Backgammon rules: how to play
Backgammon is one of the oldest board games, and in Bosnia, where it is called tavla, it has long been part of cafes, courtyards and family evenings. The rules played there are the same as the international ones.
The game mixes the luck of the dice with smart decisions: the dice decide how far you move, but you decide how. This guide covers the basic rules, and you can play backgammon against the computer right away.
Board and stones
The board has 24 triangular points, twelve on each side, split into four quarters of six. Each player has fifteen stones of their colour. Players move in opposite directions, each toward their home board, the last six points on their side.
At the start the stones sit in a fixed pattern: two on the farthest point, five on the point past the middle, three nearer home and five in the home board itself. In the computer game the stones are already set up.
Dice and moving
A player rolls two dice and moves stones by the numbers shown. The two numbers can move two different stones or both can move one stone. When you roll a double, two fours for example, you play that number four times.
A stone may land on an empty point, on a point with your own stones or on a point where your opponent has only one stone. You may not land on a point holding two or more enemy stones. If you can use a number, you must play it.
Hitting and entering
When you land on a point with a single enemy stone, that stone is hit and placed on the bar in the middle. A player with a stone on the bar must bring it back in, at the start of the opponent’s home board, before moving anything else.
If the points where it could enter are all held by two or more enemy stones, the turn is lost. That is why hitting is often stronger than racing ahead.
Bearing off
Once all fifteen of your stones are in your home board, you start bearing them off. A die bears off a stone from the matching point. If that point is empty, you move another stone inside the home board, and if no stones sit on higher points, you may bear off from a lower one.
The first player to bear off every stone wins. If the opponent has not borne off a single stone by then, the win counts double, and in some rules triple if one of their stones is still in your home board or on the bar.
Tips for beginners
Do not leave single stones where your opponent can easily hit them. Build walls of two stones in front of enemy stones to slow them down. Early on, the points in your home board and just in front of it are the most valuable.
When you are ahead, play safe and run home. When you are behind, keep stones back and wait for a chance to hit.
An even older race game
If you are curious where backgammon comes from, try The Royal Game of Ur, a dice race game more than four thousand years old. Both are in the Table games world.
Roll the dice and good luck
Backgammon plays fast but takes a long time to master. The dice will sometimes ruin your plan, and that is exactly why every game is different.
When you know the rules, play a game of backgammon online against the computer, free and in your browser. For a calmer board game, read the chess rules.