The Backgammon Board and Starting Position

A backgammon board has 24 narrow triangles called points, split into four quadrants of six. Each player has a home board (where checkers are borne off) and an outer board, divided by a central ridge called the bar. The two players, traditionally “White” and “Black,” move their checkers in opposite directions around the board toward their own home.

Each player starts with 15 checkers arranged in the standard opening position. From your point of view, the setup is: two checkers on your 24-point, five on your 13-point, three on your 8-point, and five on your 6-point. Your opponent mirrors this exactly. Getting comfortable with this starting position is the first step to playing confidently.

The Goal of the Game

The objective is simple to state and satisfying to pull off: move all 15 of your checkers into your home board (your 1- through 6-points), then remove them from the board entirely — a process called bearing off. The first player to bear off all 15 checkers wins the game. Because both players race in opposite directions, the position is a constant tension between advancing your own checkers and blocking your opponent’s.

Rolling the Dice and Moving

On your turn you roll two dice. Each die is a separate move: a roll of 5 and 3 lets you move one checker five points and another checker three points, or move a single checker five then three (as long as the intermediate point is legal). You always move toward your home board, counting onto lower-numbered points.

Rolling doubles is a windfall — you play the number four times. Double 4s, for example, gives you four separate 4-point moves. You must use as many of your dice as legally possible; if you can only play one number, you must play the higher one when given a choice.

The Rules of Movement

A checker may land on any point that is “open” for you — meaning the point is empty, occupied by your own checkers, or holds exactly one opposing checker. A point held by two or more enemy checkers is “made,” and you cannot land there. Stacking your own checkers two-or-more high makes a point and denies it to your opponent, which is the heart of backgammon strategy.

• Move only toward your home board — never backward.
• Use both dice whenever a legal play exists for both.
• A point with two or more of your checkers is yours and is safe.
• A single, exposed checker is called a blot — and blots can be hit.

Hitting and the Bar

When you land on a point holding a single opposing checker (a blot), you hit it: that checker is removed from play and placed on the bar. A player with a checker on the bar must bring it back into the game before making any other move, re-entering it in the opponent’s home board according to the dice. If both entry points are blocked, the turn is forfeited — which is why hitting your opponent at the right moment can swing an entire game.

Bearing Off to Win

Once all 15 of your checkers are home, you begin bearing off. A die bears off a checker from the point of the matching number — a 4 bears off a checker on your 4-point. If you roll a number higher than your highest occupied point, you may bear off from the highest point instead. You may also move within your home board rather than bearing off, which helps avoid leaving a blot. The first player to clear all 15 checkers wins.

Scoring: Single, Gammon, and Backgammon

Not all wins are equal. If you win after your opponent has borne off at least one checker, it’s a single game (1 point). If you bear off all 15 before your opponent bears off any, you win a gammon (2 points). And if your opponent still has a checker on the bar or in your home board when you finish, you win a backgammon (3 points) — the game’s namesake and biggest reward. In match and money play, the doubling cube can multiply these stakes further.