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Backgammon Online Backgammon | Backgammon Rules | Backgammon Strategy | Backgammon History Backgammon Doubling | World Backgammon Championship | Free Backgammon
Backgammon RulesBasic Rules of BackgammonIf you are new to backgammon, or just need a refresher on how to play backgammon, here is an introduction to basic backgammon rules and play in backgammon. Backgammon Game Board Setup The game of Backgammon is meant for two players and it is played on a board which consists of 24 triangles called Points. The narrow triangles are grouped into 6 triangles in each quadrant of the backgammon board. There are 4 quadrants on the board, 2 on each side and the triangles alternate in color (to help with the counting of the moves). The quadrants are referred to as a player's home board (the quadrant that is on your right) and outer board (the quadrant that is on your left), and the opponent's home board and outer board. The home and outer boards are separated from each other by the seam of the backgammon board which goes down the center of the board and is called the bar.
Each of the points (the narrow triangles) are numbered for each player starting in that player's home board. The point starting from the right corner of the home board is the one point and the point directly opposite to the one point is the twenty-four point, which is also the opponent's one point. Each backgammon player has fifteen checkers (or men) of his own color. The starting position of the checkers is as follows: two on each player's twenty-four point, five on each player's thirteen point, three on each player's eight point, and five on each player's six point. Objective of a Backgammon Game The objective of a backgammon game is for a player to move all of his checkers into his own home board and then take them off the board (called “bear off” which will be explained later). The first player to bear off all of his checkers will win the game.
The picture above shows the direction of movement of White's checkers starting at his 24 point (where he has 2 checkers on the starting position). Red's checkers move in the opposite direction. Movement of Backgammon Checkers The backgammon game starts with each player throwing one die. This decides which player will go first. If the same number comes up, then the players roll again until they roll different numbers. The player throwing the higher number moves first and moves his backgammon checkers according to the numbers showing on both dice. After the first roll, the players throw the dice on their respective turn. Each player moves his checkers across the points, or pips, according to the roll of the dice. The backgammon checkers are always moved forward to a lower-numbered point towards your home court. The backgammon moves that are allowed are as follows: 1) A single checker may be moved only to an open point, which is not occupied by two or more opposing checkers. 2) The numbers that come out on the two dice indicate the moves that are available to the player. Each number on a dice is one move. For example, if a backgammon player rolls 4 and 2, he may move one checker four spaces to an open point and another checker two spaces to another open point, or he may choose to combine both numbers and move one checker a total of six spaces to an open point, but only if the respective point in the middle of the move (either two or four spaces from the starting point) is also open.
This picture shows the two ways that White can play a roll of a 5 and a 3. 3) A player who rolls doubles plays the numbers that are shown on the dice twice. If on a throw a player rolls 5 and 5, this means that the player has four moves of fives to use, and he may move any combination of checkers that he feels would be the best moves for that outcome. Just like in the first example, he can move 4 different men 5 points each or one checker a total of 20 points. 4) A player must use both of the numbers of a roll as long as it is legally possible (in case of a double, then all four numbers of that double). The player must play all his numbers, even if only one number is legally possible. If both numbers can be played individually but not both, then the player must always play the higher number. The player will forfeit hit turn if neither number can be played. In the case of a double, a player must play as many numbers possible if not all numbers can be played. Hitting and Entering in Backgammon A blot is a single checker of either color occupying a single point. If the opposite backgammon player moves his checker to land on that blot, then that is called a hit and the blot is removed and placed on the bar. It is mandatory of a player when he has any number of checkers on the bar, to enter his checkers to the opposite home board (between the 18-24 point). For a backgammon player to re-enter his checkers into the opposite home board, he must roll a number on the dice that is open. For example, if a player rolls 2 and 5, then the player may enter his checker into either the two point or the five point on the opposite home board, as long as it is not filled with 2 or more of the opponent’s checkers.
This picture shows an example in which if White rolls a 4 and a 5 while having a checker on the bar, he must enter the checker onto Red's Four point since Red's Five point is occupied by two opposing checkers and therefore is not open. A player will lose his turn if either of the points on the opposite home board are not open. If a backgammon player has more then one checker on the bar, then he must try to enter as many checkers as he can during any one turn. If he can only enter one checker but still has checkers on the bar, then the player will forfeit the reminding roll. Once all of the player’s checkers are entered to the opposite home board from the bar, then the player must use any remaining roll to move either the re-entered checkers or any other checkers on the backgammon board. Bearing Off in Backgammon Bearing off is possible once a player has moved all of his checkers into his own home board. To bear off, a backgammon player must take out any checker that corresponds to the number of the dice. For example, rolling a 5 allows the player to remove a checker from the five point. If on the roll, the number that comes out is not occupied by any checkers, then the player must make any legal move he can using any checker on a higher numbered point. If there are no checkers on any higher-numbered points, the player will remove a checker from the highest point available on which one of his checkers resides. Bearing off is within the discretion of the player and if the player can make any legal move without bearing off, he may do so.
This picture illustrates White rolling a 6 and a 4 and therefore, bearing off two checkers. All available checkers must be in a player’s home board in order to bear off. If any checker is hit during the bear off and re-enters on the opposite home board, then the player must first bring the checker back to his own home board and only then continue to bear off. The first player to bear off all of his checkers wins the backgammon game. Those are the basic backgammon rules. For an explanation of doubling, see backgammon doubling, and for more on basic strategy, see backgammon strategy. To read about playing backgammon online, go to online backgammon.
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