Backgammon

Classic dice race, vs computer or friend.

How to play ↓
Play against
Computer

You 167 pipsComputer 167 pips

Click a checker, then the point to move it to, or drag it there. Space rolls the dice and ends your turn, U undoes a move. Tab goes through the checkers you can move, Enter picks one and Esc puts it back.

Your game and results per level are saved on this device.

Runs in your browser. Nothing uploaded.

How to play backgammon

  1. Choose the computer (Easy, Medium or Hard) or a friend on the same screen. Each side throws one die and the higher number goes first, playing both dice, as in the real game.
  2. Move your checkers by the numbers on the dice: click a checker, then a highlighted point, or drag it there. White’s checkers run from the top right, left along the top and then right along the bottom to its home board in the bottom right corner. Doubles are played four times.
  3. Once all 15 of your checkers are in your home board, bear them off. The first player to bear off every checker wins.

Tips for playing better

  • Make points, don’t scatter. Two checkers on a point are safe and block your opponent. A single checker, a blot, can be hit and sent back to the start.
  • Build your home board. The more of your 1 to 6 points you hold, the harder it is for a hit checker to come back in. Holding all six closes the board completely.
  • Know the good opening moves. With 3 and 1, make your 5 point (8/5 6/5). With 6 and 1, make your 7 point (13/7 8/7). With 4 and 2, make your 4 point (8/4 6/4).
  • Count the race. When the checkers have passed each other, the game is a pure race. If your pip count is lower you are ahead, so stop taking risks and bring checkers home.
  • Don’t break an anchor too early. Two checkers on a point in the other side’s home board give you a safe landing spot and a way back into the game.

About the game

Backgammon is a race game for two players, played on a board of 24 narrow points with 15 checkers each and two dice. Each side starts with two checkers on its 24 point, five on its 13 point, three on its 8 point and five on its 6 point. Games of this kind have been played for thousands of years. This version follows the standard modern rules without the doubling cube, scores gammons and backgammons, and writes the computer’s moves in the usual notation using the point numbers printed around the board. Those numbers count from your side, so when the computer makes its 7 point with a 6 and a 1 it reads 12/18 17/18.