About Backgammon
Backgammon is one of the oldest board games in the world and a favourite in cafés across the Middle East, where it is known as tawla. Each player races fifteen checkers around the board and off it, using two dice. Land on a lone enemy checker to send it to the bar, build blocks of two or more to stop your rival, and bear off all fifteen first to win.
Our version follows the full official rules: hitting, entering from the bar, bearing off, gammons and backgammons. Only legal moves can be played, so the game also teaches you the rules as you go. Face an easy computer, a hard one that weighs blots, blocks and the race, or a friend on the same device.
How to play
- Tap ROLL to throw the dice. Each die moves one checker that many points; doubles give four moves.
- Tap a glowing checker, then a green point to move it. You move from 24 down to 1 and bear off on the right.
- A checker on the bar must come back in before anything else moves.
- Bear off all fifteen checkers first. Win before your rival bears off any for a gammon (double).
About Backgammon
Backgammon belongs to a family of dice race games that is thousands of years old, and it is still one of the most played games in the cafés of the Middle East. Every move mixes luck with judgement: the dice decide how far you can go, but you decide which checkers to risk.
Tips to score higher
- Make points (two or more checkers together) in your home board early; they block your rival and protect you.
- Avoid leaving single checkers (blots) within six points of an enemy checker.
- When you are far ahead in the race, stop hitting and simply run home.
- Bear off with the larger die first if it lets you take a checker off safely.
Backgammon FAQ
What is a gammon?
Winning before your rival has borne off any checker. It counts double.
Why can't I move some checkers?
A checker on the bar must enter first, and only legal moves are allowed, so the game highlights the checkers you can actually move.
