Backgammon Scoring: Single, Gammon and Backgammon
Winning a backgammon game is worth one, two or three points — and the doubling cube multiplies whichever it is. This guide covers the three kinds of win, how the cube interacts with them, how matches to N points work, and the Crawford rule that governs every match's endgame.
The Three Kinds of Win
Every game ends when one player bears off their fifteenth checker. What it's worth depends entirely on how far the loser got:
| Win type | The loser has… | Base value |
|---|---|---|
| Single | …borne off at least one checker. | 1 point |
| Gammon | …borne off no checkers. | 2 points |
| Backgammon | …borne off no checkers and still has a checker on the bar or inside the winner's home board. | 3 points |
Note the asymmetry: it doesn't matter how many checkers the winner had left to spare, only how far the loser progressed. Bearing off even a single checker — however hopeless the position — halves the damage from a would-be gammon. This is why experienced players in a lost race still fight to get one checker off: it is worth a full point.
A note on names: in Turkish tavla the double win is called mars — mars and gammon are the same result, worth twice a plain win. The triple win is rare enough that many casual players go years without seeing one; it typically happens when a checker is trapped on the bar behind a closed board while the opponent bears off.
Multiply by the Cube
The doubling cube multiplies the base value. The formula for every game is simply:
| Result | Cube at 1 | Cube at 2 | Cube at 4 | Cube at 8 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single | 1 | 2 | 4 | 8 |
| Gammon | 2 | 4 | 8 | 16 |
| Backgammon | 3 | 6 | 12 | 24 |
One special case: when a player drops a double, the game ends immediately as a single at the cube value before the double — gammons and backgammons can never apply to a dropped game, because it never reached bear-off.
Match Play: First to N Points
Serious backgammon is usually played as a match to a fixed number of points — commonly 3, 5, 7, 11 or 25. Games are played one after another, each scored as above, and the first player to reach the match total wins. Two details matter:
- No carry-over. Winning the match 7–3 or 7–6 is the same win; excess points beyond N are simply discarded. There is no bonus for margin.
- Odd targets are the norm. Match lengths are traditionally odd numbers, which keeps post-Crawford arithmetic interesting and avoids certain trivially symmetric scores.
Match strategy revolves around the score. A gammon that would overshoot the target is worth no more than a single; a cube that can't change the outcome is dead. The deepest example is the endgame rule that every match reaches:
The Crawford Rule
The first time a player reaches match point — one point from victory — the next game is played without the doubling cube. This single game is the Crawford game. After it, the cube returns for the remainder of the match.
Without this rule, the trailing player would double at the first legal moment of every remaining game, having nothing to lose; the Crawford game grants the leader one game at honest stakes. Once it has passed, the trailer's early double genuinely is nearly automatic — they need points, and extra ones cost them nothing they weren't already losing.
Money Play
In money sessions there is no target score: each game settles at its point value times the agreed stake, and the session runs as long as the players wish. Gammons and backgammons apply as usual, with one common modification — the Jacoby rule, under which gammons and backgammons only count if the cube was turned during that game. Match play never uses Jacoby; money play usually does. Details and the related "beaver" rule are covered in the cube guide.
Worked Examples
- Plain game. Nobody doubles; you win with your opponent having borne off six checkers. Single × cube 1 = 1 point.
- Taken double, gammon finish. You double early, your opponent takes (cube 2, they own it), your attack closes them out and they never bear off. Gammon × 2 = 4 points.
- Dropped redouble. You take an early double (cube 2), later turn the game around and redouble to 4; your opponent drops. Single at the pre-double value = 2 points. The 4 never took effect.
- Backgammon with cube. Cube on 2, opponent stuck on the bar behind your closed board when your last checker comes off. Backgammon × 2 = 6 points — often a whole short match in one game.
- Match point arithmetic. Score 6–4 in a match to 7: you have just reached match point, so the next game is the Crawford game — no doubling. If your opponent wins it 6–5, the cube returns, and they will double you at the first opportunity in every game that follows.
What Scoring Means for Your Play
Scoring rules aren't trivia — they reshape correct play at the board:
- Save the gammon. Hopelessly behind? Race a single checker off before contact ends. One borne-off checker converts a two-point loss into one.
- Play for the gammon when it's free. Attacking positions that might close out the opponent are worth pressing at the current stake rather than cashing with a double — the extra point is real money.
- Don't overpay for style. A backgammon is glorious and worth exactly one point more than a gammon. Never risk a won game hunting for it.
- Know the score before touching the cube. In matches, identical positions have different correct cube actions at different scores — the fastest lesson the scoreboard ever teaches.
The definitions behind every term here — from bear off to match point — are in the glossary, and the mechanics of actually finishing a game live in the complete rules. Then the real classroom: play a free match in your browser and watch the scoreboard do the teaching.