Backgammon Rules: The Complete Reference

This is the complete reference for standard backgammon rules as played in clubs, tournaments and online. It assumes you know roughly what the game looks like — if you are brand new, the beginner's guide is a gentler starting point; come back here when you need exact answers.

Equipment and Objective

Backgammon is played by two players on a board of 24 points, with fifteen checkers per player, two dice per player, and (for games played for stakes or match points) a doubling cube. The starting position — two checkers on each player's 24-point, five on the 13-point, three on the 8-point and five on the 6-point — is detailed in the setup guide.

Each player moves their checkers toward their own home board and then bears them off. The first player to bear off all fifteen checkers wins.

The Opening Roll

• Each player rolls a single die. The higher roller plays first, using both numbers shown — their own die and their opponent's.
• If the dice are equal, both players roll again until they differ. (In money play, some tables optionally double the stakes on each tie — an "automatic double". This is a house rule, not part of the standard game.)
• The first player does not re-roll: the opening move is played with the two dice already showing.

Movement Rules

On each turn a player rolls two dice and moves checkers forward — always forward, never backward — according to the numbers rolled.

• Two numbers, two moves. The dice are separate moves. They may move two different checkers, or the same checker twice — but a combined move must be legal at each step. A checker moving 5-3 as a single eight-point journey must be able to land legally on the intermediate point after the 5 (or after the 3).
• Legal landing points. A checker may land on an open point, a point occupied by any number of its own checkers, or a point occupied by exactly one opposing checker (a blot, which is hit). It may never land on a point held by two or more opposing checkers.
• Doubles. A double is played four times. Rolling 6-6 grants four moves of six, in any legal combination.
• Compulsory play. A player must use both numbers if legally possible (all four with doubles). If only one number can be played, it must be played. If either number could be played alone but not both, the larger number must be played. If neither can be played, the turn is forfeited. Doubles follow the same principle: play as many of the four moves as legally possible.
• No passing. A player may never voluntarily skip a turn or decline to move while a legal move exists.

Hitting

A single checker alone on a point is a blot. When an opposing checker lands on it — whether ending its move there or touching down mid-combination — the blot is hit and placed on the bar. Multiple blots can be hit in a single turn.

Entering From the Bar

• A player with one or more checkers on the bar must enter them before making any other move.
• A checker enters in the opponent's home board, on the point matching a rolled number — a rolled 5 enters on the opponent's 5-point — provided that point is not held by two or more opposing checkers.
• If neither rolled number gives a legal entry, the player dances: the entire turn is lost.
• When the opponent holds all six home-board points (a closed board), entry is impossible; the player on the bar forfeits turn after turn — without rolling — until the board opens.
• If a player has entered from the bar and has no checkers left there, any remaining number is played normally.

Bearing Off

A player may begin bearing off only when all fifteen of their checkers are in their home board.

• A rolled number bears off a checker from the point of that number: a 3 removes a checker from the 3-point.
• If the rolled point is empty but checkers remain on higher points, the number must be used as a normal move within the home board instead.
• If the rolled number is higher than the highest occupied point, a checker is borne off from the highest occupied point. (With everything on the 4-point and below, a 6 bears off from the 4-point.)
• As always, both dice must be used if legally possible — a player may choose between bearing off and moving within the board when both are legal, but may not waste a playable number.
• If a checker is hit during the bear-off, it must re-enter from the bar and travel around the board to the home board before bearing off can resume. Checkers already borne off stay off.

Winning: Single, Gammon, Backgammon

The game ends the moment one player bears off their fifteenth checker.

These multipliers combine with the doubling cube — a gammon with the cube on 4 scores eight points. See the scoring guide for worked examples and match-play details.

The Doubling Cube in Brief

Before rolling on their turn, a player may offer a double, proposing to multiply the game's value by two. The opponent either drops — conceding immediately for a single game at the value before the double — or takes, playing on at doubled stakes and becoming the cube's owner. Only the owner may make the next double. The full rules, including the Crawford, Jacoby and beaver rules, live in the doubling cube guide.

Irregularities and Etiquette

Standard tournament conventions for physical play:

• Cocked dice. Both dice must land flat inside the right-hand half of the board. A die that lands tilted, on a checker, or outside is "cocked", and both dice are re-rolled.
• Rolling early. Dice rolled before the opponent has finished their turn (picked up their dice) are typically re-rolled.
• Errors in movement. An illegal move may be corrected by either player before the next roll; after the opponent rolls, the illegal position generally stands.
• Turn end. A move is final when the player picks up their dice — until then, checkers may be rearranged freely within the rolled numbers.

Online, none of this bookkeeping exists: the server enforces every rule above automatically, only legal moves are offered, and the dice are certified random. That makes online play the easiest place to internalise the rules — try a free game in your browser and let the board teach you.

Rule Variations Worth Knowing

The rules above are the international standard. Regional traditions differ in ways you may encounter: Turkish tavla is traditionally played without a doubling cube and calls a gammon mars; acey-deucey (popular in navies) adds special powers for a 1-2 roll; and Nackgammon starts with a slightly different position to sharpen the opening battle. When in doubt about which rules a table uses, ask before the first roll — the answer is a single sentence, and it prevents every argument that matters.