Backgammon: the dice, bearing off and the doubling cube

Backgammon is a race. Each player has fifteen checkers and moves them around a 24-point board toward their own home, then bears them off. The first to bear off all fifteen wins. Two dice govern every move, but because you choose how to use each number, the better player wins the great majority of the time.

The dice and how you roll

You roll two six-sided dice and move checkers accordingly. Each die is a separate move: a roll of 5-3 lets you move one checker five points and another three (or the same checker five then three). The key rule that gives backgammon its texture:

• Doubles play four times. Roll 4-4 and you make four moves of four points, not two. Big doubles can swing a game in a single throw.
• You must use both numbers if a legal move exists; if you can only play one, you must play the higher.
• Landing on a point with a single enemy checker sends it to the bar, and it must re-enter from the far side before that player does anything else.

Bearing off and how you win

Once all fifteen of your checkers reach your home board (the last six points), you begin bearing off — removing them according to the dice. A game can end three ways:

The doubling cube and winning strategy

The doubling cube is what lifts backgammon from a dice game to a gambling classic. At any point before your roll you may offer to double the stake; your opponent either accepts (and takes ownership of the cube) or declines and forfeits the current value. Reading when to double, and when to take or drop, is the single most valuable skill in the game. The rough rule of thumb: you can profitably accept a double when you have around a 25% chance or better of winning the game.

Core positional strategy:

• Make points, especially your bar point and the 5-point. A wall of made points blocks the opponent and is hard to pass.
• Priming: build a row of consecutive made points to trap an enemy checker behind it — six in a row is an unpassable prime.
• Running vs holding games: if you are ahead in the race, run for home and simplify. If behind, keep an anchor in the opponent’s home board and play a holding game, waiting for a shot at their checkers.
• Count the pips. The pip count — the total distance all your checkers must travel — tells you who is actually winning the race and therefore whether to run, hold or double.

Want to feel how often doubles land? Roll two dice a few dozen times — any given double is a 1-in-36 shot, but some double appears once every six rolls on average.

Common mistakes

• Leaving blots needlessly. A lone checker (a blot) can be hit and sent to the bar, costing you huge ground. Cover or avoid exposed checkers when the opponent’s dice can reach them.
• Racing when behind. If your pip count is well behind, running only guarantees a loss. Switch to a holding game and play for a hit.
• Ignoring the cube. Beginners play the whole match at stake 1. Doubling when well ahead — and dropping hopeless positions — is where match equity is won or lost.
• Wasting big doubles. Rolling 6-6 with nowhere useful to put it is painful. Keep your position flexible so large doubles have somewhere to go.

Prefer bluffing to bearing off? Try our Liar’s Dice guide, or the resource race in Catan.