The world's oldest board game, with fair dice and a doubling cube. You play white: roll, then tap a checker and the point it should go to, or drag it there. Bring all 15 checkers home and bear them off first.
Play Backgammon Online, Free
Solitaire Parlor is a calm, uncluttered place to play the world's oldest board game. Nothing to install and no account to make: the board is set up the moment the page opens, and your game is saved on your device, so you can close the tab and come back to the same roll.
Choose how strong the computer plays. Easy makes loose, sometimes careless moves, which is good for learning. Medium builds points, avoids leaving shots and hits when it should. Hard also looks at every roll you could answer with before it moves.
The dice are fair: every roll comes from your browser's cryptographic random number generator, with each face exactly as likely as the others. The computer sees the same dice you do and never knows the next roll.
Playing with someone in the room? Open 2-player backgammon and take turns on one screen. Or play the daily backgammon game, where everyone gets the same dice on the same day.
How to Play Backgammon
Backgammon is a race with a fight in the middle. Each player tries to bring 15 checkers around the board and off it before the other player does, blocking and hitting along the way. Here are the standard rules, the same ones used on this site.
The board
The board has 24 narrow triangles called points, in four quarters of six. The quarter at your bottom right is your home board; the strip down the middle is the bar. Points are numbered from your side: your home board is points 1 to 6, and your opponent's home board is 19 to 24.
Each player starts with 15 checkers: two on the 24-point, five on the 13-point, three on the 8-point and five on the 6-point. Your opponent's checkers sit on the mirror-image points.
Which way to move
You move your checkers from your opponent's home board, along the top, down and along the bottom into your own home board: counter-clockwise on this site. Your opponent moves the opposite way.
Rolling and moving
- At the start, each player rolls one die. The higher roll goes first and plays both of those numbers.
- After that, roll two dice each turn. Each die is a separate move: you can move one checker by one die and another by the other, or the same checker by both.
- Doubles (like 4-4) are played four times.
- You may land on an empty point, a point with your own checkers, or a point with exactly one opposing checker.
- You may not land on a point with two or more opposing checkers. That point is blocked.
- You must use both dice if you can. If only one can be used, you must use it; if either could be used but not both, you must use the larger.
Hitting and the bar
A single checker on a point is called a blot. If your opponent lands on your blot, it is hit and placed on the bar. A checker on the bar has to start over: it must re-enter into your opponent's home board before you can move any other checker. To enter with a 3, for example, the 22-point must not be blocked.
Two or more of your checkers on a point make it safe: they can't be hit, and they block your opponent.
Bearing off
Once all 15 of your checkers are in your home board, you can start bearing off, taking them off the board. A 4 bears off a checker from the 4-point; a 6 from the 6-point. If you roll a number higher than your farthest checker, you may bear off from the highest point you occupy. If a checker is hit while you're bearing off, it must come all the way home again before you continue.
Winning: gammons and backgammons
- The first player to bear off all 15 checkers wins a single game (1 point).
- If the loser hasn't borne off any checkers, it's a gammon: 2 points.
- If the loser hasn't borne off any and still has a checker on the bar or in the winner's home board, it's a backgammon: 3 points.
Backgammon Strategy: 10 Tips
The dice decide single rolls, but good habits decide most games. These ten will make a quick difference.
1. Make your 5-point with 3-1
The best opening roll: move one checker from your 8-point and one from your 6-point to the 5-point. It's the most valuable point on the board: it blocks your opponent's back checkers and helps you build a home board.
2. Other good openings
- 6-1: make your bar point (the 7-point) with 13/7 and 8/7.
- 4-2: make your 4-point with 8/4 and 6/4.
- 6-5: run one back checker all the way: 24/13 ("lover's leap").
- Other rolls: bring a builder down from the 13-point, or split your back checkers to get more freedom.
3. Make points, not blots
Two checkers on a point are safe and block your opponent. A single checker invites a hit that sends it all the way back. Before you finish a move, count your blots and how many rolls hit them.
4. Build a prime
Six points in a row form a prime: a wall nothing can jump. Even four or five in a row trap your opponent's back checkers. Points 4 through 8 are the core of a strong prime.
5. Hit when it helps
Hitting costs your opponent time, especially a checker that had travelled far. Hitting two checkers in one turn is often game-winning. But don't hit loose in your home board if the return shot would cost you more than you gain.
6. Watch the pip count
The pip count (shown above the board) tells you who's ahead in the race. If you're well ahead, simplify: get your back checkers moving and avoid fights. If you're behind, keep contact and hold an anchor.
7. Anchor when you're behind
Two of your checkers on a point in your opponent's home board make an anchor. It gives you a safe landing spot and a chance to hit later. The 20-point and 21-point are the best anchors.
8. Bring checkers home efficiently
In a race, don't waste pips: move checkers into your home board with exact rolls, and avoid stacking everything on the 6-point.
9. Bear off safely
If your opponent still has a checker in your home board or on the bar, clear points from the back and keep an even number of checkers on each point so you don't leave a blot.
10. Know when it's a race
Once every checker has passed the other side's checkers, nobody can hit anyone: it's a pure race. Then just bear off as many checkers as you can each turn.
Practice plan
Play on easy until bearing off and entering from the bar feel natural. Medium will punish blots, so it trains tip 3. When you beat medium more often than not, try hard.
Backgammon FAQ
Is this backgammon game free?
Yes. The site is supported by a few ads, kept away from the board.
Are the dice random?
Yes. Each die is drawn from your browser's secure random number generator. There is no "computer luck": the computer cannot see or influence future rolls.
What are gammons and backgammons?
If you bear off all your checkers before your opponent has borne off any, you win a gammon (2 points). If they still have a checker on the bar or in your home board, it's a backgammon (3 points). Your record keeps track of the points.
Is there a doubling cube?
Yes. Before rolling, press Double to make the game worth twice as much. The computer takes or passes; if it takes, only it may double next. The computer doubles too when it is clearly ahead: take to play on for the higher stake, or pass and lose the current one. Gammons and backgammons multiply the cube. A rough guide: take if you still win about one game in four. There is no Jacoby rule, so gammons count even when nobody has doubled. Prefer to play without the cube? Turn it off in Settings.
What is the pip count?
The total number of points your checkers still have to travel to bear off. Lower is better; it tells you who is ahead in the race. Both counts are shown above the board.
Can I undo a move?
Yes, until you press Done you can undo the moves of your current turn and try again.
Can I split my roll between two checkers?
Yes. Each die is its own move. With 6-3 you can move one checker 6 and another 3, or one checker 9, as long as the point it touches after the first die is open.
What happens if I can't move?
You lose your turn. That often happens when you're on the bar and your opponent's home board is closed.