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This is the perfect place if you want to start playing backgammon online. Learn all about how to play the world's oldest game, Backgammon Rules and Backgammon Opening Moves.

Backgammon is a dice-and-board game for two players. Each player begins the game with fifteen checkers of a different colour from his opponent, a pair of dice, a dice cup, and a doubling cube. Players move their checkers around the board according to the roll of the dice. The first player to get all of his checkers, or men, around and finally off the board is the winner.

What are the basic rules of the game?

A Backgammon board or layout.

Thirty round stones, or checkers, 15 each of two different colors,
A Backgammon board or layout.

Thirty round stones, pr checkers, 15 each of two different colors, generally referred to as `men'.

A pair of regular dice, numbered from 1 to 6. (For convenience, two pairs of dice, one for each player, are generally used.)

A dice cup, used to shake and cast the dice. (Again, it is more convenient to have two dice cups.)

A doubling cube - A six-faced die, marked with the numerals 2,4,8,16,32 & 64. This is used to keep track of the number of units at stake in each game, as well as to mark the player who last doubled.

The backgammon board

Backgammon is an obstacle race between two armies of 15 men each, moving around a track divided into 24 dagger-like divisions known as ''points''.

The Backgammon layout is divided down the center by a partition, known as the (bar), into an outer and inner (or home) board or table. The side nearest you is your outer and home tables; the side farther away is your opponents outer and home boards. The arrows indicate the direction of play.

For purposes of convenience we have numbered the points in the diagram. Though the points are not numbered on the actual board, they are frequently referred to during play to describe a move or a position. Your (X's) 4-point or 8-point will always be on your side of the board; your opponent's (O's) will always be on his side of the board.

A move from your 9-point to your 5-point is four spaces (the bar does not count as a space). A move from White's 12-point to your 12-point, though it crosses from his board to yours, is but one space, for these two points are really next to each other.

The Backgammon board is now set up and ready for play. Each side has five men on his 6-point, three men on his 8-point, five men on his opponent's 12-point, and two men, known as ``runners'', on his opponents' 1-point. The runners will have to travel the full length of the track, the other men have shorter distances to go.

Note that play proceeds in opposite directions, so that the men can be set up in two ways. Turn the diagram upside down to see the layout if play were proceeding in the other direction.

How to Roll Dice

The "Roll" button is located in the lower right corner of the screen.

Click the "Roll" button to roll the dice.

Auto Roll

The "Auto Roll" button is located in the lower right corner of the screen below the "Roll" button.

Click the "Auto Roll" button, and the dice will roll automatically when it is your turn.

1. A checker may be moved only to an open point, one that is not occupied by two or more opposing checkers.

2. The numbers on the two dice constitute separate moves. For example, if a player rolls 5 and 3, he/she may move one checker five spaces to an open point and another checker three spaces to an open point, or he/she may move the one checker a total of eight spaces to an open point, but only if the intermediate point (either three or five spaces from the starting point) is also open.

3. A player who rolls doubles plays the numbers shown on the dice twice. A roll of 6 and 6 means that the player has four sixes to use, and he/she may move any combination of checkers he/she feels appropriate to complete this requirement.

4. A player must use both numbers of a roll if legally possible (or all four numbers of a double). When only one number can be played, the player must play that number. Or if either number can be played but not both, the player must play the larger one. When neither number can be used, the player loses his/her turn. In the case of doubles, when all four numbers cannot be played, the player must play as many numbers as he/she can.

Hitting and Entering

A point occupied by a single checker of either color is called a blot. If an opposing checker lands on a blot, the blot is hit and placed on the bar.

Any time a player has one or more checkers on the bar, his/her first obligation is to enter those checker(s) into the opposing home board. A checker is entered by moving it to an open point corresponding to one of the numbers on the rolled dice.

For example, if a player rolls 4 and 6, he/she may enter a checker onto either the opponent's four point or six point, so long as the prospective point is not occupied by two or more of the opponent's checkers.

If neither of the points is open, the player loses his/her turn. If a player is able to enter some but not all of his/her checkers, he/she must enter as many as he/she can and then forfeit the remainder of his/her turn.

After the last of a player's checkers has been entered, any unused numbers on the dice must be played, by moving either the checker that was entered or a different checker.

Bearing Off

Once a player has moved all of his/her fifteen checkers into his/her home board, he/she may commence bearing off. A player bears off a checker by rolling a number that corresponds to the point on which the checker resides, and then removing that checker from the board. Thus, rolling a 6 permits the player to remove a checker from the six point.

If there is no checker on the point indicated by the roll, the player must make a legal move using a checker on a higher-numbered point. If there are no checkers on higher-numbered points, the player is permitted (and required) to remove a checker from the highest point on which one of his/her checkers resides. A player is under no obligation to bear off if he/she can make an otherwise legal move.

A player must have all of his/her active checkers in his/her home board in order to bear off. If a checker is hit during the bear-off process, the player must bring that checker back to his/her home board before continuing to bear off. The first player to bear off all fifteen checkers wins the game.

Score

Your remaining pips will be displayed below your character on the left side of the screen.

Moving the checkers

All of the legal moves are highlighted with a yellow line. Click and drag your checkers to the highlighted spot of your choice.

Undo Button

The "undo" button is located below your inner table (lower right corner below the table). You may undo only the first move of a regular roll. You may undo up to the third move of a doubles roll. To undo a move, click the "undo" button.

The Clock

The player that creates the table chooses the amount of time per game. For example: If 10 minutes was chosen, then each player has a total of 10 minutes to finish the game. Your clock will only run when it is your turn to play, and it stops when you complete your turn. If you run out of time, then you lose the game and your wager, if playing in a real money game.

When you are ready test your backgammon skills against opponents from around the world.

The History of Backgammon

As the oldest known game in recorded history backgammon has been played by generations of gamblers from all over the world. Throughout history the game has been linked with leaders of ancient civilizations such as Persia, Greece, Rome, and Egypt.

Modern Backgammon

The start of modern backgammon is marked by the introduction of the doubling cube, first used in the 1920s in New York City. The cube enhanced the element of skill in backgammon which in turn increased the popularity of the game. However, backgammon was still very much a hobby solely for the rich.

In 1931 the backgammon rules were modified to what basically governs the game today.

It wasn’t until the 1970s that backgammon really caught on with the general public. Prince Alexis Obolensky, or "Oby", is generally credited with the rapid growth of backgammon players some 30 years ago. Oby organized the first backgammon World Championships in Bahamas and he also published the first backgammon bestseller – "Backgammon: The Action Game".

In the 1970s backgammon received a lot of attention in the media and many newspapers featured backgammon columns.

There were also plenty of magazines and books published about the game. Some of the books still stand as some of the best backgammon books ever written. A couple of examples are:

By the 1980s the younger generation turned to video games and the game of backgammon saw its popularity decrease.

In recent years, however, that trend has been reversed thanks to online backgammon. Players can now find decent opponents at all hours of the day simply by logging on to their computers. And more importantly, playing online backgammon saves you hours of time by performing rollouts of positions giving you the chance to increase your understanding of the game.