GIVE WELL | GIVE PLAY

HOW TO PLAY
BACKGAMMON

DEC 2025

A beginner’s Guide to playing backgammon.

GIVE WELL | GIVE PLAY

OCEAN ADVENTURER JESSICA WATSON

HOW TO PLAY
BACKGAMMON

DEC 2025

A beginner’s Guide to playing backgammon.

THE SETUP

Backgammon is played on a board with 24 narrow triangles called points. These points alternate in color and are grouped into four quadrants of six points each. Each player has 15 checkers — one set is typically dark, the other light.

The board is divided into your home board and outer board, and your opponent's home board and outer board. The bar runs down the middle, separating the two sides.

To begin, arrange your checkers in the starting positions pictured above.

THE OBJECTIVE

Simple: be the first to move all 15 of your checkers off the board. You'll move them around the board in a horseshoe pattern, racing your opponent in opposite directions.

WHO GOES FIRST?

Both players roll a single dice to determine who moves first. If both players happen to roll the same number, roll the dice again until you land on different numbers.

HOW TO MOVE

On your turn, roll both dice. Each die represents a separate move. If you roll a 4 and a 2, you can:

• Move one checker four spaces and another checker two spaces, or
• Move the same checker four spaces, then two more spaces (for a total of six)

Rolling doubles? Lucky you. You get to move four times the number shown.

THE RULES OF MOVEMENT

You can only move your checkers to an open point.
A point is open if:

• It's empty
• It's occupied by your own checkers
• It has only one of your opponent's checkers (called a blot)
• A point is blocked if your opponent has two or more checkers on it. You cannot land there.

HITTING AND RE-ENTERING

If your opponent has a single checker sitting alone on a point (a blot), and you land on it — you've hit it. 
That checker gets placed on the bar in the middle of the board.
Before your opponent can make any other moves, 
they must re-enter that checker into the game. 
To re-enter, they roll the dice and must land on an open point in your home board (the quadrant where you're trying to bear off). If all the points are blocked, they lose their turn and must try again next round.

This is where strategy gets interesting — leaving blots is risky, but sometimes necessary.

THE SETUP

Backgammon is played on a board with 24 narrow triangles called points. These points alternate in color and are grouped into four quadrants of six points each. Each player has 15 checkers — one set is typically dark, the other light.

The board is divided into your home board and outer board, and your opponent's home board and outer board. The bar runs down the middle, separating the two sides.

To begin, arrange your checkers in the starting positions pictured to the left.

THE OBJECTIVE

Simple: be the first to move all 15 of your checkers off the board. You'll move them around the board in a horseshoe pattern, racing your opponent in opposite directions.

WHO GOES FIRST?

Both players roll a single dice to determine who moves first. If both players happen to roll the same number, roll the dice again until you land on different numbers.

HOW TO MOVE

On your turn, roll both dice. Each die represents a separate move. If you roll a 4 and a 2, you can:

• Move one checker four spaces and another checker two spaces, or
• Move the same checker four spaces, then two more spaces (for a total of six)

Rolling doubles? Lucky you. You get to move four times the number shown.

THE RULES OF MOVEMENT

You can only move your checkers to an open point.
A point is open if:

• It's empty
• It's occupied by your own checkers
• It has only one of your opponent's checkers (called a blot)
• A point is blocked if your opponent has two or more checkers on it. You cannot land there.

HITTING AND RE-ENTERING

If your opponent has a single checker sitting alone on a point (a blot), and you land on it — you've hit it. 
That checker gets placed on the bar in the middle of the board.
Before your opponent can make any other moves, 
they must re-enter that checker into the game. 
To re-enter, they roll the dice and must land on an open point in your home board (the quadrant where you're trying to bear off). If all the points are blocked, they lose their turn and must try again next round.
This is where strategy gets interesting — leaving blots is risky, but sometimes necessary.

BEARING OFF

The game is won when the player successfully plays all of their 15 checkers into their home quadrant and then bears them off the board. A player can either bear their checkers off the board or move them forward to an open location. If a higher number is rolled, a checker from the next highest point may be taken off. If an opponent’s checker hits the other player’s checker in that player’s quadrant, it must be removed and re-entered into the game. No more pieces can be “borne” until that checker is back in the player’s quadrant.

A FEW FINAL TIPS

Block strategically: Try to create "primes" — a series of consecutive blocked points that trap your opponent's checkers.

Don't leave blots carelessly: A lone checker is vulnerable. If it's likely to get hit, consider a safer move.

Control your home board: The more points you control in your home board, the harder it is for your opponent to re-enter after being hit.

Doubles are gold: Use them wisely — they can shift the entire game in your favor.