The Object of the Game
The object of Backgammon is to move all your pieces off your end of the Board before your opponent. Each player starts with 15 pieces, arranged as shown below.

The Red player moves their pieces counterclockwise around the Board, eventually moving them into the empty slot next to their home Board section, and the White player vice versa.

The first person to remove all their pieces will win the round and score points based on several factors, explained later. Each Room in the Lobby has a target score which must be met to win the game. Any MatchPlay game with a target score higher than 1point may require several rounds of Backgammon before a player has accumulated enough points to reach it.

Order of Play
Play alternates between the 2 players. During your turn you roll the dice and move their pieces by the numbers shown. Click the "Roll" button to roll the dice, or click on the area of the Board where the dice are displayed when it is your turn.

At the start of the game, each player has a single die rolled for them automatically. The highest roller gets to move first, using the dice already showing.

A player may move one piece at a time by the exact amount shown on either die. For example, a roll of a 5 and a 4 would mean you could move one piece 5 places forward, and another 4 places forward, assuming the destination point is legal. Alternatively you could move one piece twice, as long as both "jumps" are legal.

If a player rolls a double, they use the dice twice. For example, a roll of 3 and 3 would mean you could move 4 separate pieces forward by 3 places, 2 pieces forward by 6 etc, always assuming the intermediate jumps are legal.

A destination point is legal if:

it is empty

• it only has your pieces on it
• it only has 1 of your opponents pieces on it

If your opponent has 2 or more pieces positioned on a point, then you cannot move onto it.

To move a piece, use the mouse to drag it to the desired destination. To help you, the game will highlight all the legal moves a piece can make when you move the cursor over it. If you click a piece, it will automatically make the biggest single "jump" it can.

There is no limit to the number of pieces you can place on any position, however there are some specific rules about making moves:

a player must use both dice if this is legally possible, and all 4 in the case of a double, even if this would place their pieces in an undesirable position

• if only one die can be legally played, it must be played
• if either die can be played, but not both of them, then the larger die must be played. In the case of doubles, as many as possible must be played

The game will calculate which dice must be used, and it will not let you finish your turn if you haven't complied with the rules above.

As soon as you have moved your last piece, your turn is over. If there are no legal moves at all, it will automatically finish your turn

Taking Pieces
If your opponent only has 1 piece on the position you are moving to then you can take, or hit, this piece. It is moved onto the bar section in the middle of the Board and your piece now occupies the contested point.

Any player who has pieces on the bar must use their dice rolls to move these pieces back onto the Board before they can move any other pieces. A piece is re-introduced by moving it onto a legal position in the opponent's home Board. When this has been done, any remaining dice can be used normally.

Bearing Off
When a player has got all their pieces into their home Board, they can start moving them off the Board. This is called bearing off.

A piece can only be born off by making a legal move to the slot at the end of the Board. For example, if a piece occupies the position 5 places from the end of the Board, then a 5 on one die (or a total of 5 on both dice) is required to bear off.

The exception to this rule is if all the remaining pieces are below the dice roll. For example, a player rolls a 4 and a 6 and all their pieces are on the first, second and third slot points before the end. In this case they could bear off the two pieces on from the third slotpoint.

A player is under no obligation to bear pieces off. They can make alternative legal moves without bearing off at all, if they wish.

If a player has a piece taken during the bearing off process, they must re-introduce this piece to the Board, and move it round to the home Board section, before they can continue bearing off.

The first player to bear off all 15 pieces wins the round. They will receive 1 point for this, multiplied by the number shown on the doubling cube, and any additional multipliers for achieving a gammon, or a backgammon (explained below).

The Doubling Cube
At the start of a player's turn, before they roll the dice, a player has the option of offering the doubling cube to their opponent. Click the "Cube" button to do this.

The doubling cube is essentially a method of doubling the number of points the eventual winner of that round will receive. A player would be inclined to do this if they felt they were winning the game, as it would help them reach the target score faster. If a player is offered the cube and they decline, then they immediately lose the round.

The default number of points a player gets for winning a round is 1. Every time the doubling cube is used, this number doubles, up to a maximum of 64.

At the start of the game, the cube is displayed in the middle of the Board with the number 64 face-up. Either player can offer the doubling cube to the other at this point. However, as soon as one player offers it, they lose possession to the other player.

From then on, only the player in possession can offer the cube. Possession alternates between players with each use. The Doubling Cube is displayed on the Board closest to the controlling player.

In certain situations the doubling cube may be permanently unavailable. This happens when:
a) the target score for the game is 1. In this situation the cube is irrelevant.
b) the Crawford rule is in effect. Once only per game, if a player is within a single point of the target score, the cube is disabled for an entire round.

Note that the Jacoby rule applies in moneyplay games, i.e. that gammons or backgammons only apply once the cube has been offered at least once during the game.

Gammon and Backgammon
In addition to the doubling cube, a winner's points can be multiplied further under the following conditions:

if they have born off all their pieces before their opponent has managed to bear off a piece, this is called a gammon. The winner's points are doubled.

• If they have born off all their pieces before their opponent has managed to bear off a piece, AND their opponent still has a piece in the winner's home Board (or on the bar), this is called a backgammon. The winner's points are tripled.

Resigning a Round
IMPORTANT! This is not the same as resigning a game using the "Resign" button in the top-right corner of the table!

At the start of a player's turn, they may want to offer to resign the round (but not the entire game) to their opponent. To do this, click the "Resign Round" button.

The player will be asked whether they wish to offer their opponent a simple resignation, a gammon, or even a backgammon. If their opponent accepts then the round will end, and the score will be added up appropriately. An offer to resign a backgammon will be automatically accepted.

If their opponent declines then the player can either carry on with their turn as usual, or offer to resign again at the next level up, i.e. if they offered a gammon before, they can only offer a backgammon this time. The resign options are reset each turn.

Please Note:
If a player times out, or resigns using the table's "Resign" button, they will lose the whole game, not just that round.