What does the pip count mean?

It is the total number of points each player needs to move to bear off every checker. A lower count means you are ahead in the race.

A single checker alone on a point. It can be hit by a rival checker landing there, which sends it to the bar.

The game decides at random, and a message tells you whether you or the computer starts.

How to Win at Backgammon: Strategy Tips

Backgammon blends luck with real skill. You race 15 checkers home and bear them off, hitting your rival's lone checkers along the way. Over a match to 3 points, good decisions beat lucky dice. This guide covers safe play, building points and primes, choosing between running and blocking, and bearing off without leaving shots.

Backgammon
Play Backgammon ›

Make points, not blots

A single checker on a point is a blot, and your rival can hit it and send it to the bar. Two or more checkers make a point that blocks your rival. Try to move in pairs so you land two checkers on the same point. Early rolls like 3-1, which makes your 5 point, and 6-1, which makes your 7 point, are among the best openings in the game.

Build a prime

Several made points in a row form a wall that rival checkers cannot jump. Six in a row is a full prime and traps anything behind it. Focus on the points just in front of your home board and inside it. The more consecutive points you hold, the harder it becomes for your rival to escape with their back checkers.

Know when to hit

Hitting a blot sends it back to the start and costs your rival a lot of distance. Hit when it does not leave you with too many blots of your own, especially in your home board. A rival on the bar must enter into your home board, so the more points you hold there, the more often they miss whole turns.

Race or hold

The pip count under each name shows how far each side still has to go. If you are well ahead, stop taking risks, break contact and race home. If you are behind, keep an anchor, two checkers on a point deep in your rival's home, and wait for a shot. Doubles are played four times, so a double can swing a close race.

Bear off safely

Once all your checkers are home, bear them off. If your rival still has checkers behind you, clear points from the back and avoid leaving blots. Win before your rival bears off any checker for a gammon worth 2 points, or a backgammon worth 3 if they still have a checker on the bar or in your home board.

Questions

What does the pip count mean?: It is the total number of points each player needs to move to bear off every checker. A lower count means you are ahead in the race.
What is a blot?: A single checker alone on a point. It can be hit by a rival checker landing there, which sends it to the bar.
Who moves first?: The game decides at random, and a message tells you whether you or the computer starts.

Backgammon
Play Backgammon ›