How to Play Backgammon: Setup, Moves, Hitting, Bearing Off and the Doubling Cube

Backgammon looks fiddly the first time you open the board, but there are only five ideas to learn: the starting position, moving by the dice, hitting, bearing off and the cube. Here's the game as the US Backgammon Federation and the long running bkgm.com rules page set it out, so you can set up and play your first game tonight.

The backgammon board and its 24 points

The board has 24 narrow triangles called points, split into four quarters of six. Each player has a home board and an outer board, and the ridge down the middle is the bar. Your points are numbered from your own side: your home board holds points 1 to 6, and the point farthest from you is your 24 point, which is also your opponent's 1 point. Your two back checkers start there, on what players call the ace point.

Starting position: where each checker goes

Both players set up the mirror image of each other. Count from your own home board and place your checkers like this:

Point (counted from your side)	Your checkers	Where it sits
24 point	2	Your opponent's home board (their 1 point)
13 point	5	Your opponent's outer board
8 point	3	Your outer board
6 point	5	Your home board
Total	15	Each player has 15 of their own colour

You always move forward toward lower numbered points, so your checkers travel in a horseshoe from the 24 point round to your home board. Your opponent moves the opposite way.

Who goes first and how the dice move you

Each player rolls one die. The higher number goes first and plays both of those numbers as the opening move, without rolling again. USBGF points out a detail beginners miss: because ties are always rerolled, whoever goes first can never open with doubles. After that, players roll both of their own dice and take turns.

1. Roll both dice together into the right hand side of the board.
2. Treat each die as a separate move. With a 5 and a 3 you can move one checker 5 and another 3, or one checker 8.
3. If one checker takes both numbers, the point where it stops in between must also be open.
4. Only land on an open point: one that doesn't hold two or more of your opponent's checkers.
5. If you roll doubles, you play that number four times, so 6 and 6 gives you four sixes.
6. Pick up your dice to finish the turn.

The backgammon rule people get wrong: you can't pass

You must use both numbers if there's any legal way to do it, or all four with doubles. If only one number can be played, you play that one. If either number works but not both, the rules say you must play the larger one. You only lose your turn when neither number can be used at all. So you can't skip an awkward roll because you'd rather not break up a good position.

Blots, hitting and coming in from the bar

A single checker sitting alone on a point is a blot. If your opponent lands on it, it's hit and goes on the bar. While you've got a checker on the bar, you can't move anything else until it comes back in.

• You enter in your opponent's home board, on the point that matches one of your dice. A 4 and a 6 lets you enter on their 4 point or 6 point.
• The point has to be open. If neither point is open, you lose the whole turn.
• If you've got two checkers on the bar and can only bring one in, you enter that one and lose the rest of the turn.
• Once everything's back in, any number you haven't used must still be played.
• Hit and run is allowed: you can hit a blot and carry on to safety with the same checker.

Bearing off and winning the race

Once all 15 of your checkers are in your home board, you can start bearing off. Roll a 6 and you take a checker off your 6 point; roll a 3 and you take one off your 3 point. If there's no checker on the point you rolled, you must make a legal move with a checker on a higher point. If there's nothing higher, you take a checker off your highest occupied point. If one of your checkers is hit while you're bearing off, you have to bring it all the way home before you can carry on.

Gammons, backgammons and the doubling cube

A normal win scores one point, but the margin matters. If the loser hasn't borne off a single checker, that's a gammon and it's worth double. If they still have a checker on the bar or in the winner's home board as well, that's a backgammon and it's worth triple.

The doubling cube shows 2, 4, 8, 16, 32 and 64. At the start of your turn, before you roll, you can offer to double the game. Your opponent either refuses and loses one point, or accepts and takes the cube. Only the player who owns the cube can make the next double, called a redouble, and there's no limit on how many redoubles a game can have.

Optional backgammon rules and match play

bkgm.com lists three optional rules in wide use. Automatic doubles turns the cube to 2 if both opening dice match, usually only once a game. Beavers lets a doubled player redouble straight away and keep the cube. The Jacoby rule means gammons and backgammons only count as one game unless someone has doubled. In tournament match play, the Crawford rule takes the cube out for one game once a player is a single point away from winning the match. USBGF also notes that some versions played in the Middle East ban hit and run inside your own home board.

My advice for your first backgammon games

Leave the cube in the box for your first few games and just play the race, because hitting, the bar and bearing off are plenty to learn at once. The habit I'd build early is simple: don't leave blots where your opponent can easily hit them, and try to stack two checkers together so a point is yours. When everyone's comfortable, bring in the cube and the Jacoby rule. It's a brilliant two player game for a quiet evening, and if you like it, the best two player board games list and my guide to learning chess are good next steps. For a wider shelf, have a look at these classic board games.

Frequently asked questions

How many checkers does each player have in backgammon?

Each player has 15 checkers: 2 on the 24 point, 5 on the 13 point, 3 on the 8 point and 5 on the 6 point.

What happens when you roll doubles in backgammon?

You play the number shown four times, so a roll of 6 and 6 gives you four moves of six.

Can you pass your turn in backgammon?

No. You must play your roll if there's any legal way to do it, and if only one number can be played, you play that one.

How do you get a checker off the bar?

You enter it in your opponent's home board on an open point matching one of your dice. You can't move any other checker until it's back in.

What is a gammon in backgammon?

A gammon is a win where the loser hasn't borne off any checkers. It's worth twice the value on the doubling cube.