Backgammon Rules

Backgammon is a game for two players. Each has fifteen checkers that race around the board in opposite directions, and the first player to bring all fifteen home and bear them off wins.

The board and the setup

The board has 24 points, numbered from 1 to 24 from each player's own point of view: your 1-point is the opponent's 24-point. The points are grouped into four quarters. Your home board holds points 1 to 6, your outer board points 7 to 12. The bar in the middle divides the board in half.

Each player sets up fifteen checkers as follows:

• two on the 24-point (the opponent's 1-point);
• five on the 13-point (the midpoint);
• three on the 8-point;
• five on the 6-point.

You move your checkers from higher numbers to lower numbers, toward your home board.

Starting the game

Each player rolls one die. The player with the higher number moves first, using the two numbers just rolled. If the dice are equal, both roll again. After the first move, players take turns rolling two dice.

Moving checkers

• The two dice are two separate moves. With a 5-3 you may move one checker five pips and another three, or one checker eight pips in total, as long as each stop on the way is open.
• A point is open if it is empty, holds your own checkers, or holds a single opposing checker. A point with two or more opposing checkers is closed.
• A doubles roll is played four times: 4-4 means four moves of four pips each.
• You must use both numbers if it is legally possible. If only one can be played, you must play it. If either one can be played but not both, you must play the larger. If neither can be played, you lose the turn.

Hitting and the bar

A single checker on a point is called a blot. If your checker lands on an opposing blot, the blot is hit and placed on the bar. A player with a checker on the bar must bring it back in before making any other move. It enters on the opponent's home board, on the point matching one of the dice: a 3 enters on the opponent's 3-point, which is your own 22-point. If both entry points are closed, the player cannot move at all that turn. When all six points of the home board are closed, the checker on the bar cannot enter until a point opens.

Bearing off

Once all fifteen of your checkers are in your home board, you may start bearing off. A roll of 4 removes a checker from the 4-point, a 6 from the 6-point, and so on. You may also use a roll to move a checker inside the home board instead. If you roll a number higher than your highest occupied point, you remove a checker from the highest point.

Winning: single game, gammon, backgammon

The doubling cube in match play

Most online play takes the form of matches to a set number of points, for example five or seven. The doubling cube is a die marked 2, 4, 8, 16, 32 and 64 that raises the value of the current game. At the start of each game it sits in the middle and either player may use it.

1. Before rolling, a player may offer to double the value of the game.
2. The opponent either passes, losing the game at its current value, or takes, so the game continues at twice the value.
3. The player who took now owns the cube. Only that player may offer the next double, called a redouble.

Gammons and backgammons multiply the value shown on the cube.

A rule called the Jacoby rule, under which gammons count only if the cube has been turned, is used outside matches and does not apply in match play.

The Crawford rule

When one player reaches one point short of winning the match, the next game is played without the doubling cube. This single game is called the Crawford game. After the Crawford game, the cube is available again for the rest of the match. Almost all online matches use the Crawford rule by default.

Where to go next

Next, learn the standard opening moves. If you want to understand how these rules look on screen, read about how an online backgammon game works, and for match formats and the Crawford rule in tournaments, see online tournaments.