Backgammon

Play Backgammon, a classic board game of strategy and luck. Move your pieces wisely and bear them off the board before your opponent.

Game Board

Backgammon is a 2 player game. The four quadrants of the Backgammon board are shown below.

The triangular-shaped spaces that the checkers occupy are known as "points".

Each player begins with 15 checkers, which are set up on a board as shown.

The numbers along the top and bottom of the board indicate the names of the different points.

Object of Game

The object in Backgammon is to be the 1st player to move all of his/her checkers off the board (see more in Endgame).

Before starting, players decide on the number of score points (1, 3, 5, 9). The first player to reach that agreed score points wins the game.

Getting Started

Each player rolls one die at the same time to begin the game. High roller moves first.

Each player in turn rolls two dice, then moves their checkers according to the dice rolls.

One checker is moved the exact amount showing on one die, then another checker, or the checker that just moved, is moved the exact amount on the other die.

To move a checker, simply tap on one that's highlighted in blue and the game will move it to the available point.

Rolling Doubles

If doubles are rolled, 2x the usual number of moves are taken. For example, when rolling a pair of 3s, you get to make four moves (of 3 spaces each) instead of two moves.

The four moves may be divided up among any number of checkers, or may all be made by a single checker.

Piece Movement

Black's checkers move clockwise, White's move counterclockwise. Checkers must always move the full amount shown on a die except when bearing off (see Endgame).

A checker may pass over occupied points without restriction, and it may end its move on an empty space, a space occupied by other checkers of the same color, or a space occupied by a single opposing checker, which is then sent to the Bar (see Blots & Bars).

A checker may not, however, end its move on a point occupied by two or more opposing checkers.

Doubling Cube

The black Doubling Cube is first placed in the middle of the board and has faces showing the numbers 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, and 64.

At any point during the game, a player who is about to roll the dice may tap on the Doubling Cube to offer it to the opponent.

The opponent must then decide whether to Pass, thereby conceding the score point, or Accept - agreeing to continue playing for 2x the stakes. A player who accepts a double gains control, or possession, of the cube.

At any point in the game, just before rolling, the player who owns the cube may propose a redoubling of the stakes by turning it to the next higher number and offering it to the opponent, who may pass (losing the current value of the cube) or accept (agreeing to the new stakes and gaining control of the cube).

Blots & Bars

If a checker lands on a point occupied by a single opposing checker, which is known as a blot, the opposing checker is removed from the space and placed on the bar. The bar is the vertical strip that separates the left and right halves of the board. It's possible for a single checker to hit two blots on one turn (one with each die roll), or as many as four on a roll of doubles.

In this position, if Black throws a 4-1, the checker marked can move 1 and then 4, bumping two opposing checkers onto the bar.

A player who has one or more checkers on the bar must bring all of them back into play before moving any checkers that are on the board. A checker moves from the bar into the opponent's inner table, entering as many points from the edge as the die roll. In this position, for example, if White throws a 2-4, the checker on the bar may either use the 2 to enter at X or the 4 to enter at Y. The unused number is then used to move the same checker again or to move another checker.

A player must use both dice rolls whenever possible, and may not play one die in such a way as to make the other die unplayable if this can be avoided. A player who can only use one die must do so, and must use the die with the higher number if possible. If no legal moves are possible, a player loses his or her turn.

Bearing Off

Before moving any checkers off the board, a player must first bring them all into his or her inner board. After that, a die roll may be used to move a checker off the board by moving it beyond the last point on the board.

A checker does not need to move off the board by exact count; e.g., a checker on the 4-point may move off the board with a 4, 5, or a 6. However, a player must always play the full amount of a die when possible. In the following position, therefore, with a roll of 4-3, a player may not bear off a checker from either the 2 point or 1 point. Instead, the checkers on the 6-point and 5-point must both be moved (one of them 4 and the other 3).