Backgammon is a two-player race game played with 15 checkers each and a pair of dice. You move your checkers around a board of 24 points toward your own home board and then off the board, while your opponent races the other way. Hitting single checkers, building blocking points and choosing when to run are what make it a game of skill as well as luck. A game usually takes 15 to 30 minutes. Play backgammon online in your browser with a friend on one device or against the computer, free and with nothing to install.
How to play Backgammon
- Each player has 15 checkers that start on four points: two on your 24-point, five on your 13-point, three on your 8-point and five on your 6-point.
- To start, each player rolls one die. The higher number moves first and plays both numbers rolled. Ties are rolled again.
- On each turn, roll two dice and move checkers forward by each number. A double is played four times.
- You must use both numbers if you can. If only one can be played, you must play the larger one when possible.
- A point holding two or more opposing checkers is blocked. Landing on a single opposing checker, a blot, hits it and sends it to the bar.
- A checker on the bar must re-enter in your opponent’s home board before any of your other checkers can move.
- Once all 15 checkers are in your home board, you bear them off. The first player to bear off every checker wins.
Winning when your opponent has borne off nothing is a gammon (2 points). If they also still have a checker on the bar or in your home board, it is a backgammon (3 points). Read the complete backgammon rules and setup guide for every rule in detail, including bearing off with high numbers and the doubling cube.
Play Backgammon on one device
This version is made for pass and play on a single phone, tablet or computer. Type both names and start; the opening roll decides who moves first. The turn indicator above the board always shows whose turn it is and whether they need to roll or move.
- Dice and moves: tap Roll (or the dice on the board) to throw two dice. Tap a checker to see every point it can reach, including moves that use both dice with the same checker, then tap where it should go, or drag the checker there. With two routes to the same point, it takes the one that doesn’t hit; to hit on the way, move one number at a time. On a phone you tap the destination twice (or press Move), so a slip of the finger never plays the wrong point; switch this off in the More menu if you prefer. Used dice are dimmed, and each player’s pip count is shown next to their name.
- Legal moves only: the game knows the rules, so blocked points, bar entry, the use-both-dice rule and bearing off are handled for you. When a roll has no legal move, the turn passes automatically and the game says so, and a roll that can be played only one way is played for you, one checker at a time.
- Undo: take back a checker move you didn’t mean. Dice are never re-rolled, so undo can’t change your luck.
- Pass screen (optional): switch it on in the setup or the More menu and a “Pass to Maya” screen appears between turns.
- Scoring: the end of each game shows whether it was a single game, a gammon or a backgammon, and a running score of points and games won is kept for your session. Rematch starts the next game with the same players.
- Auto-save and offline: the game saves after every move and keeps working offline once the site has loaded.
Play against the computer
No one to play with? Choose vs Computer and pick a level. Easy is mostly random, often choosing the safest-looking play, a gentle first opponent for new players. Medium builds points, counts how many of your 36 possible rolls would hit each checker it leaves alone and always takes a win when it sees one, but it often misjudges close decisions. Hard judges the same things without those slips, and for its strongest candidate moves it checks your best reply to every one of the 21 different rolls before deciding.
Quick tips
- Make points, not blots. Two checkers on a point are safe and block your opponent. Your 5-point and your bar point (the 7-point) are the most useful points to own early.
- Count the shots. Before leaving a single checker within six points of an opposing checker, think about how many rolls could hit it. Direct shots, six points away or less, are hit far more often than indirect ones.
- Know the race. Add up the pips each side still has to travel. If you are well ahead, run your back checkers home and avoid contact. If you are behind, hold a point in your opponent’s home board and wait for a shot.
Ready for more? The beginner backgammon tutorial walks through a first game step by step and covers the standard opening moves, priming, blitzing and safe play.
