Backgammon Free online game

What is it?

Backgammon is an ancient board game: roll two dice, move your checkers by the numbers rolled, and be the first to bear all 15 off the board. Luck and strategy work together, so every game unfolds differently.

Each die is used separately, and doubles give you four moves. Landing on a point with a single enemy checker hits it and sends it to the middle (the bar); a player with a checker on the bar can't move anything else until it re-enters.

How to play

1. Roll the dice, tap a checker, then tap where to go. Each die is used separately (doubles give 4 moves)
2. Land on a point with a single enemy checker to hit it. Hit checkers must re-enter from the middle (the bar)
3. Gather all 15 in your home board (bottom right), then be first to bear them all off

Difficulty and rankings

There's a weekly ranking and an all-time ranking; the weekly one resets every Monday at midnight (Korea time). For details, see the Help.

Good to know on Hanpanmadang

• If both dice can be played, you must play both; if only one can, you must play the higher number. With no legal move, your turn passes.
• The doubling cube isn't used. The first to bear off all 15 checkers wins.
• You can bear off only when all 15 checkers are in your home board, and a roll higher than your farthest checker can still bear it off.
• In online matches the server rolls the dice, and each turn must be finished within 60 seconds or you lose.

Learn from examples

Common mistakes

Trying to move other checkers while one is on the bar.

With a checker on the bar, you must first bring it into your opponent's home board before moving anything else.

Leaving lone checkers near the enemy even when you're ahead.

When you're ahead, it pays to race past without contact. Move your checkers in pairs.

Tips

• Two or more checkers on a point block your opponent from landing there. Keep building safe points.
• A point with a single checker is easy to hit. If you can't avoid it, leave it at a distance that's hard to hit.
• The more points you hold in your home board, the harder it is for hit enemy checkers to re-enter.
• If you're far behind, one strategy is to anchor two checkers inside your opponent's home board and hold on. You can keep waiting for a lone checker left as they come home.