Play Free Backgammon Online

Backgammon is one of the easiest classic games to play over the internet. A board, fifteen checkers per side and two dice translate well to a screen, and you can find an opponent at almost any hour. This guide covers what you need to start playing online for free, purely for the game itself, and how to get the most out of it.

Before your first online game

You do not need to know every rule by heart, but you should be comfortable with the basics: how the checkers move, hitting and entering from the bar, and bearing off. If any of that is new to you, read our backgammon rules first. Online play actually helps here, because the software only lets you make legal moves and does the counting for you.

It also helps to know a few standard replies to the opening roll. Most experienced players answer a 3-1 with 8/5 6/5 and a 6-1 with 13/7 8/7, and there is an accepted best play for every other opening roll too. Our list of recommended first moves gives all fifteen.

Choosing where and how to play

Free backgammon is offered in several forms, and each suits a different player:

• Downloadable clients. A program installed on your computer usually gives the smoothest graphics and the fastest response, and often includes match history and statistics.
• Browser games. Nothing to install: you open a page and play. Convenient on a shared or work computer, though sometimes with fewer features.
• Playing against the computer. Free programs such as GNU Backgammon play at a very strong level and are always available, which makes them ideal for practice.

Whatever you choose, look for a stable connection, a clear board where the dice and the cube are easy to read, and a simple way to find opponents of similar strength.

Finding the right opponents

Most online servers give every player a rating that rises after wins and falls after losses. The rating is a useful guide: when you are starting out, look for opponents near your own level. Losing every game to far stronger players teaches less than you might think, and beating much weaker ones teaches almost nothing.

Many servers also run free tournaments: knockout events of short matches, often to 3, 5 or 7 points. They are a good way to experience match play, where the score changes how you should use the doubling cube. Our article on using the doubling cube explains the basics, including the Crawford rule.

Learning while you play

Playing a lot is good, but playing thoughtfully is better. A few habits make a big difference:

1. Save your matches. Most clients let you export a game record. Load it into an analysis program such as GNU Backgammon or eXtreme Gammon and check where your choices differed from the best play.
2. Count shots. Before leaving a blot, count how many rolls hit it. A checker six pips away is hit by 17 of the 36 possible rolls; one eleven pips away is hit by only 2.
3. Count the race. Keep track of the pip count. Each player starts with 167 pips, and the average roll is worth about 8.17 pips, so you can quickly tell who is ahead in a race.
4. Play fewer, longer matches. A 7-point match teaches more about the cube and the score than a string of single games.

Good manners online

The online community has its own etiquette. Greet your opponent, move without long delays, do not leave a match you are losing, and thank your opponent at the end. Players who behave well find opponents more easily and are invited back for rematches.

From the screen to the club

Online play is a great training ground, but backgammon is also a social game. Many cities have clubs that hold regular evenings and tournaments, and national and international opens welcome players of every level in intermediate, advanced and master divisions. Our backgammon news section has reports from clubs and tournaments around the world, so you can see what over-the-board competition looks like.