How it works

From an empty wallet to your first staked match

Seven short steps. Most players finish them in ten minutes, and you can stop at any step and play for free in the meantime. New to the game itself? Start with the backgammon rules.

1. 1

   Get a wallet

   A wallet is an app that holds your money and signs for you. Install one from the official site below, never from an ad or a message. Write down the recovery phrase it gives you and keep it offline: it is the only way back into the wallet, and nobody from Gammon Gods will ever ask for it.

   Free play needs no wallet at all. You only need one for staked matches.

   • Rabby ↗

     Browser extension for desktop

     Our pick on a computer. Shows exactly what each transaction will do before you sign.

   • MetaMask ↗

     Browser extension and phone app

     The most widely used wallet. Works on desktop and phone.

   • Trust Wallet ↗

     Phone app

     Our pick on a phone. Connect from a laptop by scanning the QR code.

   • Phantom ↗

     Phone app and extension

     If your USDC is on Solana. The Wallet page bridges it to Base.

2. 2

   Connect it to Gammon Gods

   Press Connect wallet at the top of any page. Pick your wallet from the list. On a laptop with a phone wallet, choose WalletConnect and scan the QR code with the wallet app. On a phone, tap your wallet and it opens directly.

   Connecting costs nothing and moves no money.

3. 3

   Sign in

   The first time you stake, the site asks your wallet to sign a short message. That signature proves the wallet is yours. It is not a transaction, it costs nothing, and it lasts seven days.

   If the prompt never appears on a phone, open the wallet app: the request is waiting there.

4. 4

   Put USDC on Base

   Stakes are in USDC, a dollar-pegged token, on the Base network. Send USDC from an exchange choosing the Base network, or use the Wallet page to bridge USDC you already hold on another chain. You also need a few cents of ETH on Base to pay network fees.

   No ETH for fees? A few cents of ETH on Base covers many matches. Most exchanges let you withdraw ETH directly to the Base network.

5. 5

   Create or join a staked match

   In the lobby, set the stake and the maximum exposure. Exposure is how many times the stake you could lose if the doubling cube runs all the way up; that amount is locked for both players until the match ends. Your wallet may first ask you to approve USDC for the escrow, then to lock the stake. The approval covers a few small matches, so often it is just the lock.

   Start small. A 1 USDC stake at 1× exposure locks exactly 1 USDC. If your wallet shows a warning on the approval, see the Security page for what the escrow can and cannot do.

6. 6

   Play, then settle

   Play the match. When it ends, the winner receives their own lock back plus what the loser owed, minus the 2.25% platform fee. The payout is sent automatically within a few minutes; you do not need to do anything.

   Every staked match has a clock, so a game cannot stall forever.

7. 7

   If something goes wrong

   Drop your connection and you have 15 minutes in total per match to come back; the game waits. If you do not return, run out of time, or resign, your opponent wins the stake times the current cube. If neither player can finish, nothing is paid out: after 7 days either player can reclaim their full lock from the Wallet page, with no fee.

   Your money is never held by us. The escrow contract on Base holds it, and only the match result or the 7-day reclaim releases it.

Staked play is for adults 21 and over. Set a limit before you play, and never chase a loss. What the escrow can and cannot do