Backgammon Strategy: Openings, Safe Play and Winning the Race
How to win more at backgammon: the best opening moves, making points, the odds of being hit, when to race, bearing off safely and avoiding a gammon.
Sunroom Games · Updated
Backgammon is a game of luck and skill in equal measure: you can't choose your dice, but you choose what to do with every roll, and over a few games the better choices win. Here are the ideas that matter most, from the first move to the last checker borne off, with numbers from our own test games.
If you'd like the rules first, see how to play Backgammon.
What our test games showed
We had two copies of our computer player, Carol on Normal, play 2,000 games against each other.
- The race decides most games in the end. In 96 games out of 100, the checkers eventually got past each other and the game became a pure race. From that moment, the player ahead in the pip count (allowing for whose turn it was) went on to win 93 times in 100.
- Gammons are common. About one game in five ended in a gammon, with the loser not having borne off a single checker. That's worth two games, so avoiding one matters.
- Hitting happens a lot. There were about ten hits in an average game, so every single checker you leave alone is a risk.
- Going first helps a little. The player who moved first won about 57 games in 100.
1. Play the standard opening moves
Players and computers have studied the first move of backgammon for decades, and there's a good answer for every opening roll. Points are numbered from your side, as in our game. Carol and the Hint button play these moves.
| Roll | Move |
|---|---|
| 2–1 | 13 to 11, 6 to 5 |
| 3–1 | 8 to 5, 6 to 5 |
| 3–2 | 24 to 21, 13 to 11 |
| 4–1 | 24 to 23, 13 to 9 |
| 4–2 | 8 to 4, 6 to 4 |
| 4–3 | 24 to 20, 13 to 10 |
| 5–1 | 24 to 23, 13 to 8 |
| 5–2 | 13 to 8, 13 to 11 |
| 5–3 | 8 to 3, 6 to 3 |
| 5–4 | 24 to 20, 13 to 8 |
| 6–1 | 13 to 7, 8 to 7 |
| 6–2 | 24 to 18, 13 to 11 |
| 6–3 | 24 to 18, 13 to 10 |
| 6–4 | 24 to 18, 13 to 9 |
| 6–5 | 24 to 18, 18 to 13 |
You don't need to memorize them all. Notice the pattern: with 3-1, 4-2, 5-3 and 6-1 you make a new point at once, and with the others you bring builders down from the 13-point or start moving your back checkers.
2. Make points, starting with the 5-point
Two or more of your checkers on a point make it safe from hits and block Carol from landing there. The most valuable point to make early is your 5-point: it's in your home board, where it makes coming in from the bar harder for Carol, and it blocks Carol's back checkers. Your 7-point (the bar point) and 4-point come next.
3. Know the odds of being hit
A single checker can be hit by any of Carol's checkers behind it, counting from Carol's direction. How likely that is depends mostly on how far away the nearest one is:
| Distance away | Chances of a hit, out of 36 |
|---|---|
| 1 | 11 |
| 2 | 12 |
| 3 | 14 |
| 4 | 15 |
| 5 | 15 |
| 6 | 17 |
| 7 | 6 |
| 8 | 6 |
| 9 | 5 |
| 10 | 3 |
| 11 | 2 |
| 12 | 3 |
So a blot six points in front of Carol's checker is hit almost half the time, while one eleven points away is hit only 2 times in 36. When you must leave a single checker, leave it more than six points away if you can. (Points Carol can't land on reduce these chances further.)
4. Build a wall of points
Points next to each other form a wall, or prime. Carol's checkers behind it have to jump over it in one move, which gets harder with every point you add. Three or four points in a row are already strong; six in a row can't be passed at all. Build towards your home board, and keep your checkers within a few points of each other so they can join up.
5. Hit when it helps you
Hitting a single checker sends it back to the start and costs Carol a turn while it comes in. It's usually worth it, especially when the hit also makes a point or when Carol's checker is deep in your home board, where it's about to escape. But a hit that leaves several of your own blots in easy reach can backfire. Count the shots in the table above before you decide.
6. Count the race
The pip counts at the top of our game show how far each side still has to travel. Check them whenever the checkers are about to get past each other. If you're clearly ahead, it's time to run and race home. If you're behind, a race is usually lost: in our games, the leader won 93 in 100. Keep some contact instead, and wait for a shot at Carol's checkers.
7. Hold an anchor when you're behind
Two of your checkers together on a point in Carol's home board make an anchor. They can't be hit, they give you a safe place to come back in from the bar, and they keep a watch on Carol's checkers coming home. When you're behind in the race, an anchor on Carol's 5-point or 4-point (your 20-point or 21-point) keeps you in the game.
8. Bear off safely
Once all your checkers are home, you'll want to bear off as fast as you can. But if Carol still has checkers on the bar or in your home board, a blot left behind can still be hit and sent all the way back. While contact remains, move checkers down and keep them in pairs before bearing off, and bear off two at a time when you can.
9. Avoid a gammon
When a game is going badly, think about the gammon. If Carol is bearing off and you haven't borne off any checkers yet, losing costs two games. Get your back checkers moving home early, rather than waiting for a shot that may never come.
How often should you win?
Because of the dice, even the best players lose plenty of games. In our tests, two equal players won about equally often, and Carol on Normal beat Carol on Easy about 82 games in 100. If you're winning around half your games against Carol on Normal, you're playing well. The Hint button explains every roll, so it's a good way to learn which of these ideas applies.
If you enjoy board games for two, try our Checkers strategy guide too.