Backgammon is the oldest board game still played in its recognizable form — a five-thousand-year-old race wrapped around a knife fight. Two players, fifteen checkers each, two dice, and a doubling cube that turns every game into a negotiation. This guide covers the complete classic rules: setup, movement, hitting and entering, bearing off, gammons, the doubling cube, and tournament match play.
Objective
Move all fifteen of your checkers around the board into your home board (your last six points), then bear them off — remove them from the board. The first player to bear off all fifteen checkers wins the game.
Setup
The board has 24 narrow triangles called points, grouped into four quadrants of six: your home board and outer board, and your opponent's home and outer board. The two sides are separated by the bar down the middle. Each player starts with fifteen checkers in the standard position:
- 2 checkers on the opponent's 1-point (your 24-point)
- 5 checkers on your 13-point (the midpoint)
- 3 checkers on your 8-point
- 5 checkers on your 6-point
The two players move in opposite directions, each racing toward their own home board. To start, each player rolls one die; the higher roll moves first, using both numbers rolled.
Moving the Checkers
On your turn, roll both dice. Each die is a separate move: a roll of 5-3 lets you move one checker five points and another three — or one checker eight, in two steps, provided the intermediate point is open. Rules of movement:
- Checkers always move forward, toward your home board.
- A checker may land on any point that is open: empty, occupied by your own checkers, or occupied by exactly one enemy checker.
- A point holding two or more enemy checkers is blocked.
- Doubles are played twice each: rolling 4-4 gives you four moves of four.
- You must play both dice if legally possible — and if only one can be played, you must play the higher when there's a choice.
Hitting and entering from the bar
A lone enemy checker on a point is a blot. Land on it and it is hit — sent to the bar. A player with checkers on the bar must enter them first, before making any other move, by rolling a number that corresponds to an open point in the opponent's home board. If no entering roll is open, the turn is lost entirely. Hitting is the heart of backgammon tactics: it costs your opponent the full length of the board.
Bearing off
Once all fifteen of your checkers are inside your home board, you may bear off: a roll of 4 removes a checker from your 4-point, and so on. A roll higher than your highest occupied point bears off from that highest point. If your opponent hits a blot during your bear-off, that checker must travel all the way around again before you can continue.
The Doubling Cube
The cube — faces 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64 — multiplies the stakes. Before rolling, a player who believes they're ahead may offer a double. The opponent chooses: concede the game at the current stake, or accept and own the cube at double stakes — and only the cube's owner may offer the next double. Judging when to double, and when a double must be dropped or taken, is the deepest skill in the game.
Scoring: Gammons and Backgammons
- Single game — opponent has borne off at least one checker: 1 point (times the cube).
- Gammon — opponent has borne off none: 2 points (times the cube).
- Backgammon — opponent has borne off none and still has a checker on the bar or in your home board: 3 points (times the cube).
Match Play and the Crawford Rule
Serious backgammon is played as a match to a fixed number of points — commonly 3, 5, 7, or 11 — accumulating game results until one player crosses the line. The Crawford rule applies in matches: the first time a player comes within one point of winning the match, the doubling cube is disabled for exactly one game, then doubling resumes. Double Eagle Apps: Backgammon plays full match play to 3, 5, 7, or 11 points with the cube, gammons and backgammons, and the Crawford rule — plus pip counts, legal-move highlights, hints, and a complete move history in real notation.
Strategy & Tips
- Make points, don't stack them. Two checkers make a point; six checkers on one point is wasted power. Spread your builders to claim new territory.
- Prime the way home. Consecutive made points form a wall — a full six-point prime is an unpassable prison for any checker trapped behind it.
- The 5-point is golden. Making your 5-point (and denying your opponent theirs) is the single most valuable early-game achievement — worth fighting for with aggressive plays.
- Count pips before you commit. The pip count — total dots needed to bring every checker home — tells you whether you're racing or fighting. Ahead in the race: run and avoid contact. Behind: hold anchors and play for the hit.
- Keep an anchor when behind. A made point in your opponent's home board is both a safe landing for hit checkers and a launchpad for late-game shots.
- Hit when it hurts. A hit that sends a checker 20 pips back and costs you nothing is nearly always right; a hit that leaves your own blots under fire in their home board needs a reason.
- Double when they're squeezed, not when it's over. The best doubles come when your opponent has a genuinely hard take/drop decision. A too-late double wins one point when it could have won two.
- Bear off safely under contact. While the opponent holds an anchor in your home board, bear off evenly and avoid leaving a blot — one late shot can undo the whole game.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the doubling cube?
A stakes multiplier. Before rolling, a player may offer a double; the opponent concedes at the current stake or accepts at twice the stake and takes ownership of the cube — and only the owner may redouble later.
What are a gammon and a backgammon?
Bear off all fifteen before your opponent bears off any: gammon, double value. If they also still have a checker on the bar or in your home board: backgammon, triple value. Both multiply with the cube.
What is the Crawford rule?
In match play, when a player first reaches match point, the cube is dead for exactly one game, then doubling resumes. It stops the trailer from firing a risk-free double the moment the leader reaches match point.
Are the dice fair in the Double Eagle app?
Provably so. Every roll is decided by the deal number the moment the game starts — the sequence never adapts to the position, the score, or who is winning, and you and the computer draw from the same single stream. Think the computer "gets all the doubles"? Open the DICE tab: every roll of the match is logged, with each side's doubles percentage and face-by-face counts. The game is 100% offline, ad-free at launch, with five AI levels from Beginner to Expert and a seeded daily game — the identical opening roll for every player on Earth.
More Game Guides
Master the rest of the classics with our other guides:
- How to Play Klondike Solitaire
- How to Play Poker — Texas Hold'em & Five Card Stud
- How to Play Spades
- How to Play Hearts
- How to Play Chess & Checkers
- All Double Eagle games
The Doubling Cube Is Yours to Command
Double Eagle Apps: Backgammon is coming soon to Google Play from Double Eagle Games — full match play with the doubling cube and the Crawford rule, dice you can verify, and five honest AI opponents. Fully offline, ad-free at launch.