Backgammon Board Setup Visualizer
This is the correct backgammon starting position — every point, every checker, on a live board. Hover or tap any stack to see why it starts exactly there; the full reasoning is written out below the board, so nothing is hidden behind the interaction.
The Starting Position at a Glance
Each player has fifteen checkers arranged in four stacks: two on the 24-point, five on the 13-point, three on the 8-point and five on the 6-point — counted from that player's own bear-off corner. The two armies are exact mirror images and travel in opposite directions around the horseshoe: White (cream) moves from the top right toward the bottom right; Black moves from the bottom right toward the top right. If the finished board is not perfectly symmetrical, someone is set up backwards.
Point by Point
The 24-point — two runners behind enemy lines
Your two farthest checkers start deep in your opponent's home board with 24 points to travel each. They are your biggest liability and your best defense at once: until they escape, they can anchor a defensive game, and every plan in backgammon starts with the question of how, and when, these two get home.
The 13-point — five on the midpoint
The midpoint is your supply depot: safely made from the start, halfway home, feeding builders into your outer board turn after turn. Most opening plays move a checker from here — it is the point you will touch more than any other in the first ten moves.
The 8-point — three builders one leap from home
Three checkers sit two pips outside your home board, already forming a made point that blocks enemy runners. The classic setup mistake lives here: the three go on the 8-point and the five on the 6-point — the bigger stack always sits closer to home.
The 6-point — five on the game’s best point
The 6-point is the most valuable point in backgammon, and you own it before the first roll. It blocks the highest number a fleeing checker can play and is the cornerstone of every prime you will ever build. Starting with five checkers here is a head start the rules simply hand you.
The bar and the cube at 64
The raised ridge in the middle is the bar, where hit checkers wait to re-enter. Before the first roll the doubling cube sits centred showing 64 — convention for “nobody has doubled; the game is worth one point.” Each player then rolls one die, and the higher roller plays both numbers.
Set Up a Real Board in 30 Seconds
- Five checkers on your 6-point, beside the bar in your home board.
- Five on your 13-point, the midpoint diagonally across the board.
- Three on your 8-point, just outside your home board.
- Two runners on your 24-point, in your opponent's home board.
- Opponent mirrors you; cube centred at 64; roll one die each and play.
Go Deeper
This visualizer is the companion to our full written guide, Backgammon Setup: How to Set Up the Board, which covers point numbering conventions, direction-of-play choices and the common mistakes in detail. When the board is set, How to Play Backgammon takes you from the opening roll onward — or skip the furniture and play free in your browser, where the board sets itself up and a pip count is always one glance away.