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—Match to 5: 0–0: 0–0/5

Your move, friend!

Level 1
167167

Tap a checker, then a glowing point (or drag it). Move all 15 checkers home and bear them off first. Doubles play four times.

Backgammon game cover

Backgammon

ORIGINAL

Board · Race your 15 checkers home, hit blots and turn the cube.

Play backgammon free online on a wooden board floating on the lake. Roll the dice, race your 15 checkers around the board, hit your opponent's lone checkers and bear off first. Play a match to 1, 3 or 5 points against Hops the frog on Easy, Medium or Hard, with or without the doubling cube, or play a friend on the same screen or online.

How to play

  1. You play the green checkers and move them toward your home board at the bottom right, from point 24 down to point 1. Hops plays the wooden checkers the other way round.
  2. To start, each side rolls one die. The higher die moves first and plays both numbers. After that your dice are rolled for you at the start of every turn.
  3. Tap a checker, then a glowing point, or drag it there. Each die moves one checker that many points, and both dice may move the same checker. Doubles are played four times. You must use both dice if you can, or the larger one if only one can be played.
  4. You may land on an empty point, on your own checkers, or on a single opposing checker (a blot). Landing on a blot hits it: it goes to the bar and has to come back in through the other side's home board before anything else moves. Two or more checkers on a point block it.
  5. Undo takes a move back; press Done when your turn is complete. Once all your checkers are in your home board, bear them off into the tray on the right. The first to bear off all 15 wins the game.
  6. A win scores 1 point, a gammon (the loser hasn't borne off a single checker) 2, and a backgammon (the loser still has a checker on the bar or in the winner's home board) 3. With the doubling cube on, you may double before rolling: your opponent takes and plays on for twice as much, or passes and loses the game at the current value.

Tips to win

  • Make points, above all your 5-point, 4-point and bar point (7). Two checkers together can't be hit, and they block Hops' way home.
  • Don't leave blots within six points of Hops' checkers if you can help it: such a blot is hit by roughly one roll in three. Blots further away are hit much less often.
  • Build a prime. Six points in a row trap a checker behind them completely, and even four or five in a row make escaping hard.
  • Get your back checkers moving early, or make an anchor on Hops' 5-point or 4-point so they always have a safe place to land.
  • Watch the pip counts in the tray. Well ahead in the race? Stop fighting and run home. Behind? Hold your anchor and wait for a shot.
  • Behind and in danger of a gammon? Hurry to bear off one checker: a single checker off saves you from losing double.
  • Double when you're clearly ahead but the game isn't won yet. Take a double if you'll still win about one game in four.
  • Stuck? Press Teach me: Hops lights up the best move for your roll and explains it in one line, and he also tells you when to double, take or pass. Coached matches count as practice.

Guides

Questions

How do you play backgammon?

Each player has 15 checkers and moves them around the board by the roll of two dice, toward their own home board. You can't land on a point held by two or more opposing checkers, and landing on a single one sends it to the bar. When all your checkers are home, you bear them off. The first to bear off all 15 wins.

How do you win at backgammon?

Make points to block your opponent, hit their blots when it's safe, avoid leaving your own blots in range, and race home when you're ahead in the pip count. A prime of several points in a row can trap your opponent's checkers for the rest of the game.

What are a gammon and a backgammon?

If you bear off all your checkers before your opponent has borne off any, you win a gammon, worth 2 points. If they also still have a checker on the bar or in your home board, it's a backgammon, worth 3 points. The doubling cube multiplies these.

How does the doubling cube work?

Before rolling, the player who may use the cube can double the stakes. The opponent either takes, playing on for twice the points and owning the cube (only they may double next), or passes and loses the game at the current value. In a match, the game right after someone gets within one point of winning is the Crawford game, played without doubling.

What happens if I can't move?

If no checker can move with your roll, your turn passes. If you can play only one of the two numbers, you play that one, and if either number could be played but not both, you must play the larger. The game shows only the moves the rules allow.

What do the numbers on the board mean?

Each point is numbered from your side, 1 to 24, in the order your checkers travel. The tray on the right shows each side's pip count: the total number of points its checkers still have to move.

Can I play backgammon online with a friend?

Yes. Choose Online, then Play a friend, and send the link. Online games are a match to 3 points with the doubling cube, and the table rolls the dice and checks every move. You have 60 seconds for each turn. Quick match finds you another player, and if nobody turns up in 20 seconds Hops takes the seat.

How strong is Hops?

On Easy Hops plays loosely and often makes mistakes, which suits beginners. On Medium he weighs every possible move for his roll, and on Hard he also looks at how you could answer each of them.

Is backgammon free?

Yes. Play free in your browser on phone, tablet or computer, with no download and no account.