How to Play Backgammon: Complete Beginner Guide (2026)

Backgammon is one of the oldest board games in human history, dating back over 5,000 years. Despite its long heritage, it remains one of the most engaging and strategically rich games you can play today. This complete guide will teach you everything you need to know to start playing.

What You Need

To play backgammon, you need:

A backgammon board — 24 narrow triangles (called “points”) arranged in four quadrants of six, alternating in two colors
30 checkers — 15 per player, in two contrasting colors (commonly white and brown, or red and white)
Two pairs of dice — One pair for each player
A doubling cube — A special die showing powers of 2 (2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64) used to track stakes
Two dice cups — Optional but traditional, used for shaking dice

The Board Layout

The backgammon board consists of four quadrants:

Your Home Board — Points 1 through 6 on your side
Your Outer Board — Points 7 through 12 on your side
Opponent’s Outer Board — Points 13 through 18
Opponent’s Home Board — Points 19 through 24

These quadrants are separated by a central ridge called the bar. The bar is where “hit” checkers are placed.

Initial Setup

Each player arranges their 15 checkers in the following starting position:

Location	Number of Checkers
24-point	2 checkers
13-point	5 checkers
8-point	3 checkers
6-point	5 checkers

Both players mirror this setup. Your 24-point is your opponent’s 1-point, and vice versa.

Objective

Your goal is simple: move all 15 of your checkers into your home board (points 1–6), then bear them off the board. The first player to remove all their checkers wins the game.

Checkers always move in one direction — from higher-numbered points toward lower-numbered points (toward your home board).

Starting the Game

Each player rolls one die
The player with the higher number goes first, using both dice for their opening move
If both players roll the same number, both roll again until the numbers differ
After the first move, players alternate turns, rolling two dice at the start of each turn

How to Move Checkers

When you roll the dice, you get two numbers. Here’s how to use them:

You may move one checker by the sum of both dice, or two different checkers by one die each
Each die represents a separate move — so if you roll 3 and 5, you can move one checker 3 spaces and another 5 spaces, or one checker 3+5=8 spaces
When moving one checker the combined total, the intermediate point must also be open (not blocked)
Doubles are special: if you roll double 4s, you get four moves of 4 (instead of two moves)

What’s an Open Point?

You can only move to a point that is:

Empty (no checkers)
Occupied by your own checkers (any number)
Occupied by exactly one opponent checker (a “blot” — which you can hit)

You cannot land on a point with 2 or more opponent checkers. That point is “blocked.”

Mandatory Moves

You must use both dice if legally possible
If only one die can be played, you must play it (and play the larger number if either could be used alone)
If neither die can be played, you lose your turn
With doubles, play as many of the four moves as you can

Hitting and Entering

Hitting a Blot

If you land on a point occupied by a single opposing checker (a blot), you hit it. The hit checker is placed on the bar in the center of the board.

Entering from the Bar

If you have any checkers on the bar, you must bring them back into play before making any other moves:

You enter by moving a checker from the bar to a corresponding open point in your opponent’s home board (points 19–24 from your perspective)
If you roll a 3, you can enter on the opponent’s 3-point (point 22 from your perspective)
If all possible entry points are blocked by 2+ opponent checkers, you lose your turn

After all your bar checkers have entered, you can use any remaining dice to move normally.

Bearing Off

Once all 15 of your checkers are in your home board (points 1–6), you can begin bearing off:

Roll the dice and remove checkers from the corresponding points
If you roll a 5, you can bear off a checker from the 5-point
If no checker sits on the rolled point, you must make a legal move from a higher point
If no checkers are on higher points, you can bear off from the highest occupied point
If a checker is hit during bearing off, it must re-enter and travel back to your home board before you can continue bearing off

The Doubling Cube

The doubling cube adds a strategic layer to backgammon:

The game starts at a stake of 1 point
Before their roll, a player can propose to double the stakes (moving the cube to 2)
The opponent can accept (play continues at double stakes) or decline (forfeit the game at the current stake)
The player who accepts becomes the owner of the cube and is the only one who can propose the next double
There’s no limit on redoubles (2 → 4 → 8 → 16 → 32 → 64)

Winning

The game ends when one player bears off all 15 checkers. There are three types of victories:

Victory Type	Condition	Points
Single game	Opponent has borne off at least 1 checker	1× cube value
Gammon	Opponent hasn’t borne off any checkers	2× cube value
Backgammon	Opponent hasn’t borne off any checkers AND has checkers on the bar or in your home board	3× cube value

Quick Tips for Beginners

Make points early — Try to occupy consecutive points to create a “prime” that blocks your opponent
Don’t leave blots in dangerous positions — Especially in your opponent’s home board
Hit when it’s safe — Sending opponents to the bar gives you a significant advantage
Race when ahead — If your pip count is lower, focus on getting home fast
Anchor in your opponent’s board — Having a point in their home board gives you insurance
Learn the opening moves — Check our opening moves guide for optimal play on every first roll

Next Steps

Now that you know the basics, explore these guides to improve:

Official Backgammon Rules — Detailed rules reference
Board Setup Guide — Visual setup instructions
Strategy Guide — Take your game to the next level
Play vs Computer — Practice what you’ve learned!