How to play backgammon: rules, strategy and tips

Backgammon is a two-player race with a fighting streak: roll the dice, march your 15 checkers around the board, bring them home and bear them all off before your opponent does. The dice bring the luck, but what you do with each roll decides the game. This guide covers every rule, the opening, and strategy that actually wins.

Play Backgammon

What is backgammon and how is the board set up?

The board has 24 narrow triangles called points, split into four quarters. Each player has 15 checkers and two dice. The two sides move in opposite directions, and your own checkers always travel the same way.

Number the points from your side: point 1 is the deepest point of your home board and point 24 is the farthest from you. Your home board is points 1 to 6; your opponent’s home board is your points 19 to 24.

Starting position: 2 checkers on your 24-point (deep in your opponent’s home board), 5 on your 13-point (the midpoint, on the far side), 3 on your 8-point and 5 on your 6-point. Your opponent mirrors this exactly.

From that setup each side needs 167 pips to bear everything off. That number is your pip count, and on Stockboi both players’ pip counts are shown on screen.

Backgammon rules, one by one

Each die is a separate move. Roll 5-2 and you move one checker 5 and one checker 2, or the same checker 5 then 2.
Roll doubles (say 3-3) and you play that number four times.
A point held by 2 or more of your opponent’s checkers is blocked. You can’t land there, but you can jump over it.
Landing on a point with a single opposing checker (a blot) hits it. The hit checker goes to the bar in the middle of the board.
While you have a checker on the bar you can’t move anything else. It must re-enter in your opponent’s home board: a 3 enters on their 3-point. If that point is blocked, that die can’t be used to enter.
If all six points of your opponent’s home board are blocked, you can’t enter and your turn passes automatically.
You must use as many dice as possible. If there is a way to play both, you have to play both.
If either die could be played but not both, you must play the higher one.
If neither die can be played, you pass.
You can’t bear off until all 15 of your checkers are in your home board.
When bearing off, a die that matches a checker’s point takes it off. A die higher than your farthest checker takes that farthest checker off. While you still have a checker farther back, a high die can’t take off a closer one; you have to move inside your home board instead.
If one of your checkers gets hit while you’re bearing off, you stop bearing off until it has come all the way home again.
The first player to bear off all 15 checkers wins the game. If the loser hasn’t borne off a single checker, it’s a gammon and the game is worth 2 points instead of 1.

How a turn works

Roll the dice. On Stockboi the game decides who opens, and there is no separate one-die opening roll: the opener simply rolls both dice.
Check the bar. If one of your checkers is there, entering it comes first.
Play your dice one at a time. Tap a checker and the points it can reach light up.
Before each move, ask three questions: am I leaving a blot, can I hit something, can I make a new point?
Changed your mind? Undo before you end the turn. Once you tap End turn, the move is final and the dice pass over.

Best backgammon opening moves

Early on you want to build points in front of your home board and hem in your opponent’s two back checkers. These are the well-known strong plays:

3-1: make your 5-point with one checker from the 8 and one from the 6. The 5-point is the most valuable point on the board.
4-2: make your 4-point, 8/4 and 6/4.
6-1: make your 7-point (the bar point), 13/7 and 8/7, building a wall next to your 6-point.
5-3: make your 3-point, 8/3 and 6/3.
6-5: run a back checker all the way from 24 to 13, where it’s safe.
Because the first roll on Stockboi uses both dice, you can open with doubles. With 6-6, move both back checkers to 18 and two from 13 to 7. With 3-3, two from 8 to 5 and two from 6 to 3.
With 1-1, play two from 8 to 7 and two from 6 to 5: two strong points in one turn.

Backgammon strategy and tactics

Consecutive points form a prime. Six in a row can’t be crossed with any roll, and even a four- or five-point wall forces your opponent to waste turns.

If you must leave a blot, leave it far away. Distances of 1 to 6 can be hit with a single die and are the most dangerous. From 7 up, only a combination of both dice reaches it, so the risk drops sharply.

Watch the pip count. If you’re ahead, bring your checkers home safely and turn the game into a race. If you’re behind, hold a point in your opponent’s home board with your back checkers and wait for a shot.

Hitting is usually good because the hit checker restarts its whole journey. But if your home board is full of blots, your opponent may hit back while entering. Check your home board before you hit.

After a hit, close points in your home board. The more points you hold, the harder it is to enter, and your opponent may pass for several turns.

When bearing off with opposing checkers still in contact, safety beats speed. Not leaving a blot matters more than taking off one extra checker.

When you’re losing, switch goals: bear off at least one checker and the gammon is gone, so your opponent only scores 1.

Common beginner mistakes

Spreading single checkers everywhere. Every blot is a free shot for your opponent.
Forgetting the two back checkers until they’re trapped behind a wall.
Stacking seven or eight checkers on one point instead of using them to make new points.
Trying to move another checker while one is on the bar. Entering always comes first.
Bearing off without checking the farthest checker. A high die can’t take off a closer checker while one is still farther back.

A short history of backgammon

Backgammon belongs to a very old family of race games played with dice, and games like it have been played around the Middle East and the Mediterranean for thousands of years.

In Turkey it’s called tavla, a name traced back to the Latin tabula, meaning board or table. Turkish players still call the dice numbers by old Persian names, so a 6-6 is a düşeş and a 1-1 is a hepyek.

Tavla is a fixture of Turkish coffeehouses and family evenings, complete with trash talk and the classic excuse that the dice just weren’t rolling.

Playing backgammon on Stockboi

Against the computer: choose Easy, Medium or Hard. Easy mostly plays at random, Medium weighs hits, blocks and blots, and Hard also considers the dice you might roll next. Play a single game or a match to 5 points; in a match, whoever wins a game opens the next one.
With a friend: tap Play with a friend and send the link. As soon as your friend opens it, you’re at the same table.
Random opponent: get matched with someone who wants to play right now. If nobody turns up, we tell you clearly and you can play the computer instead.
Online matches are a single game and the server rolls the dice, so it’s fair for both sides. You have 60 seconds to roll and for each checker move. No sign-up, no download.

Frequently asked questions

What is a gammon in backgammon?

A gammon happens when the loser hasn’t borne off a single checker by the time the winner finishes. The winner scores 2 points for that game instead of 1.

What does it mean to hit a blot?

A blot is a single checker alone on a point. Land on it and you hit it, sending it to the bar, from where it has to re-enter and start its journey again.

Do you have to use both dice in backgammon?

Yes, whenever it’s possible. If only one die can be played and either one would work on its own, you must play the higher one.

How do you get a checker off the bar?

Roll a number that matches an open point in your opponent’s home board and enter there. Until it’s back in, you can’t move any other checker.

Is there a doubling cube on Stockboi?

No. Stockboi plays backgammon the way it’s traditionally played in Turkey: a normal win is 1 point and a gammon is 2.