, ensuring its integrity and long-term sustainability across every stage of growth.
Year 1
Direct funding from Backgammon.com company budget, standalone from the product.
Near Term
Grants and corporate donors as the program demonstrates impact and scale.
Foundation
Independent fundraising once 501(c)(3) status is secured and governance is established across Backgammon.com, USBGF, and WBGF.