Play backgammon online for free against the computer or a friend

Backgammon Club is a free online backgammon game you can play in your browser, on your phone or on your computer, with nothing to download and no sign-up. Play against the computer on five levels, from a beginner that moves almost at random to an expert that weighs all 21 of your possible rolls, or challenge a friend on the same device. The board is 3D wood, the checkers slide and the dice really roll.

How to play backgammon

• Goal: bring all 15 of your checkers into your home board (your last six points) and bear them off before your opponent. Each player moves in the opposite direction.
• The dice: roll two dice and move one checker for each die (the same checker or two different ones). Roll doubles and you move that number four times.
• You can land on an empty point, on your own checkers or on a point with a single opposing checker: you hit it and it goes to the bar. You can’t land where your opponent has two or more.
• If you have checkers on the bar, you must enter them into your opponent’s home board first. If you can’t, you lose your turn.
• You must use both dice if you can; if only one can be played, it must be the higher one.
• Bearing off: once all 15 are home, bear off with the exact number, or with a higher number from your highest point.

How to move in the game

Tap Roll (or the board). Tap a highlighted checker and its possible destinations light up: tap one to move. You can also drag the checker. “Undo” takes back your last move this turn.

Gammon, backgammon and the doubling cube

• A win is worth 1 point; a gammon (your opponent hasn’t borne off any checker) is worth 2 and a backgammon (they also still have a checker on the bar or in your home board) is worth 3.
• With the doubling cube on, you can double the stakes before rolling. Your opponent takes (and owns the cube) or passes and loses the current value.
• Play single games or 3, 5 or 7-point matches with the Crawford rule: when someone is one point from winning, the next game is played without doubling.

Help, saved games and statistics

Ask for a hint showing the best play for your roll, or take back your last turn. Your game saves itself and you can check your statistics for each level.