Backgammon for beginners: rules and your first moves
Backgammon is a race with a fight in the middle. It is easy to learn and has been played for thousands of years. You can try each idea below in Backgammon, with three computer levels and a hint button.
The goal
Each player has 15 checkers. You move yours round the board in your own direction into your home area, and then bear them off, removing them from the board. The first player to bear off all 15 wins.
How to move
- Roll 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 in total.
- If you roll a double, you play that number four times.
- You can land on an empty point, on a point with your own checkers, or on a point with just one opposing checker.
- You cannot land on a point with two or more opposing checkers.
- You must use as many of the dice as you can. If you can only play one die, play the larger one when you have a choice.
Hitting and the bar
A single checker is a blot. If you land on an opposing blot, you hit it: it goes to the bar in the middle. Its owner must bring it back in on the far side of the board before making any other move.
Bearing off
You can start bearing off only when all 15 of your checkers are in your home area. Each die takes off a checker from that point, or if there is none, from the highest occupied point.
Winning bigger
A normal win is worth one point. If your opponent has not borne off any checker, it is a gammon and is worth two points. If they still have a checker on the bar or in your home area, it is a backgammon and is worth three. The game has no doubling cube.
Beginner tips
- Make points. Two or more checkers on a point are safe, and they block your opponent.
- Do not leave blots where they can be hit. A hit costs you the distance travelled.
- Build a block. Several points in a row are hard for your opponent to pass.
- Count the race. The pip count is the total distance both sides still have to move. If you are ahead, run for home. If you are behind, fight.
