Backgammon Strategy
Luck decides single games. Over ten games, the better player nearly always comes out ahead. These are the ideas that make the difference, roughly in the order you should learn them.
1. Know the race
Your pip count is the total number of points your checkers still need to travel to bear off. Both sides start on 167. The game on this site shows both counts at the top of the screen.
The pip count tells you what kind of game to play. If you are well ahead, you want to run home and avoid contact. If you are well behind, you want to keep contact and wait for a chance to hit. Our guide to counting pips shows how to work it out over a real board.
2. Pick a game plan
Most games fall into one of five plans. Changing plan at the right moment is a big part of good play.
- Running game
- You're ahead in the race. Get your back checkers out, avoid leaving blots and head home.
- Holding game
- You're behind in the race, so you keep an anchor (two checkers on a point) deep in your opponent's side, usually their 5-point or 4-point. From there you wait for a shot at a blot as they come home.
- Priming game
- You build a wall of made points in front of your opponent's back checkers so they can't get past.
- Blitz
- You attack hard, hitting checkers and making points in your home board, hoping to close your opponent out while they're on the bar.
- Back game
- You're far behind, so you hold two points in your opponent's home board and wait for a late shot. It's a last resort and it often ends in a gammon if it fails.
3. Make the right points
Two or more of your checkers on a point make it yours. It's safe from being hit and it blocks your opponent. Some points are worth far more than others:
- Your 5-point is the most valuable point on the board. It blocks your opponent's back checkers and is a great landing spot. A 3-1 at the start makes it straight away.
- Your 4-point and bar point (7-point) come next. Together with the 5 and 6-points they build a strong blockade.
- Your opponent's 5-point (your 20-point) is the best anchor you can hold. It's hard to block and gives your back checkers a safe base.
Points deep in your home board, like the 1 and 2-points, are worth little early on. Checkers placed there are out of play.
4. Build a prime
A prime is a row of made points in a line. A full six-point prime can't be jumped at all. Even four or five points in a row make escape very hard. Trap one or two of your opponent's checkers behind a prime, then roll it forward into your home board one point at a time.
5. Be careful with blots
A blot is a single checker that can be hit. Sometimes you have to leave one. When you do, make it as hard to hit as possible. This table shows how many of the 36 possible rolls hit a blot at each distance, with nothing in the way:
| Distance | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rolls that hit | 11 | 12 | 14 | 15 | 15 | 17 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 3 |
Two things stand out. Blots within six points of an enemy checker are in real danger, and a blot seven or more points away is fairly safe. A blot is also more dangerous to leave when your opponent's home board is strong, because a hit checker may struggle to get back in.
6. Hit when it counts
Hitting sends a checker back to the start and costs your opponent a tempo. It's often right, especially when it sends back a checker that had nearly escaped, or when your home board is strong. It's less good when it leaves you with several blots and your opponent has a strong board of their own. Our blog post on when to hit goes into more detail.
7. Keep your checkers flexible
- Avoid tall stacks. Six checkers on one point are doing the job of two.
- Spread builders (spare checkers) over the points just outside the one you want to make, so more rolls let you make it.
- Don't rush your back checkers out too early, and don't leave them behind too long either. Splitting them early gives you more ways to make an anchor.
8. Bear off safely
When your opponent still has checkers in your home board, safety comes first. Clear your points from the back (highest point first), keep an even number of checkers on your top points where you can, and avoid leaving a blot unless you have no choice. Once contact is over, just bear off as many checkers as you can each turn.
9. Learn the opening moves
There are only fifteen possible opening rolls, and expert players agree on good moves for all of them. Learning them takes an evening. Start with our table of opening moves.
Practise
The best way to get better is to play. Use Hint on this site to compare your move with the computer's choice, and move up a level when you start winning more than you lose.