How to play Backgammon
Backgammon combines a race with tactical contact. Move fifteen checkers around twenty-four points, hit exposed opposing checkers and bring your own into the home board before bearing them off.
Start a game
- Roll two dice on your turn.
- Use each die as a separate move, or apply both to one checker through legal intermediate points.
- Hit a single opposing checker; avoid points occupied by two or more.
- Re-enter checkers from the bar before moving other checkers.
- Bring every checker home, then bear off all fifteen to win.
Dice and legal destinations
The two players move in opposite directions around 24 points. Each die supplies a separate move. Doubles supply four moves of the rolled value instead of two.
A point holding two or more opposing checkers is blocked. A point with one opposing checker is a blot: landing there hits it and sends it to the bar. A move using both dice must still obey the rules at the intermediate landing point.
Using dice and entering from the bar
You must use as many dice as legally possible. If only one die can be played, you must use the higher value when it is legal. You cannot simply decline a playable die to keep a more comfortable position.
A checker on the bar must re-enter before any other checker moves. If entry is blocked for the available values, those moves cannot be used. Building blocks in your home board makes an opponent’s re-entry harder.
Bearing off and winning
Bearing off begins only when all your checkers are in your home board, the final six points of your route. Use the highlighted legal moves to remove them. The first player to remove all fifteen wins.
If a checker is hit and sent back out of the home board, return it and bring every checker home again before continuing to bear off.
Example: two moves are not one jump
A roll of 3 and 5 can move two checkers separately, or one checker by three and then five, provided both landings are legal. A blocked intermediate point can prevent that sequence even when the final destination looks open. Try the alternative die order only if its intermediate point is legal too.
With double Fours, you have four separate moves of four. Use as many as the position permits, considering both safety and progress.
Race or maintain contact?
When ahead in the race, reducing contact can protect your lead. When behind, building blocks and waiting for a hit may offer a better chance than a pure sprint. Compare the pip counts and the number of exposed blots.
Do not make every hit automatically. Leaving several loose checkers to hit one rival may create a worse position after the next roll.
Strategy and useful habits
- Check both possible orders of different dice.
- Make secure points to reduce exposed blots.
- Prioritise bar entry when a checker has been hit.
- Adapt between racing and blocking according to the position.
Common mistakes
- Treating the two dice as one unrestricted jump.
- Moving another checker while one is on the bar.
- Bearing off before all checkers are home.
- Ignoring a playable higher die when only one value can be used.
Questions and answers
What do doubles allow?
Four separate moves of the rolled value.
What happens to a hit checker?
It goes to the bar and must re-enter before its owner moves other checkers.
When do I win?
When all fifteen of your checkers have been borne off.
