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This thrilling game of chance and strategy for two players is a battle of wits, tactics and rolls of the dice. Quickly learn how to play with our easy-to-follow instructions.
The Aim of the game
Each player has 15 “checkers”, which need to be moved around the board to their ‘home board’, according to the roll of the dice. The first person to remove all their checkers wins. The game has some easy-to-learn, but fiendish rules.
SETTING UP THE BOARD
The set comprises a board with four quadrants, each with six triangular “points”.
There are 15 white and 15 black checkers, two sets of dice, and two dice shakers.
The middle of the board is called the “bar”, but conceptually, imagine it as a prison.
Each player selects a colour, and to start the game, the checkers are laid out like this:
The direction of travel for each player is anti- clockwise, as shown by the arrows above.
START PLAYING
Roll the DicePlayers take turns rolling two dice. The player with the highest score starts, using the numbers on both dice to move their checkers.
Moving CheckersA player can move one checker the total number of spaces shown on both dice, OR move one checker the number on one dice, and another checker the number on the other dice.
The player can only move to an “open” point. This is:
- A point with no checkers on it, OR
- Fewer than five of the player’s own checkers on it - there is a maximum of five checkers allowed on any point, OR
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A point with only one of the opponent’s checkers on it. More on this later! “Leap-frogging” is not allowed.
If a player cannot move anywhere on the board, their turn is forfeit. But a player must move if an open point is available, even if it is disadvantageous.
Rolling Doubles (the same number on both dice) is usually a huge bonus. The player can move twice for each dice, instead of once. To illustrate, (on an unrealistically empty board), with a throw of 2-2, Black can:
Warning! Introducing “blots”
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This move, leaving two single checkers exposed, is risky, unless all your checkers are in your home board, and there are no opposing checkers in the “bar”. Why?
A checker on its own, a “blot”, is vulnerable. If your opponent lands on it, they will send it to the bar in the middle of the board. Avoiding blots is a key strategic element of the game.
While you have checkers on the bar, you cannot move any of your checkers on the board. To re-enter the game, you need to be able to land on an open point in your opponent’s home board.
There is no limit to how many checkers can be sent to the bar. A player cannot re-enter the game until all their checkers have been liberated.
Re-entering the gameUsing the example on the next page, Black has one checker on the bar. When it is their turn, Black needs to roll a 2, a 4, or a 6 - the only open points - to get back on the board.
A 6 would be very gratifying, as White has a single checker in that position! Revenge can be sweet in Backgammon. Sadly, Black has rolled a 3 and a 5, and cannot move.
Play returns to White.
The last stage:
Bearing Off
Once all of your checkers are in your home board, you can begin to “bear them off” or remove them.
Roll the dice and remove checkers from the corresponding point.
If there are no checkers on that exact point, you have two options: 1. move checkers within your home board, or 2. if your throw is higher than any of your remaining checkers, you can remove the highest number.
The doubles rule applies to bearing off, enabling you to remove up to four pieces.
The Winner is the first player to remove all their checkers.
We hope this introduction will bring you hours of fun and start your backgammon adventures. More resources can be found online, including the use of the ‘doubling’ dice.
