Backgammon

How to play

Roll two dice and move your checkers toward your home board, using each die as a separate move. You may land anywhere except a point held by two or more enemy checkers; landing on a lone enemy checker sends it to the bar to re-enter.

Once all your checkers are home, bear them off — the first to bear off all fifteen wins. In a match to N points a win scores 1, a gammon (the loser has borne off none) 2, and a backgammon (…and still has a checker on the bar or in the winner's home board) 3.

Before rolling you may double: if your opponent accepts, the game is worth twice as much and they hold the cube; if they decline, they lose the current stake. The first game in which a player needs just one more point is the Crawford game: no doubling.

Ways to play

• 🤖
  Against the computerPlay on one device against a computer opponent.
• 👪
  Play together, nearbyOne-on-one with someone in the same room, each on your own phone or tablet. No Wi-Fi or internet needed. In the Jambolaya app.
• 🎓
  Learn by playingA guided lesson on the real game teaches you the rules one step at a time.