Backgammon
Race your checkers home. Hit, block, and bear off against a bot that blocks back.
About Backgammon
Backgammon is a race with weapons. Fifteen checkers each, twenty-four points, and dice that decide how far you may move but never where. You move your checkers toward your home board and bear them off; the first player to remove all fifteen wins. Land on a point holding a single enemy checker and it goes to the bar, where it must re-enter before that player may move anything else.
Both dice must be used when a legal move exists for each, and doubles give you four moves instead of two. Those two rules are where most of the tactical depth lives — a roll that looks generous often forces you to break a point you wanted to keep.
The bot plays a real blocking game rather than simply running for home, and the post-game review grades your moves so you can see where equity was lost.
- Players
- 2 players (you + 1 bot)
- Type
- Board game
- Price
- Free
- Account
- Not required
Backgammon rules
- 1.Move your checkers around the board and bear them all off to win.
- 2.Tap a checker, then tap a highlighted point to move it there.
- 3.You must use both dice when a legal move exists for each; doubles give you four moves.
- 4.Landing on a lone enemy checker sends it to the bar — it must re-enter before that player moves anything else.
- 5.Bear off only once all fifteen of your checkers are in your home board.
How to win at Backgammon
- Make points, do not just advance
- Two checkers on the same point make it untakeable and block enemy movement. A roll that builds a new point is almost always better than the same roll spent pushing two lone checkers further along.
- Never leave a blot you do not have to
- A single checker on a point is a blot and can be sent to the bar. Before committing a roll, check what your opponent hits with next turn — a shot from six pips away lands far more often than beginners expect.
- Prime the escape route
- A wall of consecutive made points in front of your opponent’s back checkers is the strongest structure in the game. Six in a row is a closed prime and those checkers cannot move at all.
- Know when you are racing
- Once the two sides have passed each other, contact is over and hitting is impossible. From that moment stop playing safe and play pure pip count — the only thing that matters is speed.
Backgammon questions
- Do I have to use both dice?
- Yes, whenever a legal move exists for each die. If only one die can be played legally, you play that one and forfeit the other.
- What happens when my checker is hit?
- It goes to the bar. You must re-enter it in your opponent’s home board before you may make any other move.
- When can I start bearing off?
- Only once all fifteen of your checkers are inside your own home board.
- Is there a doubling cube?
- Play here is scored on the game result rather than with a doubling cube.