Also in the picture you may notice that the backgammon board is further subdivided in 2x2 areas, a home and an outer board for each player. Also the mid section of the board is called the bar. This is where the checkers taken out by you or by opponent are to be put.

Standard backgammon is played with a pair of dice for each player and dice cup for better shaking. There is also a doubling dice, used for tracking the the stake of the game. The faces of this dice show numerals: 2, 4, 8, 16, 32 and 64.

For ease of tracking the game, the points are numbered from 1 to 24. On the picture you can see the numbering for white.

The purpose of the game

The winner of the game is the one who succeeds to bear off first all his/her checkers. Online, on the other hand, the one with white checkers starts.

The Start

Usually you and your gaming partner should roll the dice, and the one who gets the biggest total of the two dice begins. If one of you throws a double, double is more valuable than any non-double. In case that both of you get doubles than again the one with the biggest doubles starts the game. Sometimes only one dice is thrown and then simply the biggest number starts.

The backgammon game

The one who starts the game rolls the dice and gets a certain number of points or pips. Checkers are moved according to the outcome of the throw. You can move 1 checker, by adding up the numbers shown on your dice, or two checkers:each of the two checkers to be moved moves the number of points shown on one of the dice, so if you throw 5-6 one of the checkers goes 5 positions , the other 6. If you throw a double you can move four of your checkers. You can move one checker 11 points if the 5 or 6 points are open. The movement goes in the direction shown in the animation above, from the higher numbered points to the lower points.

However, a checker may be moved only to an open point or on points where you already have your own checkers. An open point is an unoccupied point or it has only one of your opponent's checkers on it.

Hitting and re-entering

You can hit your opponent's checkers when there is only one checker on a certain point. This is the so called blot. If you land on your opponent's blot when moving towards your home, this is the so called hit. You place it on the bar (see picture belowe).

Once you or your counterpart have one or more checkers on the bar, the first thing to do is to reinsert on the board these checkers. You may not move any other checkers unless all your checkers have been reintroduced from the bar. It may often happen that if you have two checkers on the bar, you can enter only one of them because the other points in your opponent's home board are not open.

So if you have two checkers on the bar and all the points of your opponent are occupied except for point 1, unless you throw a double one you can not enter with both your checkers. If your opponent's home board is fully occupied, not blots, you have to wait with your turn until it appears an open point. This is blocking your counterpart.

If you have to enter only one checker, once you enter it you must move the other number, it can be the checer you have just entered or any other one.

The grand finale

You can start bearing off your checkers if all of them are in your home board area. You take out your checkers by continuing rolling your dice. You may take out the checker that is on the point corresponding to the numbers on the dice, also you can move them towards point 1 if the number rolled is not big enough. Also you must not necessarily bear off if you can make a legal move. You may do this if you want to avoid being hit while in your home board area. If you roll a 3-2, you may either bear off one checker form point 3 and one from 2, or you can move two of your checkers from point 6 to point 4 respectively 3.

You may choose other moves depending on your strategy and game context. While bearing off it might happen that you get hit. In this case you may not bear off any of the remaining checkers before getting all the checkers again onto your home board. The winer is the one who succeeds first to bear off all his/her 15 checkers..

Doubling or nothing

Doubling refers to the stake per point. All games start at one point. While the game is in development the player who considers to have the upper hand may ask to double the stakes. This can be done only before the person who wants doubling rolls. His opponent can accept or refuse the doubling. If the doubling is accepted the acceptor will also have the numbered dice, and only he can propose the next doubling. Several doublings in a game are called redoubles.

No limits are imposed on the number of possible redoubles in a game. Further, if you lose and you and you bared off no checker you lose double the stake shown on the doubling dice. This means you are gammoned. If no one checker is taken out and you still have checkers on the bar you are backgammoned and lose thrice the value shown on the doubling dice.

Fur further info please consult the strategies page. If you think this is enough go ahead and play. Have fun!