Online Backgammon Rules

Backgammon is one of the hardest nevertheless most popular skill games played in the casino. At the following page, you will find the general information about the game rules that will be useful as for a new backgammon player, as for the experienced one. For further details on game strategy, hints etc see the corresponding pages of our website. 

Backgammon Rules on setting up the game

1. According to the Backgammon rules, this game is to be played by 2 players.

2. The men or checks are moved according to the roll of the dice thrown by each player in turn from a cup.

3. The game is preceded with the roll of dice to determine the color of the checkers, the seat, the dice and the right to be the first one to move the checkers.

4. The game does not last long, thus most of the time the backgammon is played in matches to determine the winner.

Backgammon Rules for Rolling the Dice

1. At the beginning of the game according to the backgammon rules, each player rolls one die to determine who opens the game. The player whose die has a higher value is the first to move the checkers according to those numbers rolled first. If the numbers are the same, the dice are re-rolled and if the die does not land flat, such dice are called cocked and are to be re-rolled.

2. Any player may ask to mix the dice at any point of the game. If he does, all the four dice are placed in a single cup and mixed. The players pick the dice one by one and the opposing player starts first.

3. Any player may touch the dice only after they have stopped. Also, the dice can’t be rolled until the player has finished the play. If these backgammon rules are not followed, the dice must be re-rolled.

4. Each player’s turn as the Backgammon Rules state is considered as a complete one after he/she picks up his/her dice. If the player picks up the dice before all the legal numbers have been played (he moves the dice only according to the numbers of one die), the opposing player may make him/her use the remaining numbers or to ignore it and continue playing.

Backgammon Rules: Moving the Checkers

1. The movement of the Checkers consists of:

• Moving the checkers according to the numbers on both dice. For example in case 4 and 2 are rolled, the player may move one of his checkers 4 points forward and another one 2 points forward. Otherwise, the player may choose to move the same checker four steps forward and then 2 steps forward to the available point. The order of the movement is not obligatory by the Backgammon Rules and the player may choose to move 4 and then 2 or vice versa.

• A checker that was hit enters the board from the start by taking the place corresponding to the number on either dice.

• According to the Backgammon Rules player may bear off his checkers only after all his checkers have been moved to his home.

2. In case the player rolls doubles the Backgammon Rules state that each dice is played twice. E.g. when the player rolls double 4, he must move one or more of his checkers with a total of 16 pips.

3. The Backgammon Rules say that a checker may be moved to any empty point, any point occupied by his/her checkers, or occupied by one checker of the opposing player(in such case the checker of the opposing player is called a hit one and is taken on the bar to re-enter the board from the start). No checker can be moved to the place where there are two or more checkers of the opposing player.

4. According to the Backgammon Rules player may not move any of his checkers until he has moved all the checkers from the bar. In case the rolled number does not allow the player to move any of his checkers from the board, the player passes on the turn to his opponent. In case the player has more than one of his/her checkers on the bar, he may not move any other checker until all his checkers have re-entered the board.

5. As soon as all of the player’s checkers have been moved from the board, he may start bearing them off. The checkers might be born off corresponding to the number of the rolled dice or from the highest occupied place provided it is lower than the number rolled by the dice and there are no checkers on the higher points. E.g. in case you rolled 4, you may bear off a 3 in case there are no other checkers on 6, 5 and 4. In case there are no checkers on the point that corresponds to the rolled number, the player must move forward all the higher checkers forward instead of bearing off all the lower ones. According to the Backgammon Rules if the player wishes to move his checker forward instead of bearing it off he is free to do that.

Player’s Errors

1. Any errors concerning the set up of the board should be corrected as soon as noticed.

2. All the errors regarding the checker movement must be corrested before the next throw of the dice and not after.

Backgammon Rules: Score

1. A player wins the game in case he has born off all of his checkers before his opponent.

2. According to the Backgammon Rules in case by the time one player bears off all of his checkers the opposite player has not born off a single one, the initial wager is doubled and the situation is called a gammon.

3. If one of the player has moved all the checkers off the board and his opponent has not born any, and has one or more checkers on the bar or in the opposite player’s home, the initial wager is tripled and the situation is called a backgammon.

4. An extra option of the backgammon rules is the possibillity to double the initial wager with the use of the doubling cube. In case one player offers this bet to his opponent, he places the betting cube with number 2 facing up while the opposite player may choose to accept the bet and continue the game or to decline and thus forfeit the game the way it is. The player that accepts the double is now in control of the cube and may choose to re-double at any point of the game. According to the Backgammon Rules the doubling cube is numbered with 2, 4, 8, 16, 32 and 64 that stand for the doubling rate.