How to Play Backgammon

Backgammon is one of the oldest board games in history, with origins dating back over 5,000 years. Despite its ancient roots, it remains one of the most engaging strategy games ever created, combining skill, probability, and tactical thinking in every match.

The game is easy to learn but offers incredible depth for those who want to master it. Two players compete to move their 15 checkers around the board and bear them off before their opponent. Every roll of the dice presents new decisions, and the best players know how to maximize their chances while minimizing risk.

This guide will teach you everything you need to start playing confidently, from basic rules to essential strategies that will give you an edge over casual players.

The backgammon board consists of 24 narrow triangles called points. These points are grouped into four quadrants of six points each:

• Your Home Board - Points 1-6, where you'll bear off your checkers
• Your Outer Board - Points 7-12
• Opponent's Outer Board - Points 13-18
• Opponent's Home Board - Points 19-24

The vertical strip in the middle is called the bar. When a checker is hit, it's placed on the bar and must re-enter the game through the opponent's home board.

Each player has a bear-off tray beside their home board where checkers are placed once removed from the game.

Each player starts with 15 checkers arranged in a specific pattern:

Your opponent's checkers are placed in the mirror-image positions. You move your checkers in opposite directions around the board - one player moves clockwise, the other counter-clockwise.

The goal of backgammon is simple: be the first player to move all 15 of your checkers into your home board and then bear them off (remove them from the board).

You can only begin bearing off once ALL of your checkers are in your home board (points 1-6). Until then, you must focus on moving your checkers safely around the board while potentially blocking or hitting your opponent's checkers.

The game begins with the opening roll. Each player rolls one die, and the player with the higher number goes first using both dice (theirs and their opponent's) for their first move.

If both players roll the same number, they re-roll until someone wins. After the opening roll, players alternate turns, rolling both dice on each turn.

Example: If you roll 5 and your opponent rolls 3, you go first and must play a 5-3 opening move.

Explore all 15 opening rolls and the plans behind them.

On your turn, roll two dice and move your checkers according to the numbers shown. You can move:

• One checker using both dice in sequence, provided the intermediate landing point for the chosen order and the final point are open
• Two different checkers, one for each die number

Key rules for movement:

• You can only land on open points - those not occupied by 2+ opponent checkers
• You must use both dice if legally possible
• If only one die can be played, you must play the higher number if possible
• There's no limit to how many of your own checkers can occupy a single point

When you roll the same number on both dice (doubles), you get to move four timesinstead of two! For example, rolling double 4s means you can make four moves of 4 points each.

You can distribute these moves among your checkers however you like - move one checker all four times, four different checkers once each, or any combination in between.

Doubles are powerful! A well-timed double can swing the game dramatically in your favor.

A point occupied by two or more of your checkers is a made point. An anchor is a made point in your opponent's home board. Your opponent cannot land on your made points, making them valuable for both attack and defence.

Consecutive made points form a prime. An opposing checker trapped behind an intact 6-point prime cannot pass it, although the opponent may still be able to move other checkers.

A single checker on a point is called a blot. If your opponent lands on your blot, your checker is hitand placed on the bar in the center of the board.

When you have checkers on the bar, you must re-enter them before making any other moves. To re-enter, you must roll a number corresponding to an open point in your opponent's home board (points 19-24 from your perspective).

If all six points in your opponent's home board are blocked, you cannot enter and lose your turn - this is called being closed out.

Once all your remaining checkers are in your home board, you can bear off. An exact die bears off a checker from that point. A higher die can bear off from your highest occupied point only when no checker remains on a higher point.

• A 6 bears off a checker from the 6-point
• A 5 bears off from the 5-point (or moves a 6-point checker to the 1-point)
• If you roll higher than your highest occupied point, you may bear off from that point; bearing off is not compulsory if another legal move uses the die

Important: If one of your checkers is hit during bearing off, you must bring it all the way back around the board and into your home board before continuing to bear off.

The doubling cube is what separates casual backgammon from serious competition. It's a six-sided die with the numbers 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, and 64, used to raise the stakes during a game.

Before rolling on your turn, you can offer to double the stakes if the cube is centred or you own it and doubling is permitted. Your opponent must then:

• Take: Accept the double and continue playing for higher stakes
• Drop: Decline and lose the game at the current stake

After accepting a double, only the player who took owns the cube and can offer the next double (called a redouble).

Under the Crawford rule, the cube cannot be used for the next game when a player first reaches one point from winning the match. It is available again if the match continues afterwards.

Mastering cube decisions is essential for competitive play. Our post-game analysis helps you learn optimal doubling strategy by showing when you should have doubled, taken, or dropped.

Go deeper into cube ownership, market losers and match-score strategy.

Here are four common strategies in backgammon. Knowing when to use each one is what separates beginners from intermediate players.

Learn when to switch plans and how timing changes the decision.