How to play
The complete rules of a single game — everything you need to sit down and play.
The goal
Each player has fifteen checkers. You move them around the board toward your own home board and then bear them off — remove them from the board entirely. The first player to bear off all fifteen checkers wins the game.
The two players move in opposite directions, so one player's progress runs clockwise and the other's counter-clockwise. You only ever move your own checkers.
The board and the starting position
The board has 24 narrow triangles called points, grouped into four quadrants of six. Each player has a home board (where they bear off) and an outer board. The raised divider down the middle is the bar.
From each player's point of view, the fifteen checkers start like this:
- Two checkers on the 24-point (the farthest point)
- Five checkers on the 13-point
- Three checkers on the 8-point
- Five checkers on the 6-point
The two positions are mirror images of each other. The points are numbered 1–24 from each player's own perspective, counting back from their home board.
Who goes first
Each player rolls one die. The higher number goes first and plays both dice as its opening move, so the first move of a game is never a double. If the dice tie, both players roll again. After that, players take turns rolling two dice. Opening moves covers the best way to play each opening roll.
Rolling and moving
Players take turns rolling two dice. The numbers show how many points you may move checkers forward (always toward your home board):
- The two dice are separate moves. A roll of 5 and 3 lets you move one checker 5 and another 3 — or the same checker 5 then 3, as long as the intermediate point is legal to land on.
- Doubles are played twice: rolling 4-4 gives you four moves of 4.
- You must use both numbers if there is any legal way to do so. If only one can be played, you must play the higher one. If neither can be played, you forfeit the turn.
Where you can land
You may move a checker to a point unless the opponent occupies it with
- two or more of their checkers — that point is blocked.
A point held by two or more of your own checkers is made: the opponent can't land there. Stacking several checkers on consecutive points builds a wall (a prime) that's hard to get past.
Hitting and the bar
A point with a single checker on it is a blot. If you move a checker onto an opponent's blot, you hit it: their checker is removed and placed on the bar.
A player with a checker on the bar must re-enter it before making any other move. You enter into the opponent's home board on a point matching a die — a 3 enters on their 3-point — provided that point isn't blocked. If both entry points are blocked, you forfeit the turn. Getting hit late in the race can be disastrous: you go all the way back to the start.
Bearing off
Once all fifteen of your checkers are in your home board (the 1- through 6-points), you can start bearing off. A die of value n bears a checker off the n-point.
- If you roll a number higher than your highest occupied point, you may bear off a checker from the highest point instead.
- You may also move within your home board rather than bearing off, if you prefer.
- If you're hit while bearing off, that checker goes to the bar and you must bring it all the way around and back into your home board before bearing off again.
Winning: single, gammon, backgammon
The first to bear off all fifteen checkers wins. How much they win depends on the loser:
- Single — the loser has borne off at least one checker.
- Gammon (double) — the loser has borne off none.
- Backgammon (triple) — the loser has borne off none and still has a checker in the winner's home board or on the bar.
These multipliers matter most with the doubling cube and in match play — see Match play.
Keep learning
- Opening moves: how to play every opening roll
- Doubling cube strategy: when to double, take or pass
- Glossary: blots, primes, anchors and the rest of the language