Backgammon Rules

Backgammon is a two-player strategy game where each player races to move all 15 of their checkers into their home board and then "bear them off" before the opponent does. The game involves tactics, probability, and positional awareness and contains a lot of skill even though there is dice involved. It is one-clickof the oldest known board games.

Game Setup

Each player has 15 checkers (white or black). In this version you always play white.
The board has 24 narrow triangles called points, divided into four quadrants of six points each.

Figure 1: Start positions, direction of play (blue arrow) and home quadrant (red rectangle)

Object of the Game

Move all 15 checkers around the board into your home quadrant and bear them off. The first player to bear off all their checkers wins.

Movement

Players take turns rolling two six-sided dice.
The numbers rolled represent two separate moves: e.g., a roll of 4 and 2 means one checker may move 4 spaces and another 2, or one checker may move 6 if the intermediate point is open.
If both dice show the same number (a double), you play the number four times instead of two.
Checkers can move only to points that:
- Are empty,
- Contain your own checkers, or
- Contain exactly one opponent checker (a blot) — which you may hit.

Note: You must use all your dice if possible! That means you cannot make a move with one dice only if there's any way to use other moves that utilize both dice.

Hitting and Entering

Landing on a blot (a point with one opposing checker) sends that checker to the bar.
Checkers on the bar must re-enter the opponent’s home quadrant before any other move is made.
Re-entry is done using a dice roll that corresponds to an open point in that quadrant or one occupied by that player.
If you cannot re-enter, your turn is forfeited.

Bearing Off

When all 15 of your checkers are in your home quadrant (points 1–6), you may start bearing off.
Roll the dice and remove checkers from points matching the dice numbers.
If there are no checkers on the exact point, you may bear off from the next highest occupied point.
You may also move checkers within the home quadrant instead of bearing off.

Note: You cannot bear off until all your checkers are in the home quadrant.

Winning the Game

First to bear off all 15 checkers wins.
Win types:
- Single Game: Opponent has borne off at least one checker.
- Gammon: Opponent has borne off no checkers — double win.
- Backgammon: Opponent has not borne off any checkers and still has one or more on the bar or in your home board — triple win.

Doubling Cube (Optional)

The doubling cube shows values: 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, and 64. Initial value of 64 means 1.
At the start of your turn before you have rolled the dice, you may offer to double the stakes of the game.
If your opponent accepts, they take control of the cube.
If they decline, you win the game at the current stake.
The cube can only be offered by the player who last accepted a double.
When one player has borne off all checkers, the points they win is the number on the doubling cube. If a Gammon or Backgammon, then the number of points won is the value of the cube doubled or tripled respectively.

How To Play DKM Backgammon

At the beginning of any new game you can choose your opponent, how many points per game and whether you wish to use the doubling cube or not. Getting all your pieces beared off first will win one point or two if a Gammon or three if a Backgammon. This is then multiplied by the doubling cube value (if used).
You always play White and move counter-clockwise to your home quadrant at bottom right. Game starts with you and bot each rolling a dice and player with highest dice goes first.
When it is your turn to play, click the dice to roll them or the doubling cube if you wish to double.
There are two ways to move your pieces (selected in "Settings").
With One Click, moving a piece is a one-click action. Hover your mouse over the point where the piece you wish to move occupies, and a point will highlight in green where the piece can move based on the first dice (or remaining dice after first move). Then click to move to that point. If you wish to move the other dice value first, simply scroll the mouse wheel or click the dice again to swap them.
With One Click off, click a piece and point(s) will highlight where that piece can move. Then click one of the highlighted points to move the piece there. This is the only option available if no mouse.
Pressing the "Hint" icon (after you have rolled the dice) will show you the suggested moves. If you wish to execute these moves, click the message text else just click anywhere on the board to remove the hint. This is a great learning tool.
If you prefer to confirm your moves before bot's turn, there is an option in Settings to do this.