How to Play Backgammon: Rules, Setup & Strategy

Two players, fifteen checkers each, two dice and a board of slim painted triangles. Backgammon looks simple from across the table, and it is — you can teach the rules in five minutes. What keeps people coming back, generation after generation, is the race underneath: every roll is part luck, part judgement, and the better player wins far more often than the dice alone would suggest.

It is also one of the oldest games we still play. Its ancestors include the Roman game Tabula, and tables games like it have been traced back thousands of years across the Near East. The board in front of you is, in form, almost unchanged.

This is the clear, complete guide to how backgammon works: the board and the starting position, how a turn is played, hitting and the bar, bearing off, and the handful of ideas that turn a beginner into a player who wins. If you want the long story of where the game came from, read our history of backgammon alongside it.

The board, the checkers and the starting position

A backgammon board has 24 narrow triangles called points. They are split into four quadrants of six points each, and a raised ridge down the middle — the bar — separates the two halves. Each player has a home board (the final quadrant they are racing into) and an outer board next to it.

Each player gets 15 checkers in their own colour. You play on a fixed starting layout, and the two players move in opposite directions: each is steering their checkers around the board and into their own home board in the bottom-right quadrant from their point of view.

The standard opening position is the same every game. For each player it is: two checkers on the farthest point (the 24-point), five on the 13-point, three on the 8-point, and five on the 6-point. That adds up to 15. Set it up once and it quickly becomes muscle memory.

A good board makes this easier to read. Our folding backgammon board uses high-contrast points so the four quadrants are obvious at a glance — useful when you are teaching the game to someone new. You will find it in our board games collection.

How a turn works — rolling, moving and doubles

On your turn you roll the two dice and move your checkers toward your home board by the number shown on each die. The two numbers are played separately. You can move one checker by the first number and a different checker by the second, or use both numbers on a single checker — in which case the intermediate point it passes through must also be open to you.

You always move in one direction only: from the higher-numbered points toward your home board, never backwards. If you roll a 5 and a 3, you advance a checker (or checkers) a total of eight pips, in those two steps.

Doubles are the exception that makes the game swing. When both dice show the same number, you play that number four times, not twice. A roll of double 4 lets you make four separate moves of four pips each — a huge jump that can transform a race in one turn.

You must use as many of your numbers as you legally can. If only one number can be played, you play that one and forfeit the other. If neither can be played because every landing point is blocked, you lose the turn. Whoever empties the board first wins the race, which is why these guides sit naturally alongside our wider traditional games range.

Hitting, the bar and re-entering

This is where backgammon becomes a contest rather than two solo races. You may land on any point that is open, that already has your own checkers, or that holds exactly one opposing checker. A lone enemy checker is called a blot.

Land on a blot and you hit it. The hit checker is lifted off and placed on the bar in the middle of the board. It has, in effect, been sent right back to the start.

A point held by two or more opposing checkers is blocked — you cannot land there at all. This is the heart of strategy: by stacking two checkers on a point you make it, wall the board off and deny your opponent landing squares.

If you have a checker on the bar, you must bring it back into play before you can make any other move. It re-enters in your opponent's home board, on a point matching one of your dice, and only if that point is open or yours. If both candidate points are blocked, you are stuck on the bar and lose the turn — a brutal way to fall behind in the race.

Bearing off — and how you win

Once all 15 of your checkers have reached your home board — and not before — you may start to bear off, which simply means removing them from the board. The first player to bear off all fifteen checkers wins the game.

To bear off, you roll and remove checkers from the points matching your dice. A roll of 6 takes a checker off your 6-point; a roll of 3 takes one off your 3-point. If you roll a number higher than your highest occupied point, you may bear off a checker from the next-highest point instead, so no roll is wasted.

One catch keeps the game tense to the very end: if an opponent hits one of your checkers while you are bearing off, that checker goes to the bar and must travel all the way round again before you can resume. Races have been lost on the final roll.

Scoring rewards a crushing win. A normal win is worth 1 point. If your opponent has not borne off a single checker, you win a gammon, worth 2. If they have borne off none and still have a checker in your home board or on the bar, it is a backgammon, worth 3. In match play a doubling cube can multiply the stakes further.

Strategy for beginners

Make points. Whenever you can land two checkers on the same point, do it. Each made point is a square your opponent cannot use, and a row of them — a prime — can trap an enemy checker behind a wall it cannot jump. Building points in your own home board also makes it harder for a hit opponent to re-enter.

Avoid leaving blots. A single checker is exposed. Where you have a choice, finish your move on points that are safe, or that an opponent would struggle to reach. Early on, leaving a blot deep in your opponent's home costs you the most if it is hit.

Know which game you are playing. If you are ahead in the race, switch to a running game: bring everything home as fast as possible and avoid contact. If you are behind, play a holding game — keep an anchor on a point in your opponent's board and wait for the chance to hit them as they come past.

Playing with children? Backgammon is a genuinely good first strategy game — the moves are concrete, the race is visible, and the dice keep it close enough that a child can beat an adult. Start with the basic race and add hitting once the movement is comfortable. A clear, robust board helps; our 15" folding set doubles as its own carry case, and if you want an heirloom to keep, the Wooden Backgammon Set – 15" Mahogany Backgammon Board is the premium upgrade, a solid 15" mahogany board built to last. For sets you can take away with you, see our guide to the best travel backgammon sets.

Frequently Asked Questions About How to Play Backgammon

How do you play backgammon?

Backgammon is a two-player race on a board of 24 points. Each player has 15 checkers set up in a fixed starting position, and the two players move in opposite directions toward their own home board, the final quadrant of six points. On your turn you roll two dice and move checkers by the numbers shown, one number per checker or both on one. You aim to bring all 15 checkers into your home board and then bear them off — remove them from the board. The first player to bear off all fifteen checkers wins the game.

How many checkers does each player have in backgammon?

Each player has 15 checkers, all of one colour, making 30 checkers on the board in total. They begin in a fixed starting position: two checkers on the farthest point, five on the 13-point, three on the 8-point, and five on the 6-point, which adds up to fifteen. Your goal is to move all 15 of your own checkers around the board into your home board and then bear them off. The board itself has 24 points, split into four quadrants of six.

What is the aim of backgammon?

The aim of backgammon is to be the first player to bear off all 15 of your checkers. To do that you must first move every one of your checkers around the board into your home board, the last of the four quadrants, moving in one direction only according to your dice rolls. Once all 15 are home you begin bearing them off — removing them from the board. The first player to remove all fifteen wins. Along the way you can slow your opponent down by hitting their lone checkers and blocking points.

What happens when you roll a double in backgammon?

When both dice show the same number you play that number four times instead of twice. A roll of double 3, for example, gives you four moves of three pips each, which you may spread across one, two, three or four checkers however you like. Doubles are powerful: they can let you make points, escape a trap or surge ahead in the race in a single turn. You must still use as many of the four moves as you legally can; any that cannot be played are forfeited.

What is a blot in backgammon?

A blot is a point occupied by just one of your checkers, which leaves it exposed. If your opponent lands on a blot they hit it: the checker is removed and placed on the bar in the centre of the board, and must re-enter in the opponent's home board before you can make any other move. A point becomes safe once it holds two or more of your checkers, because a point with two or more checkers is blocked to the opponent. Good play means avoiding unnecessary blots where you can.

What does it mean to bear off?

Bearing off means removing your checkers from the board, which is how you win. You can only start once all 15 of your checkers have reached your home board. You then roll the dice and remove a checker from the point matching each number; a 6 bears a checker off the 6-point, and so on. If you roll a number higher than your highest occupied point, you may bear off from the next-highest point so the roll is not wasted. The first player to bear off all fifteen checkers wins the game.

What is a gammon?

A gammon is a double win worth 2 points. It happens when you bear off all 15 of your checkers before your opponent has managed to bear off even one. A standard win, where the loser has borne off at least one checker, is worth a single point. If you win and your opponent has not only borne off none but still has a checker stuck in your home board or on the bar, that is a backgammon, worth 3 points. Gammons are why finishing quickly and decisively matters.

How many points are on a backgammon board?

A backgammon board has 24 points — the long narrow triangles on which checkers sit. They are arranged in four quadrants of six points each, with a raised central ridge called the bar dividing the two halves of the board. Each player has a home board, the final quadrant they are racing into, and an adjacent outer board. Checkers travel around all 24 points toward the home board, where they are eventually borne off. Each player starts with 15 checkers distributed across the points in a fixed layout.

What does the bar do in backgammon?

The bar is the raised ridge down the middle of the board that separates the two halves. It is where checkers go when they are hit. If your opponent lands on one of your lone checkers (a blot), that checker is placed on the bar, and it must re-enter the board in your opponent's home quadrant before you are allowed to make any other move. It re-enters on a point matching one of your dice, provided that point is open or already yours. If both possible entry points are blocked, you lose the turn.

Is backgammon a game of luck or skill?

Backgammon is both, and that balance is the appeal. The dice introduce genuine luck, which is why a beginner or a child can beat a stronger player on any given game. Over many games, though, skill dominates: choosing which checkers to move, when to hit, when to block and when to run is what separates good players from weak ones. The doubling cube used in match play adds a further layer of judgement about risk. It is easy to learn in five minutes and takes years to master.