How to Play Backgammon

Backgammon is one of the oldest known board games, combining strategy and luck in a race to bear off all your checkers before your opponent. Two players sit across from each other, rolling dice to move 15 checkers each around a board of 24 narrow triangles called points. The game is easy to learn but offers enormous strategic depth — mastering positional play, timing, and the doubling cube separates beginners from experts.

The Board

The backgammon board has 24 points (narrow triangles) arranged in four quadrants of six points each. The quadrants are called your home board, your outer board, your opponent's home board, and your opponent's outer board. A raised ridge down the center of the board called the bar separates the home boards from the outer boards.

Points are numbered 1 through 24 from each player's perspective. Your 1-point is diagonally opposite your opponent's 1-point. You move your checkers from higher-numbered points toward your 1-point (your home board), then bear them off. Your opponent moves in the opposite direction.

Starting Position

Each player places their 15 checkers in the following standard starting position:

Your opponent's checkers mirror your setup exactly, moving in the opposite direction.

Rolling the Dice

To determine who goes first, each player rolls one die. The player with the higher number moves first, using both numbers rolled as their first move. If both roll the same number, re-roll until they differ.

After the opening roll, players alternate turns. On each turn you roll two dice and must move checkers according to the numbers shown. If you roll doubles (both dice show the same number), you get four moves of that number instead of two. For example, double 3s gives you four moves of three pips each.

Moving Checkers

Checkers always move forward — from higher-numbered points toward your home board. Each die represents a separate move. You can move one checker by both dice values, or two different checkers by one die value each. A checker may only land on an open point — one that is not occupied by two or more opponent checkers.

You must use both dice values if legally possible. If you can only use one, you must use the higher number. If no legal move exists, your turn is forfeited.

A point occupied by two or more of your checkers is a made point (also called a “block”). Your opponent cannot land on a made point. Six consecutive made points form a prime, which completely blocks any opponent checker behind it.

Hitting and the Bar

A single checker sitting alone on a point is called a blot. If you land on an opponent's blot, that checker is hit and placed on the bar (the ridge in the center of the board).

A player with checkers on the bar must enter them before making any other move. To enter, you must roll a number corresponding to an open point in the opponent's home board (points 1-6 from their perspective, which are points 19-24 from yours). If both dice show numbers where those points are blocked, you cannot enter and your entire turn is lost.

Bearing Off

Once all 15 of your checkers are in your home board (points 1-6), you can begin bearing off. To bear off a checker, roll a number that corresponds to the point it occupies. For example, rolling a 5 lets you remove a checker from the 5-point.

If you roll a number higher than the highest occupied point, you must bear off from the highest occupied point. For example, if your highest checker is on the 4-point and you roll a 6, you bear off that checker from the 4-point.

If a checker is hit during bearing off, it must go to the bar, re-enter the opponent's home board, and travel all the way back to your home board before you can resume bearing off.

The Doubling Cube

The doubling cube is a special die marked with the numbers 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, and 64. It starts in the center (on “64” which represents 1) and is used to raise the stakes during a game.

Before rolling the dice on your turn, you may propose to double the stakes. Your opponent must either accept (take) the double — in which case the game is now worth twice as much — or refuse (drop) and concede the game at the current stake.

After accepting a double, that player “owns” the cube and only they can propose the next double (a redouble). The doubling cube adds an enormous strategic layer to backgammon, and knowing when to double, take, or drop is often the difference between winning and losing players.

Winning: Gammons and Backgammons

The first player to bear off all 15 checkers wins the game. The margin of victory determines the score:

• Single game — The loser has borne off at least one checker. Worth 1 point (times the doubling cube value).
• Gammon — The loser has not borne off any checkers. Worth 2 points (times the cube).
• Backgammon — The loser has not borne off any checkers AND still has a checker on the bar or in the winner's home board. Worth 3 points (times the cube).

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