Backgammon rules, in plain words

The goal

Backgammon is a race for two players. Each of you has fifteen checkers, and the first to move all fifteen around the board, into their home board and off the board, wins the game.

The dice decide how far you move; you decide which checkers move. Over many games, the better decisions win: that is why ratings mean something.

The board and the setup

The board has 24 narrow triangles called points, in four quarters of six. Your home board is the quarter where your checkers finish; your outer board sits next to it. The bar is the ridge down the middle.

Points are numbered 1 to 24 from your point of view, starting in your home board. You start with two checkers on your 24-point, five on your 13-point (the midpoint), three on your 8-point and five on your 6-point. Your opponent mirrors you and moves the opposite way.

Moving with the dice

To start, each player rolls one die; the higher roll moves first, using both numbers. After that, players take turns rolling two dice.

Each die is a separate move: with a 5 and a 3 you can move one checker 5 and another 3, or one checker 8 if the point it touches after the first number is open. Doubles count twice: a roll of 4-4 is four moves of 4.

You may land on any point that is empty, holds your own checkers, or holds a single opposing checker. A point with two or more opposing checkers is closed to you. You must use both dice if you legally can; if only one can be played, you must play the larger when possible.

Hitting and the bar

A single checker alone on a point is a blot. Land on an opponent's blot and you hit it: it goes to the bar and has to start its journey again.

A player with a checker on the bar must bring it back in, into the opponent's home board, before moving anything else. If the points matching your dice are all closed, you lose your turn. Six closed points in a row, a prime, cannot be jumped at all.

Bearing off

Once all fifteen of your checkers are in your home board, you can start removing them. A 4 bears off a checker from your 4-point; you can also use a roll to move inside the home board instead.

If you roll higher than your highest occupied point, you bear off from the highest point. If one of your checkers is hit while bearing off, it has to come all the way back home before you can continue.

Winning: single games, gammons and backgammons

Bear off all fifteen checkers first and you win a single game. If your opponent has not borne off a single checker by then, it is a gammon and counts double. If they also still have a checker on the bar or in your home board, it is a backgammon and counts triple.

The doubling cube

The doubling cube raises the stakes of a single game. Before rolling, a player who feels ahead can offer to double. The opponent either accepts, playing on at twice the value and taking ownership of the cube, or declines and concedes the game at its current value.

Only the player who owns the cube can offer the next double, so every redouble is a decision with consequences. Some tables also allow a beaver: the player who was doubled may immediately redouble while keeping the cube.