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How to play backgammon
Backgammon is a game of dice and decisions. Each of you races fifteen checkers around the board and home again, and you can knock the other player's lone checkers back to the start. It takes five minutes to learn and a lifetime to master.
The goal
Move all fifteen of your checkers into your home board (the last six points of your journey), then take them off the board one by one. The first player to bear off all fifteen checkers wins the game. Your opponent runs the same race in the opposite direction, so the two of you cross paths in the middle, and that is where the fighting happens.
The board and the setup
The board has 24 narrow triangles called points, in four groups of six, with a divider called the bar down the middle. Points are numbered from each player's own side: your home board is points 1 to 6, and the point where your opponent starts is your 24-point. Each player has fifteen checkers, set up like this:
- 2 checkers on your 24-point (the far end of the board)
- 5 checkers on your 13-point (the midpoint)
- 3 checkers on your 8-point
- 5 checkers on your 6-point
Your opponent's setup is the mirror image. You move from the 24-point toward the 1-point, so every checker travels downward in number. See the board and equipment guide for what each part is called.
Who goes first
Each player rolls one die. The higher number starts, and uses both numbers shown (so a 5 against a 2 means the first player plays a 5 and a 2). If the dice tie, roll again. After that the players take turns, each rolling two dice.
Moving your checkers
Each die is a separate move. If you roll a 5 and a 3, you can move one checker 5 points and another 3 points, or you can move a single checker 5 and then 3 (8 in total), as long as the point it lands on in between is open. A point is open unless your opponent has two or more checkers on it. You may land on an empty point, on a point with your own checkers, or on a point holding just one opposing checker.
If you roll doubles (the same number on both dice), you play that number four times. A double 4 lets you move four 4s, split between checkers however you like.
You must play both dice if you can. If only one can be played, play it, and if you can play either one but not both, you must play the larger number. If neither can be played, you lose the turn. The rules guide covers these forced moves in detail.
Hitting and the bar
A single checker alone on a point is called a blot. If an opposing checker lands on it, the blot is hit and goes to the bar in the middle of the board. A player with a checker on the bar must bring it back in before doing anything else.
To enter, roll a number that matches an open point in your opponent's home board: a 1 enters on the 24-point, a 6 on the 19-point. If the point is blocked (two or more opposing checkers) you cannot use that number. If you cannot enter at all, you lose the turn. Being hit costs you the ground you had gained, which makes it the main way a losing player comes back.
Two or more of your checkers on a point make it safe: it cannot be hit and the opponent cannot land there. Making points to protect your checkers and block your opponent is the heart of strategy; see strategy and tips.
Bringing them home and bearing off
You may start bearing off only when all fifteen of your checkers are in your home board. If you are hit during bear-off, that checker must come all the way round again before you can continue.
To bear off, use a die to remove the checker from the point with the same number: a 4 takes a checker from your 4-point. If you have no checker on that point you must move one from a higher point; if there is none higher, you remove a checker from your highest occupied point. You may also use a number to move a checker inside the home board instead.
How a game is won, and how much
Whoever bears off all fifteen first wins. A normal win scores one point. If the loser has not borne off a single checker it is a gammon, worth two, and if they also still have a checker on the bar or in the winner's home board it is a backgammon, worth three. The stakes can be raised during play with the doubling cube.
Your first game, step by step
- Set up the fifteen checkers as above and roll one die each.
- Move toward your home board, trying to make points (two or more checkers together).
- Avoid leaving blots where the opponent can hit them, especially close to their checkers.
- Hit a blot when it is safe or when it costs the opponent a lot.
- Bring everything home, then bear off before they do.
That is all there is to it. The skill is in the choices, and you can practise them for free on the real board at BackgammonTalk, against a friend on a live voice call or against a robot.
Frequently asked questions
Which way do you move in backgammon?
From your 24-point down to your 1-point, in the opposite direction to your opponent. All your checkers finish in your home board (points 1 to 6) before you can bear off.
How many checkers does each player have?
Fifteen. They start as 2 on the 24-point, 5 on the 13-point, 3 on the 8-point and 5 on the 6-point.
Is backgammon luck or skill?
Both. The dice decide each roll, but choosing how to use them is skill, so the better player wins far more often over many games, which is why serious players play to a set number of points.