White moves from point 24 toward point 1. Black moves the opposite way.

Dice -

TurnWhite

Off. W 0 / B 0

Select a checker, then select a highlighted destination.

Quick setup

Start playing Backgammon

Choose local or remote play, roll the dice, move legal checkers, and race to bear off all fifteen pieces.

ⓘ How to start ⓘ Full guide

Game mode

Single Screen/PC · vs. a friend or AI

White

Black

AI Difficulty

Backgammon Online

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Backgammon is a two-player race and tactics game played with fifteen checkers per side. Roll the dice, move around the board, hit exposed checkers, build points, and bear off all your checkers before your opponent. New here? Start with How to start.

Read the full Backgammon guide →
Complete rules with board diagrams, strategy, and FAQ.

How to start

In the quick setup.

Choose game mode - Local or Remote
- Local - one screen, one computer. Play a friend sitting next to you, or challenge SartabaAI.
- Remote - play online from different locations. Click Create game to get a 6-digit code, share it, and the other player joins with that code.
For Local setup
- Set White and Black to Human or SartabaAI.
- If you choose SartabaAI, pick AI difficulty from 1 (very easy) to 5 (expert).
- Click Start game. White rolls first and moves toward point 1. Black moves toward point 24.
For Remote setup
- Create Game choose your preferred side, press Create game, and send the 6-digit code to your friend.
- Join Game enter the code from the creator and press Join game.
- The game starts when both sides are connected. When a game ends, create or join again to start a fresh match.

Step-by-step setup with screenshots in the Backgammon FAQ →

How to play

Press Roll dice when it is your turn.
Select one of your checkers to see legal destinations, then select a highlighted point to move.
You normally make one move per die. If you roll 3 and 5, you may move one checker 3 and another checker 5, or move the same checker in two legal steps.
If you roll doubles, you play that number four times if legal.
If one checker is on the bar, it must re-enter before any other checker can move.
The move history can be clicked after moves are made to review the board before that move.

Rules

Objective move all fifteen checkers into your home board and bear them off before your opponent.

Direction White moves from point 24 toward point 1. Black moves from point 1 toward point 24.
Open points You may move to an empty point, a point occupied by your own checkers, or a point with exactly one opposing checker.
Blocked points A point with two or more opposing checkers is blocked and cannot be landed on.
Hitting Landing on a single opposing checker sends it to the bar.
The bar Checkers on the bar must enter through the opponent home board before any other checker can move. If all entry points shown by the dice are blocked, your turn passes.
Doubles A double gives four moves of that die number. Use as many as are legally available.
Using dice If both dice can be played, both must be played. If only one can be played, you must play it. If either die could be played but not both, the higher die must be used.
Bearing off You may bear off only when all your checkers are in your home board. Exact rolls bear off from the matching point. Higher rolls may bear off from the farthest occupied point when no checker is farther away.
Normal win the loser has borne off at least one checker.
Gammon the loser has borne off no checkers.
Backgammon the loser has borne off no checkers and still has a checker on the bar or in the winner's home board.

Full rules with board diagrams → · Strategy guide →

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About Backgammon

Backgammon on Sartaba Mind Games brings one of the oldest race-and-tactics board games into the same live play environment as our other classic games.
The board supports local play, remote play, legal move highlighting, bar entry, bearing off, move review, and a practical AI that evaluates full dice sequences while learning from completed games.
Because Backgammon mixes probability, risk, and timing, every roll asks a different question. Race, block, hit, anchor, or play safe.

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Learn the game. Then beat the AI.

Rules

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