Backgammon Rules and Strategy
Backgammon is one of the oldest games still played today, blending the luck of the dice with genuine skill. Two players race fifteen checkers each around the board and off the far end — but the constant threat of being hit and sent back turns a simple race into a tense tactical battle. This guide covers the rules, then the strategy that separates a good player from a lucky one.
The Objective
Move all fifteen of your checkers into your home board (points 1–6), then bear them off — remove them from the board entirely. The first player to bear off all fifteen checkers wins. Win before your opponent bears off any checker and you score a gammon (double); catch them with a checker still on the bar or in your home and it's a backgammon (triple).
How to Move
- Roll two dice and move checkers toward your home; you move one checker per die, or the same checker twice.
- Rolling doubles lets you make four moves instead of two.
- You must use as many of your dice as legally possible. If only one number can be played, you must play the higher one when possible.
- You can only land on an open point — one that isn't held by two or more enemy checkers.
Hitting, the Bar, and Blots
- A lone checker on a point is a blot. If your opponent lands on it, the blot is hit and sent to the bar.
- A checker on the bar must re-enter in the opponent's home board before you may make any other move. If you can't enter, you forfeit the roll.
- Getting hit costs enormous distance, so managing blots is central to the whole game.
Strategy Tips
- Avoid leaving blots within range. A checker sitting within six points of an enemy checker can be hit on a single die. When you must expose a blot, place it where it's hardest to reach.
- Build primes. Two or more of your checkers on consecutive points form a wall. A wall of several points in a row can completely trap an enemy checker behind it — a prime is one of the most powerful positions in the game.
- Keep an anchor. Holding a point with two checkers inside your opponent's home board gives you a safe landing spot if you get hit, and keeps pressure on them late in the game.
- Count the pips. Add up the distance all your checkers must travel to bear off — that's your pip count. A lower count than your opponent means you're winning the race, so play safely and run. A higher count means you should play aggressively and look to hit.
- Play the position, not just the roll. When you're ahead, race and avoid contact. When you're behind, hold anchors and wait for a shot at hitting a blot.
Bearing Off
Once all fifteen checkers are home, start removing them. Bear off from the points matching your dice, and try not to leave a blot exposed if your opponent still has a checker positioned to hit it — a single late hit can lose an almost-won game.
If you enjoy the race-and-block tension, try the capture tactics of Checkers or the deep planning of Chess.
Roll the dice against the computer — Play Backgammon free, and find more guides for other classics.