How to Play Backgammon
Backgammon is a two-player race game. Each player has 15 checkers and moves them around a board of 24 points according to dice rolls. First to bear all checkers off wins.
Backgammon Rules
Moving. Roll two dice and move checkers that number of points toward your home board — one checker per die, or both on the same checker. You can't land on a point held by two or more opponent checkers. Doubles give four moves.
Hitting. A single checker on a point (a blot) can be hit and sent to the bar. A player with checkers on the bar must re-enter them into the opponent's home board before doing anything else. If all six entry points are blocked, the turn is forfeited.
Bearing off. Once all 15 checkers are in your home board (points 1–6), you start removing them using your dice. If a checker is hit during bear-off it must make the full journey back.
Gammon / backgammon. Win before your opponent bears off any checker and you score double (gammon). Win while they still have a checker on the bar or in your home board and you score triple (backgammon).
Backgammon Strategy
Own the 5-point. The golden point. Controlling it early limits your opponent's options and anchors your position.
Build primes. Six consecutive blocked points trap any checker behind them. A 5- or 6-prime is one of the most powerful positions in the game.
Track the pip count. The total pips left to bear off tells you who's winning the race. Use it to decide whether to run or fight.
Cube timing. Double when your winning chances are around 70–75%. Accept any double when you win more than 25% of the time — taking and losing costs less than dropping consistently.
Read the full strategy guide → — covering opening theory, priming, blitzing, holding games, back games, doubling cube mastery, and more, with interactive board positions you can play.
Common Questions
- Is it free?
- Yes — no signup, no download. Open the page and play.
- Can I play with a friend?
- Hit the friends button at the top of the board. You'll get a link to share — they open it in any browser and the game starts instantly.
- How does the rating work?
- Your skill is tracked with Glicko-2, which adapts faster when it's uncertain about your level and stabilises as you play more. It starts around 1050 (Beginner) and rises toward 1700+ (Master) as you win.
- What's the best opening move?
- 3-1: make your 5-point. 6-1: make your bar-point (7-point). Both establish key blocking positions immediately.
- Can I play backgammon on my phone?
- Absolutely. This backgammon game is fully responsive and works on any mobile browser — iPhone, Android, or tablet. No app to install.
- What are the difficulty levels?
- Three levels: Beginner (~1050), Intermediate (~1300), and Expert (~1900). The AI adjusts its search depth and evaluation sophistication at each level.
About the Bots
There are a range of computer opponents to play against, spanning a wide skill spectrum. Many are built on heuristic evaluation — hand-crafted functions that score positions based on factors like prime strength, blot exposure, pip count, and home board structure. These bots are designed to play in recognisably human styles: some blitz aggressively, others build primes or play safe anchoring games, making each match feel distinct and engaging rather than uniformly robotic.
At the top of the ladder sits GNU Backgammon — widely regarded as one of the strongest backgammon programs ever written, and the gold standard for free backgammon AI. It was originally developed in C and uses a neural network trained through self-play (similar to TD-Gammon). Here it has been ported to JavaScript so it runs entirely in your browser with no server calls, available in both standard and 2-ply lookahead modes. Playing against GnuBG is the closest thing to sparring with a world-class opponent available for free online.
About This Backgammon Game
This free online backgammon game runs entirely in your browser. There are no accounts to create, no apps to download, and no ads interrupting your game. Just open the page and start playing backgammon instantly.
Play against the computer at five difficulty levels to sharpen your backgammon strategy, or challenge a friend to a real-time online match by sharing a link. The built-in Glicko-2 rating system tracks your progress and helps you measure improvement over time.
The board, dice, and checkers are rendered with smooth animations on an HTML5 canvas, designed to feel natural on both desktop and mobile. Whether you're a backgammon beginner learning the rules or an experienced player practicing advanced strategies like priming and back games, this game offers a clean, fast, and distraction-free experience.