Which direction do you move in backgammon?

Each player moves towards their own home board, so the two of you travel in opposite directions around the board and pass each other in the middle. A checker never changes direction.

Do you have to play both dice in backgammon?

Yes, whenever some order of the two numbers makes both legal. Only when nothing you do makes both playable may you play one, and then it has to be the higher of the two numbers.

How many checkers can sit on one point?

There is no limit in the standard rules — all fifteen may stand on one point. Stacking more than four or five is almost always bad play, because the extra checkers are doing nothing useful.

When should you double in backgammon?

When you are a clear favourite but your opponent can still reasonably take. Around 68% to 88% is the usual window; above it you are better off playing on for a gammon than cashing the game for one point.

How to Play Backgammon

Backgammon is played on twenty-four points with fifteen checkers each, moved by two dice in opposite directions. Land on a lone enemy checker to send it to the bar; it must re-enter before its owner moves anything else. Bring all fifteen of your checkers into your home board, bear them off, and the first side to remove all fifteen wins the game.

The rules, step by step

1Throw for the openingEach side throws one die; the higher number moves first and plays both numbers. A tie is thrown again, so the opening is never a double.
2Move two numbers, or four on a doubleEach die is a separate move of one checker. A double is played as four moves of that number. You must use as much of the roll as the position legally allows.
3Land only where you are allowedA checker may land on an empty point, on a point of your own, or on a point holding exactly one enemy checker. Two or more enemy checkers close the point completely.
4Hit a lone checker onto the barLanding on a single enemy checker sends it to the bar. It must re-enter in your home board before its owner may move anything else at all.
5Bring all fifteen home, then bear offOnce every checker is in your home board you may start removing them. A number takes a checker off the point it matches, or moves a checker inside the board.
6Only use a bigger number when nothing is higherA number larger than the point it is played from bears a checker off only when no checker remains on any higher point. Otherwise it must be played as a move.
7Offer the cube before you rollIf the cube is centred or yours, you may double the stakes before throwing. Your opponent drops and concedes, or takes the cube and doubles the value of the game.

Try it — the rules above, running

Your pips167Black pips167Off0 / 0Cube1 (centre)Game#0

Roll, then tap one of your checkers and a highlighted point — one die at a time, so a 5 and a 3 are two taps. A checker on the bar is selected for you and must come in first. Double is only offered before you roll, and End turn appears once the roll is used up or cannot be played at all. The point numbers on this board are yours; Black’s moves are written in Black’s own numbering, counted from the opposite corner, the way backgammon notation always is.

Your statistics

Played: 0
Won: 0
Win rate: 0%
Streak: 0
Best streak: 0
Best time: —
Biggest win: —

Keyboard

Arrows: Move the cursor across the points
Enter / Space: Select a checker, or play the highlighted move
R: Roll, or end the turn
U: Undo the last move of this turn
H: Hint
D: Offer a double
Escape: Deselect
N: New game
F: Full screen

What does the board look like?

Twenty-four narrow triangles, called points, run around a board split into four quadrants of six by a ridge down the middle called the bar. Your home board is the six points nearest you on one side; your opponent's is the six directly opposite. You move towards your own home board and your opponent moves towards theirs, so the two of you travel in opposite directions past each other.

Point — one of the 24 triangles. A point with two or more of your checkers on it is made, and your opponent cannot land there.
Blot — a point with exactly one checker on it. It can be hit.
Bar — where a hit checker waits. It re-enters in the opponent's home board before anything else may move.
Pip count — the total distance all your checkers still have to travel. Both sides start on 167.
Prime — a run of consecutive made points. Six in a row cannot be jumped by any number at all.

How does a turn work?

1Consider the cubeBefore you roll, and only before you roll, you may offer to double the stakes if the cube is centred or on your side of the board.
2Throw both diceThe two numbers are two separate moves and may be played by one checker or two. A double gives you four moves of that number instead of two.
3Use as much of the roll as you canIf some order of the dice plays both numbers, you are not allowed to play only one. If only one number can be played, it must be the higher.
4Hand the dice overWhen both numbers are played, or nothing legal is left, the turn ends. A roll with no legal move at all is simply forfeited.

How do you get a checker off the bar?

It enters in your opponent's home board, on the point matching the number thrown — a 5 enters on their 5-point. Any number matching a point they have made with two or more checkers is dead. While anything of yours sits on the bar you may not move a single other checker, so a hit at the wrong moment costs a whole turn as well as the pips.

With one point of their home board still open, 11 of the 36 rolls get you in and 25 do not. With two open the figure is 20, with three it is 27. Shutting all six is a closed board: nothing enters at all, and your opponent plays entirely alone until they are forced to break it up.

How is the game scored?

An ordinary win is worth whatever the cube says — one point if nobody doubled, two after one double, four after two, and so on. If the loser has not borne off a single checker it is a gammon and the cube value is doubled again. If, on top of that, they still have a checker on the bar or in the winner's home board, it is a backgammon and worth triple.

Dropping a double is not free either: you lose the cube value as it stood before the double was offered. That is what makes the cube a real decision rather than a formality — turning down a double on 1 costs a point immediately, and taking it means the game is now worth 2 and your opponent has the roll.

How do you win more often?

Count pips before you decide anythingBoth sides start on 167. If you are ahead by more than a few pips you are in a race and should avoid contact entirely; if you are behind, contact is your only chance, so keep an anchor and wait for a shot rather than running.
Make points, do not stack themA fourth checker on a point does nothing a checker elsewhere could not do better. Two checkers on two points block twice as much as four on one, and the 5-point and bar point are the two most valuable squares on the board.
Keep your blots seven or more pips awayInside six pips a single number hits you, and 11 of the 36 rolls contain any given number. At seven pips only combinations reach and the count falls from 17 to 6, so one extra pip is often worth more than one extra point of progress.
Hold an anchor while you are behindTwo checkers on a point in your opponent's home board can never be hit and can never be shut out, so they keep your game alive until a shot appears. Breaking the anchor to run with one checker is how behind turns into hopeless.
Spread evenly before you bear offCheckers piled on the 1-point and 2-point waste the big numbers, and a straggler on the 6-point stops every big number from taking a checker off elsewhere. An even spread across all six points turns every throw into progress.
Double when your opponent can still takeA double is only worth making while it might be accepted — a drop wins you the cube value and nothing more. The window is roughly 68% to 88%; above that you are throwing away the gammon you were on the way to winning.

Common questions about backgammon

Which direction do you move in backgammon?: Each player moves towards their own home board, so the two of you travel in opposite directions around the board and pass each other in the middle. A checker never changes direction.
Do you have to play both dice in backgammon?: Yes, whenever some order of the two numbers makes both legal. Only when nothing you do makes both playable may you play one, and then it has to be the higher of the two numbers.
How many checkers can sit on one point?: There is no limit in the standard rules — all fifteen may stand on one point. Stacking more than four or five is almost always bad play, because the extra checkers are doing nothing useful.
When should you double in backgammon?: When you are a clear favourite but your opponent can still reasonably take. Around 68% to 88% is the usual window; above it you are better off playing on for a gammon than cashing the game for one point.

Ready to stop reading? Play backgammon on the full board, with controls and statistics tailored to that game.