Backgammon

About Backgammon

Backgammon against the Chapman is the oldest race in the world, the law of the dice kept exactly: blots to the bar, honest bear-offs, and gammons counted against you both. Play solo across three tempers of opponent, or take a seat at a live, rated table. Free in your browser, no ads, no sign-up.

How to play

Race all fifteen of your checkers home, then bear them off. Move by the pips of two dice, and doubles play four times. Two or more checkers hold a point; a lone blot can be hit and sent to the bar to start over. You must play both dice when you can, and the larger when only one will go. Matches run first to five points: a gammon counts double, a backgammon triple, and the doubling cube multiplies everything — turn it when you lead, take it or drop it when it turns on you, and mind the Crawford game.

Controls

• Tap or click a checker, then a pointMove it there
• Tap the diceRoll
• The cube buttonDouble the stakes before your roll

Tips

Make your points to build a blockade the Chapman cannot pass. Hitting a blot buys tempo, but leaving one of your own can hand it right back, so weigh the risk before you split.

Match play and the cube

Games are played to five points. A plain win is one point, a gammon two, a backgammon three — multiplied by the doubling cube. Before your roll you may turn the cube to double the stakes; your rival takes it (and owns the next turn of it) or drops and pays the standing stake. The game after a player reaches four points is the Crawford game: no doubling that one.