How to Play Backgammon
Backgammon is a race: the first player to move all fifteen checkers around the board and off it wins. You will learn the movement rules in about ten minutes — this guide walks you through a complete game, in the order things actually happen at the board.
What You Need to Know First
Backgammon is played by two players on a board of 24 narrow triangles called points. The points are grouped into four quadrants of six: your home board, your outer board, and the same two areas for your opponent. The raised ridge in the middle of the board is the bar.
Each player has fifteen checkers and moves them in opposite directions — you move yours counter-clockwise toward your own home board, while your opponent's checkers travel the other way toward theirs. Every checker follows a horseshoe-shaped path around the board and, once all fifteen have reached the home board, they start coming off. The full starting arrangement is covered in the board setup guide; the short version is that each player begins with checkers on their 24, 13, 8 and 6 points.
Starting the Game
Each player rolls one die. Whoever rolls higher goes first — and plays both numbers just rolled, their own die and the opponent's. If the two dice show the same number, both players roll again until they differ. After that opening move, players alternate turns, each rolling two dice.
Moving Your Checkers
The two dice give you two separate moves. If you roll 5-3, you may move one checker five points and another checker three — or move a single checker eight points in total, as long as it does so in two legal steps (five then three, or three then five). The intermediate point matters: a checker can only pass through a point where it could legally land.
A checker may land on any point that is:
- Open — no checkers on it,
- Yours — occupied by your own checkers (any number), or
- A blot — occupied by exactly one enemy checker, which you then hit.
A point holding two or more of your opponent's checkers is blocked: you cannot land there. Two or more of your own checkers on a point "make" that point, and your opponent cannot land on it either. Making points is the heart of backgammon strategy — a wall of consecutive made points (a prime) can trap enemy checkers completely.
Two more rules complete the picture:
- Doubles are played twice. Rolling 4-4 gives you four moves of four points each — potentially a huge turn.
- You must play if you can. If both numbers can be played, you must play both. If only one can be played, play it; when either number could be played but not both, you must play the larger one. Only when no legal move exists do you forfeit the turn.
Hitting and Entering
A lone checker on a point — a blot — is vulnerable. If your checker lands on an enemy blot, the blot is hit and placed on the bar in the middle of the board. Being hit hurts: the checker must restart its journey from the very beginning of its route.
While you have a checker on the bar, you may make no other move until it re-enters. It enters in your opponent's home board, on a point corresponding to one of your rolled numbers: roll a 3 and you may enter on your opponent's 3-point, provided it is not blocked. If both numbers point at blocked entry points, you dance — your whole turn is lost, and you roll again next turn hoping for an opening.
This is why strong players fight for their opponent's home-board points: if all six entry points are made (a closed board), a checker on the bar cannot enter at all, and its owner simply keeps losing turns until the board opens.
Bearing Off
Once all fifteen of your checkers have reached your home board, you begin bearing off — removing them from the board. A roll of 4 bears off a checker from your 4-point, a 6 from your 6-point, and so on. Doubles bear off up to four checkers.
If you roll a number higher than your highest occupied point, you may bear off from the highest point you still hold — with all your checkers on the 3-point and lower, a 6 takes one off the 3-point. If the exact point is empty but higher points are still occupied, you must instead make a normal move inside the home board. And if one of your checkers is hit during the bear-off, it must travel all the way around and return home before you may continue bearing off.
The first player to bear off all fifteen checkers wins the game.
How Much a Win Is Worth
Not all wins are equal. If the loser has borne off at least one checker, the win is a single — one point. If the loser has borne off none, it is a gammon (called mars in Turkish tavla) and worth two points. If the loser has borne off none and still has a checker on the bar or in the winner's home board, it is a backgammon — three points. The scoring guide covers this in detail, and the doubling cube can multiply all of it.
A Beginner's Game Plan
Rules make the game legal; a plan makes it fun. Three ideas will carry you through your first dozen games:
- Make points, don't stack. Two checkers on each of several points beats six checkers piled on one. Prize your 5-point above all — it is the most valuable point on the board.
- Mind your blots. Before ending a move, ask what numbers would let your opponent hit you. Leaving a blot is fine when the reward is right — just do it knowingly, not accidentally.
- Count the race. When you are clearly ahead in the race and out of contact, run for home and bear off safely. When behind, look for chances to hit and contain rather than racing a lost race. The glossary entry on pip count shows how players measure this precisely.
Learn Faster by Playing
One real game teaches more than an hour of reading. Play a few relaxed matches, keep this guide open in another tab, and the rules will become reflexes before you know it. When terms like anchor or prime come up, the glossary is one click away — and when you feel ready for stakes and strategy, the doubling cube guide is the natural next step.