BACKGAMMON TOP

Backgammon is one of the oldest known board games. Its history can be traced back nearly 5,000 years to archaeological discoveries in Mesopotamia. It is a two-player game where each player has fifteen chips that move between twenty-four triangles (points) according to the roll of two dice. The objective of the game is to be first to bear off, i.e. move all fifteen checkers off the board. Backgammon is a member of the tables family, one of the oldest classes of board games.

Backgammon involves a combination of strategy and luck (from rolling dice). While the dice may determine the outcome of a single game, the better player will accumulate the better record over a series of many games. With each roll of the dice, players must choose from numerous options for moving their chips and anticipate possible counter-moves by the opponent.

You can play mobile Backgammon on our website. This free online game is available in browser across all your Android, iOS and Windows devices. Good luck and have a good time!

In Multiplayer Backgammon you can play against your friends on the same handset.

In Singleplayer you can play against an AI-opponent. There are 3 type of AI-Opponents, red, green and blue. Green plays more offensive and will first try to attack you. Blue plays more defensive and will try to bring his stones home as quick as possible. Red will ever try to be better than both, Maren and Marc.

Objective

The aim of backgammon is to move all your chips around the game board towards your home area or inner board. Once you've done this, you need to remove all your chips off the board. The first player to do so wins the game. In the first instance both players take turns at rolling a single die. The player who receives the highest number on the die is given the first turn. In instances of a tied number, the players roll again to determine who goes first.

Once the order of the game has been established, it's time for opening rolls. The first player will roll two dice to start the game and the total pips they display dictate how the player moves his chips on the backgammon board. Dice must land flat on the board and should be rolled again if either falls on an angle. The board consists of four quarters divided into six points represented by blue and red triangles. Each point represents a playing space which chips are moved across based on the dice pips.

Moving chips

White chips move counter-clockwise in a game of backgammon from the top right of the board to the bottom right. Black chips move clockwise from the bottom right corner to the top right. The same checker can be used to take advantage of two moves or the total pips displayed on both dice.

You can move your checker onto a point on the board providing it is occupied by no more than one checker belonging to your opponent, or the point is in occupied and or the point is already home to one or more of your own chips.

Hitting chips

You can “hit” one of your opponent's chips by moving your piece onto the same point as his. This only applies for one checker. Multiple chips cannot be hit. A single checker is referred to as a “blot” and once hit is removed and placed on the raised centre part of the board known as the bar. To retrieve the checker, your opponent must reintroduce it into your home area and start moving around the board again. As the aim of the game is to clear the board of all your chips in the fastest way possible, you will need to hit as many of your opponent's chips as you can.

Moving from the bar

Hitting your opponent's chips slows down his game plan due to the fact that he must play to remove his checker from the bar before moving any of his other checkers. To do so, he must roll the dice to obtain numbers corresponding to a free space in his home board. This can be any point that is not already home to more than one of his other chips. If your opponent is unable to move his blot back onto the board from the bar, his turn is forfeit. Two or more chips must be reintroduced into the game separately.

Rolling doubles

Rolling doubles refers to rolling two of the same number on both dice. This entitles a player to move four times the amount of the number rolled.

Bearing off

Bearing off is a final process in backgammon after you have moved all your chips into your home board. When you roll the dice, you may either remove one checker from the point of the number corresponding to the dice roll, or move multiple chips a number of spaces dictated by the roll. If you have a checker situated on a point that is a lower number than the dice roll, you can remove it as long as you have no other chips on higher points.

You can play Backgammon online on our website. And it's free! No download, no login required, simple gameplay! Good luck and have a good time!