Backgammon Online

Backgammon is one of the oldest board games still played today, with roots going back some five thousand years to the ancient Near East. Two players each move fifteen checkers around a board of twenty-four narrow triangles called points, racing to bring every checker home and bear it off. Dice decide what you may do; judgement decides what you should.

Backgammon rules

The board is split into four quadrants of six points each. Each player moves in the opposite direction to their opponent, towards their own home board.

• On your turn you roll two dice and move checkers by those two numbers, as one move of each or both numbers with a single checker.
• Rolling the same number on both dice is a double, and gives you four moves of that number instead of two.
• A point occupied by two or more of your opponent's checkers is blocked and you may not land there.
• Landing on a point holding exactly one opposing checker, a blot, sends that checker to the bar.
• A player with a checker on the bar must re-enter it in the opponent's home board before making any other move.
• Once all fifteen of your checkers are in your home board, you begin bearing them off.
• The first player to bear off all fifteen checkers wins the game.

The bar and the blot

Hitting is what turns backgammon from a race into a contest. A single checker left alone on a point is a blot, and any opposing checker that can reach it sends it back to the bar to start its journey again. Leaving blots is sometimes unavoidable and often worth the risk, but knowing which blots your opponent can actually hit, and with what probability, is the skill the whole game turns on.

Bearing off

Bearing off begins only when every one of your fifteen checkers has reached your home board. A roll of five bears a checker off the fifth point, a six off the sixth, and so on. Get hit while bearing off and the checker goes all the way back to the bar, which is why the endgame rewards leaving as few blots as possible.

Playing backgammon online at papergames.io

• Create a private room and share the link with a friend.
• Play against a bot at the difficulty that suits you, at any hour.
• Face players from around the world in ranked games.
• Follow your rating and results on the global leaderboards.

Strategy and tactics

• Make points in your home board early: every point you own is a point your opponent cannot re-enter on.
• Two checkers on a point are safe; one is a target. Stack deliberately, not by accident.
• Count the pips. When you are ahead in the race, simplify and run; when behind, hold back and play for a hit.
• The five point in your home board is the most valuable single point on the board. Take it when you can.
• Doubles are worth planning for. Many positions that look safe collapse against a double six.

Similar games

Players who enjoy the mix of luck and calculation in backgammon often like Checkers, which shares the race-and-capture shape without the dice, and Chess for pure calculation. For something faster, try Connect 4.

Community and tournaments

Join the community, play regular tournaments, and sharpen your game against opponents of every level. Whether you are learning what the bar is or working on your cube-free race equity, there is a game waiting.