Backgammon
Roll, run, hit and bear off — the classic dice race.
Click or drag a checker; the lit points show the die each move uses. Keyboard: arrows choose a point, Enter or Space picks up and puts down, Esc cancels; R rolls, U undoes a move, D ends the turn.
Standard backgammon rules (the game known as tavla in Turkey): enter from the bar before any other move, use both dice whenever you can (otherwise the larger one), and bear off only once all 15 checkers are home. No doubling cube. The game in progress is kept in this browser.
Nothing leaves your device
This tool runs entirely in your browser. What you type, play or record here stays on your device: nothing is uploaded or saved on a server.
Example
Opening rolls against the computer: 3-1 makes your 5 point, and what Medium and Hard play
You roll a 3, the computer a 1, and the page says “You start, playing 3-1”. Both sides begin with 167 pips. The rules allow 16 different results for 3-1; the classic one is 8/5 6/5, which makes a point in your home board that the computer’s back checkers can’t land on.
- Pick a checker on your 8 point and the lit 5 point (it shows the 3), then a checker on your 6 point and the 5 point again (the 1). The turn reads 8/5 6/5 and your pips drop from 167 to 163.
- Press Done. Points are numbered from your side, so the computer, moving the other way, counts up: had it won the opening with 3-1, the same play would read 17/20 19/20.
- The table shows the play Medium and Hard make with each opening roll without a 6, written from your side. They disagree only on 5-1: Medium builds with 8/3 3/2, Hard splits with 13/8 24/23.
- Easy picks one of the different results at random, so it will sometimes leave single checkers you can hit.
| Opening roll | Different results | Medium plays | Hard plays |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2-1 | 15 | 13/11 11/10 | 13/11 11/10 |
| 3-1 | 16 | 8/5 6/5 | 8/5 6/5 |
| 3-2 | 17 | 13/10 10/8 | 13/10 10/8 |
| 4-1 | 14 | 13/9 9/8 | 13/9 9/8 |
| 4-2 | 18 | 8/4 6/4 | 8/4 6/4 |
| 4-3 | 17 | 13/9 9/6 | 13/9 9/6 |
| 5-1 | 8 | 8/3 3/2 | 13/8 24/23 |
| 5-2 | 8 | 13/8 8/6 | 13/8 8/6 |
| 5-3 | 9 | 8/3 6/3 | 8/3 6/3 |
| 5-4 | 9 | 13/8 13/9 | 13/8 13/9 |
Medium and Hard agree on 9 of these 10 rolls. Rolls with a 6 are where they part more often: with 6-2 and 6-3 Hard runs a back checker (24/18 18/16, 24/18 18/15). A double can never be the opening roll — a tie is simply rolled again.
How it works
- Choose the computer and its level, or a friend; roll one die each to see who starts.
- Roll and move your checkers by the numbers on the dice — pick a checker, then a lit point.
- Bring all 15 checkers into your home board and bear them off first to win.
Frequently asked questions
- What are the rules of backgammon?
- Each player moves 15 checkers around the board by the roll of two dice, in opposite directions. A single checker on a point (a blot) can be hit and sent to the bar, from where it must re-enter first. Once all your checkers are home, bear them off; the first to bear off all 15 wins.
- What are a gammon and a backgammon?
- If the loser hasn’t borne off any checker, it’s a gammon and counts double. If the loser still has a checker on the bar or in the winner’s home board, it’s a backgammon and counts triple.
- What happens with doubles?
- A double lets you play that number four times — 4-4 is four moves of four.
- Is this the same as tavla?
- Yes — tavla in Turkey, and gamão in Brazil, are played with these standard rules.
- Why do the computer’s moves count up, like 17/20?
- The points are numbered from your side: you move from 24 down to 1 and bear off from points 1 to 6, while the computer moves from 1 up to 24. So its moves read upward — its usual 3-1 opening is 17/20 19/20.
- How strong are the three levels?
- Easy picks one of the legal plays at random. Medium plays the move with the best quick evaluation: pip count, points made, primes and blots in reach. Hard takes its ten best candidates and scores each against all 21 rolls the reply could bring.
- Is anything sent anywhere?
- No. The computer plays in your browser and your game stays on this device.