How To Backgammon
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The first player to accumulate the required points wins the match. Points are awarded in the usual manner: 1 for a single game, 2 for a gammon, and 3 for a backgammon. The doubling cube is used, so the winner of each game receives the value of the game multiplied by the final value of the cube. Setting Up the Game. Lay the game board lengthwise between both players and assign each player.
Backgammon is a popular ancient board game. It is played with two players (lucky you, we have a computer player to enjoy!). The object of backgammon is to move all your checkers around the board in a clockwise motion and ultimately bear off the checkers from the board. The first player to remove all their checkers is the winner.
Alternate turns with your opponent moving checkers toward your home in the upper right hand quadrant of the backgammon board. Move checkers by rolling the dice. The numbers on the dice refer to how many spaces you may move with one or more checkers. Highlights show you where the checkers can possibly move. If you roll doubles, you get to move each die twice, concluding in four moves for that turn. You may move your checkers onto any Point so long as it is occupied by your checkers, is empty, or has 1 opponent checker. You may not move your checkers onto a Point with two or more opponent checkers. If you land on a Point with one opponent checker, you knock the opponent's checker off the board and send it back to the beginning. The opponent must now roll and move into an empty spot in your home territory to get that checker back into gameplay. They may not move any other checkers until that knocked off checker is returned. Beware though! Leaving your checkers open with only one on a point leaves them open to be knocked off by your opponent as well!
Once you move all your checkers into the upper right quadrant (in the single player backgammon game), you may start bearing off. This means you can place your checkers into the slot on the right, removing them from the board. Whoever manages to do this first wins!
One to three points can be awarded during the backgammon game dependant on where the loser's checkers are on the board when the winner wins. If the losing player has not borne off any of their checkers by the time the winner has won, the winner will achieve 2 points, and is known as losing a gammon. If the losing player has not borne off any of their checkers and has checkers in the opponent's home board (lower right quadrant) or are still knocked off, the winner scores three points, which is known as losing a backgammon. The winner is awarded one point (most common) if the opponent has started to bear off their checkers and/or has all of their checkers out of the winner's home territory.
The doubling cube is a fun option for players who are seasoned backgammon aficionados. Turn this option on or off in the menu at the start of the game. It is a marker, instead of a die. At any time during gameplay a player may before his/her turn propose the game be played for twice the current stake (beginning at 2). The opponent must either accept th doubled stake or resign to defeat immediately (thus ending the game). The option to redouble belongs exclusively to the player who accepted the double. Technically, the game can be doubled up to 64 times the score, but it rarely goes beyond 4. If the 'double' is declined, the doubler wins however many points the doubling cube is showing (1 x doubling cube). If the game is played, the resulting score will then be multiplied by the doubling cube number. This little die adds a lot of fun strategy to the game. We recommend trying it on for size!
- Fortify your checkers in backgammon by ensuring all remain in stacks of two or more at all times.
- Knock opponent backgammon checkers off as much as possible.
- Build up your home territory with two checkers + in each spot. This makes it more difficult for the opponent to roll to get back into the game after being knocked off.
- Feeling fiesty? Intentionally leave some checkers back to try and knock the opponent off the board as they make a run for their home territory!
DISCLAIMER: The games on this website are using PLAY (fake) money. No payouts will be awarded, there are no 'winnings', as all games represented by 247 Games LLC are free to play. Play strictly for fun.
In Brief:
The motor of backgammon is the dice, but the luck of the roll has little to do with winning games. In this tutorial, our expert instructor offers ten easy strategic lessons on how to scrub your friends on the board.
Credits:
Ross Gordon
Backgammon Expert and Instructor
Jason Schwartzman
True Editor
Need a board to play on? Check out True’s exclusive, limited-edition board here.True Members get $100 off.
Learn how to set up the board (2-5-3-5) quickly and confidently. The difference in play direction is simply which side of the table you’re sitting on. So the faster you can arrange the pieces, the more experienced you will appear to your opponent. It’s a subtle way to gain credibility, to command respect. Similar to twirling poker chips, handle the checkers as if you know them — as if they belong to you. They do.
Now, the dice are usually made with plastic or resin. They used to be made with ivory and wood. The game goes back 5,000 years, which a long way. Between moves, ask your opponent if he’s familiar with the expression, “Roll them bones?” It’s true. Originally dice were made from bone. Sheep ankle. Oxen ankle. Now that you’re appearing confident and smart, it’s time to get started.
As far as rules go, backgammon is a simple game. There’s about ten rules, but the strategy of the game is amazingly complicated. Really, it’s all math. The beginning is the most straightforward part of the game and everyone starts with the same strategy: trap the two pieces in your home. So that should be your first goal: create six columns of at least two checkers in a row—that’s what you call a Prime. A Prime is what you want, and if you can make a Prime you are in good shape.
When you roll doubles you have four moves, but there’s a tendency to use them two at a time. My advice: move each piece one at a time. Make one move, and reevaluate the board. See how it looks. Maybe you’ll see something differently? Or maybe you want to keep going? But spreading out your doubles by moving the checkers one at a time creates an additional option. If you just move two, you won’t see it. So always move your doubles one at a time.
A scenario: you’ve passed each other and it’s just a race to the end, which means all the interactions you could have are over. A straight race. But just before that’s about to happen, there is a final interaction, and you have a final checker on the midpoint and everything else is in your home.
Now let’s say you roll a 1 — 6. You don’t want to hit his checker because you don’t want your opponent back in your home. He could strike coming back into the game, and you could wind up forfeiting it all away the game Let’s say he has a closed out board, meaning he has a prime in his home, meaning if he hits you with his newly exiled piece, you can’t come back in and the game is essentially a forfeit because your opponent may have a Prime in place.
A useful mnemonic is C.A.R.B.‘s, which stands for Cube, Attack, Race, Block. It’s useful to think about the game across these dimensions. A move is never simply a move. Ultimately, your dice rolls are somewhat irrelevant. Lucky dice are great but you can’t count on them to win. Lucky dice is how inexperienced players can win a game against a world champ — once. But one certainty: luck runs out.
How To Backgammon Someone
Doubling, or using the doubling cube, is a whole life study. The cube completely changes the game. Basically each game is worth a point, and the doubling cube allows you to challenge your opponent if you think you have a good position by doubling the stakes and handing him or her the cube.
With the cube, timing is the most important thing. When you give it or when you take it (or accept the offer). If you have any doubt, don’t give it — you’ll wind up getting hammered. If it’s too early the opponent will turn the game around and give it back to you. The stakes go up pretty quickly, so use it carefully. (Another note: Many people use the cube hoping you will take it. They think they’re ahead and they want more points. A different strategy is only trying to double when you don’t want your opponent to accept. Start with that.)
To trick your opponent into thinking you are a master, dust off some old-school backgammon jargon: tell your opponent you’ll meet him, “on the 24-point field of honor.” Or mutter obscure mantras to yourself to show you know your way around the board. “Two on the bar is better by far.”
Embrace the golden rule of backgammon: make sure you never take the dice personally. Everybody does, and everyone gets bad rolls. There’s a reason they call it the cruelest game, so maintain perspective. You’re playing your opponent, but also remember: you are playing yourself.