Rules for Backgammon Game

Game Board

• The backgammon game board contains 24 triangles known as points. The board is divided into two halves, with 12 points at each end. One half is the home board and the other is the outer board, with each player's home board being lengthwise across from the other's. The points are numbered 1 through 24 for each player, with the 1 point starting at the outside corner of that player's home board; red's 1 point is white's 24 point.

Setup

• Each player's 15 checkers are set up in the same positions at the start of the game. Players place two checkers on their 24 point, five on their 13 point, three on their 8 point and five on their 6 point. This setup will have opposing checkers lined up on opposite ends of the board.

Moving

• Each player rolls a single die to start the game, and the highest number goes first. The winner uses the numbers on the two dice to make the opening move(s). Players alternate turns after the first roll, using two dice. Players always move checkers forward (clockwise from their view). They can move two checkers, each one using the number rolled on one die, or one checker the combined roll, but a checker must land on a point occupied by less than two opposing checkers. A roll of doubles gives a player double the number of moves that he can use in any combination.

Hitting and Entering

• If a checker lands on a point occupied by an opposing checker, the opposing checker is "hit" and moved to the bar (the space between the two halves of the board). When a player has a checker on the bar, he/she must remove it by rolling the dice on his/her turn and "entering" the checker on an opponent's point matching one of the die rolls (on a two and a four, the checker goes on the opponent's 2 or 4 point). If both points have more than one opposing checker on them, the player can't move out of the bar and loses that turn. More than one checker can be placed on the bar, and all checkers must be "entered" before the player can move again. If the player enters the last checker from the bar and there remains an unused die roll, the player uses that roll to move a checker on the board.

Bearing Off

• Once a player has moved all 15 checkers into their home board, that player can begin "bearing off" those checkers. The player rolls one die and removes a checker from the numbered point that corresponds to that roll (e.g. on a roll of three, the player removes a checker from the 3 point). If there isn't a checker on that point, the player must use the roll to move a checker from a higher numbered point. If there are no checkers on a higher point to move, the player can then remove a checker from the highest available point. The first player to bear off all checkers wins the game.