How to Play Backgammon
Backgammon is one of the oldest board games in the world. You play as White and your goal is to move all 15 of your checkers around the board and bear them off before your AI opponent (Red) does the same.
- 1. Click Roll Dice to roll. You must use the dice shown to move your white checkers.
- 2. Click a white checker to select it, then click a highlighted destination point to move.
- 3. White moves from high-numbered points (24) toward low-numbered points (1).
- 4. If you land on a point with a single enemy checker (a "blot"), it is sent to the bar.
- 5. A checker on the bar must re-enter the board before any other move.
- 6. Once all your checkers are in your home board (points 1-6), you can bear them off.
- 7. Rolling doubles gives you four moves instead of two.
Key Strategies
Build Anchors
Placing two or more checkers on a point creates an anchor your opponent cannot hit. Build anchors in your opponent's home board to slow their bearing off.
Hit Blots
Sending opponent checkers to the bar forces them to lose tempo re-entering. Prioritize hitting when it doesn't leave your own blots exposed.
Prime the Board
A 'prime' is 6 consecutive blocked points. Trapping your opponent's checkers behind a prime is a powerful winning strategy.
Bear Off Efficiently
When bearing off, always use higher dice on higher points to clear them quickly. Exact rolls are ideal but overshoots count too.
Full Rules Reference
Doublets: Rolling the same number on both dice (e.g. 3-3) grants four moves of that value, not two.
Blocked point: A point occupied by two or more of your opponent's checkers. You cannot land on or pass through blocked points.
Bar re-entry: Roll the die value corresponding to an open point in your opponent's home board. You cannot move other checkers until all bar checkers are re-entered.
Bearing off: Once all your checkers are in your home board (points 1-6 for White), you may bear off by rolling the exact number or higher (if no checker occupies a higher point).
FAQ
What does the AI do?
The AI plays greedy moves — it evaluates every possible move and picks the one that advances its checkers the most, while hitting blots when possible.
What happens if I can't move?
If none of your dice can be used (all valid destinations are blocked), your turn is automatically skipped.
Is the game fair?
Both sides roll real random dice (1-6). The AI has no advantage over the dice — only its strategy differs.