Quick answer: Backgammon uses 24 points and 15 checkers per player. Set your checkers on your 24-, 13-, 8- and 6-points in groups of 2, 5, 3 and 5. Move towards your own home board using each die separately; the first player to bear off all 15 checkers wins.

Keep this page beside the board when you need a rule check, rather than a strategy lesson. For a guided first game, start with our complete beginner’s guide. Here, the focus is checking a position and deciding what a roll permits.

Check the setup before touching the dice

Number the points from your own home board: 1 is nearest to bearing off, 24 is furthest away. Your opponent uses the opposite numbering and travels in the opposite direction. The physical left or right side depends on the orientation of the board. See the USBGF setup reference.

A useful double-check: 2 + 5 + 3 + 5 = 15, but counting alone does not prove the position is correct. Swapping the stacks on the 8- and 13-points still gives 15. Check both the number of checkers and their locations. Each physical point’s two player-relative numbers add up to 25.

Use this dice checklist

• Opening: each player rolls one die; reroll ties. The higher roller starts with both numbers already showing.
• Later turns: roll two dice. Doubles supply four moves of that number.
• Landing: a point with two or more opposing checkers is blocked. A lone opposing checker can be hit.
• Obligation: play both numbers if possible. If either can be used but not both, use the higher. If only one is legal, use that one. Use as many moves of a double as possible.

These are standard rules, not optional tactics. The Backgammon Galore rules FAQ explains why deliberately making one die unplayable is not a valid way to avoid using it.

Worked check: why 6-1 is not simply “seven”

Suppose you want to move a checker from your 13-point to your 6-point. The two routes are 13→7→6 and 13→12→6. At least one route needs legal intermediate and final landings. If both 7 and 12 are blocked, that checker cannot make the combined move even when 6 is open. Other checkers may still provide legal moves: assess the whole position, not just your preferred checker.

When a checker is on the bar

Re-enter all your hit checkers before moving others. Entry is into the opponent’s home board, on a point matching an available die. If all required entries are blocked, you cannot use that turn to move a different checker. The standard rules describe entry and hitting.

When bearing off becomes legal

All your remaining checkers must be in your home board. An exact roll can remove a checker from its matching point. An oversized roll can remove a checker from your highest occupied point only if none remains further away. A legal internal move may be chosen instead, subject to using the dice correctly. See Chris Bray’s beginner’s guide.

Two end-position checks

With your furthest checker on 3, a 5 can bear it off. With a checker still on 6 and none on 5, a 5 cannot remove one from 3: the move 6→1 must be considered instead. If a checker is hit during bearing off, bring it back into your home board before removing any more.

Agree on the ruleset, not just the winning score

This reference uses standard international backgammon. Do not assume every Turkish tavla table follows identical conventions. Before playing, agree on the opening procedure, doubling cube and scoring. At a tournament, use the organiser’s published rules; this page does not replace them.

A practical starting conversation is: “Which rules are we using, and what happens if we disagree about a move?” Establishing that before a disputed roll is easier than doing so afterwards. Our backgammon etiquette guide covers respectful play.

Rule sources checked: 17 September 2026. Original explanatory examples by Seahorse Backgammon.