How to play backgammon
The rules fit on half a page; the subtleties never run out. Below is how the game works, then the rules that decide a table.
Step by step
- 1
Set up
Each player has fifteen checkers. The standard position: two on your 24-point, five on your 13-point, three on your 8-point and five on your 6-point.
- 2
Roll
You roll two dice. Each die is one move: roll 5-3 and you move one checker five and another three, or move a single checker five then three.
- 3
Doubles give four moves
Roll the same number on both dice and you play that number FOUR times.
- 4
Hit and make points
Land on a point holding a single enemy checker and you hit it — that checker goes to the bar. Put two of your own on a point and you own it; your opponent cannot land there.
- 5
Bear off
Once all fifteen of your checkers are in your home board (your last six points) you start bearing off. First player to bear off all fifteen wins.
Hitting and entering
A point with a single enemy checker is a blot, and landing on it sends that checker to the bar. Its owner may make no other move until it re-enters the board.
Entering means rolling a number matching an open point in your opponent's home board. If they have filled their home board with made points, the checker cannot enter and the turn is lost.
That is why leaving a blot always carries risk. Strong players don't avoid blots — they avoid unnecessary ones.
Making points
Put two or more checkers on a point and it is yours: your opponent can neither land there nor rest there while passing.
Consecutive made points, especially in your home board, can lock an opponent's checker on the bar entirely. Owning all six is the move that ends games.
It looks like defence, but its real job is squeezing space: the fewer legal moves your opponent has, the less their dice are worth.
Bearing off
You may not begin bearing off until all fifteen checkers are home. If one is hit during bear-off, bearing off stops until that checker re-enters and comes all the way home again.
If you roll a number with no checker on the matching point, you must move a checker from a higher point; with none higher, you bear off from the highest occupied point.
Gammons and match play
Finish before your opponent has borne off a single checker and it is a gammon, worth double. An ordinary win counts one.
Matches are commonly played to five or seven points. Backgammon also has regional variants with rules of their own, such as Mahbusene and Gül; which of them Masabaşı supports will be written on this page when it goes live.
Common questions
What happens when you roll doubles?
You play that number four times. Roll double sixes and you make four separate six-point moves.
What happens to a checker that gets hit?
It goes to the bar. Its owner cannot make any other move until it re-enters through the opponent's home board.
What is a gammon?
Winning before your opponent bears off a single checker. It counts as two points instead of one.
Do I have to play my roll?
Yes, if it is playable. If only one of the two numbers can be played, you must play the higher one; if neither can be played, the turn passes.
When will it be playable?
No date. It becomes playable from this page when it's ready.