How do you set up a backgammon board?

Sit opposite your opponent with the board between you. Each player places 15 checkers in the standard starting position: 2 checkers on the 24-point, 5 on the 13-point, 3 on the 8-point, and 5 on the 6-point . The two armies are mirror images, so the players move in opposite directions — each player's checkers travel from their own 24-point toward their own 1-point in their home board. Place the doubling cube on the side of the board, centered between the two players, with 64 facing up to signify its initial value of 1.

How does the doubling cube work in backgammon?

The doubling cube tracks the current stakes. At the start of any of your turns, before you roll , you may propose to double the stakes. Your opponent may refuse and concede the game at the current stake, or accept and play on at doubled stakes. The accepter then owns the cube and is the only player who can offer the next double (a redouble). The cube faces show 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, and 64.

What happens when you hit a blot in backgammon?

If you land on a point with exactly one opposing checker (called a blot), you hit it — the opposing checker is placed on the bar . Its owner cannot make any other moves until they re-enter every barred checker through your home board (your points 1-6). On their next turn they roll the dice and each number lets them enter onto the matching point if it is open. If neither matching point is open, they forfeit their turn.

When can you start bearing off in backgammon?

You may begin bearing off only once all 15 of your checkers have reached your home board (your 1- through 6-points). You bear off by rolling the number that matches the point a checker sits on — a 4 bears off from your 4-point. If you roll a number higher than any point still holding a checker, you must bear off the checker on your highest occupied point . If you are hit while bearing off, you must bring the barred checker all the way back around to your home board before resuming.

What is a gammon and what is a backgammon?

A gammon (double game) happens when the winner bears off all 15 checkers before the loser has borne off any — it counts for double the current cube value . A backgammon (triple game) is when the winner bears off all 15 checkers while the loser still has a checker on the bar or in the winner's home board — it counts for triple the current cube value . A normal single game counts for the current cube value.

Free Printable Backgammon Rules — How to Play

About Free Printable Backgammon Rules

No. Any checker on the bar must enter first, before you make any other move. If you have two on the bar, both must enter before anything else moves, and if neither number gives an open point you forfeit the turn.

By the ToolFluency team · Updated October 2026

Want to play instead? Play Backgammon online, free in your browser. Backgammon is a two-player race game played on a board of 24 points with 15 checkers each, two dice and a doubling cube. You win by moving all 15 checkers into your home board and bearing them off first, and a single game takes anywhere from 5 minutes to an hour. The full printable rules sheet with board diagrams is on this page.

How to play Backgammon

Set up 15 checkers each in the starting position: 2 on your 24-point, 5 on the 13-point, 3 on the 8-point and 5 on the 6-point. Players move in opposite directions, each toward their own 1-point. Put the doubling cube at the side, centred, with 64 facing up (a value of 1).
Each player rolls one die. The higher roller goes first and plays both rolled numbers as the opening move. If the dice tie, both roll again.
On your turn, roll both dice and move one checker by each number, or one checker by both. Move forward only, and land only on an open point: empty, your own, or holding a single opposing checker. Doubles are played four times.
You must use both dice if you legally can. If you can play either number but not both, you must play the higher one. Any number you cannot play is lost.
Land on a lone opposing checker (a blot) to hit it and send it to the bar. A player with a checker on the bar must enter it into the opponent's home board before making any other move, and loses the turn if the matching points are blocked.
Once all 15 of your checkers are in your home board, start bearing off: a roll of 4 removes a checker from your 4-point. A roll higher than your highest occupied point bears off from that highest point. If you are hit while bearing off, bring that checker home before you bear off again.
Before your roll you may offer to double the stakes. Your opponent either refuses and loses at the current value, or accepts, plays on at double, and now owns the cube for the next redouble.
The first player to bear off all 15 checkers wins. A normal win scores the cube value, a gammon (loser has borne off none) scores double, and a backgammon (loser still has a checker on the bar or in the winner's home board) scores triple.

Backgammon scoring

Result	Value	When it happens
Single game	1 x cube value	The loser has borne off at least one checker
Gammon	2 x cube value	The loser has borne off no checkers
Backgammon	3 x cube value	The loser still has a checker on the bar or in the winner's home board
Refused double	Current cube value	You decline a double and concede at the pre-double value

Examples

Strategy tips

Use an opening 3-1 to make your 5-point (8/5, 6/5). It is one of the strongest points on the board because it blocks your opponent and is hard for them to escape past.
Build points in a row in front of your opponent's back checkers. Six consecutive blocked points is a full prime and nothing can pass it.
Leave blots where your opponent needs an awkward number to hit them. A blot 7 or more pips away can only be hit by a combination roll, so it is far safer than one 6 pips away.
Do not rush your two back checkers on the 24-point. Moving them early gives up an anchor, but leaving them too long risks getting trapped behind a prime.
Count the race (total pips each side needs) before deciding whether to hit and fight or simply run home.
When bearing off, spread your checkers across several points so that most rolls take a checker off.

Example: entering from the bar

Your checker is on the bar and you roll 5-3. White holds his 5-point with two checkers, so the 5 cannot enter there. The 3-point is open, so you enter on it with the 3, then play the 5 with any checker. If both the 3-point and 5-point had been blocked, you would lose the whole turn.

Frequently asked questions

Can I move my other checkers if one of mine is on the bar?

Do I have to use both numbers of my roll?

Yes, whenever it is legally possible. If only one number can be played, you play that one. If you could play either number but not both, you must play the higher number, and anything you cannot play is forfeited.

What happens if I roll a number higher than any of my checkers when bearing off?

You bear off a checker from your highest occupied point. For example, with your 5- and 6-points empty, a 6 bears off from the 4-point. But if you roll a 4 with the 4-point empty and checkers still on the 5- or 6-point, you must move a checker instead of bearing off.

How does the doubling cube work?

Before rolling, you may offer to double the stakes. Your opponent either refuses and loses at the current value, or accepts and plays on at double. The player who accepted owns the cube, so only they can offer the next redouble. The faces run 2, 4, 8, 16, 32 and 64.

What is the Crawford rule?

In match play to N points, the first time a player reaches N - 1 points the cube cannot be used for the next game only, called the Crawford game. After that game, doubling resumes as normal. It stops the trailing player from doubling for free every game.

What is the Jacoby rule?

It is an optional rule for money play. Under it, gammons and backgammons only count as a single game unless the cube has been offered and accepted during that game. It encourages players to double rather than play on for a gammon.

What happens if a checker gets hit while I am bearing off?

It goes to the bar like any other hit checker. You must enter it in your opponent's home board and bring it all the way back to your home board before you can bear off any more checkers.

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