This comprehensive glossary covers every important backgammon term. Whether you’re reading an article, listening to commentary, or talking with other players, this reference has you covered.
A
Ace — A roll of 1 on a die.
Ace-point — The 1-point. Each player has an ace-point (the first point in their home board).
Ace-point game — A defensive strategy where you hold the opponent’s ace-point (1-point) as an anchor, hoping for a late hit.
Anchor — A point in the opponent’s home board occupied by two or more of your checkers. Anchors provide defensive safety and hitting chances.
Automatic doubles — An optional rule where if both players roll the same number on the opening roll, the stakes are automatically doubled.
B
Backgammon — (1) The name of the game. (2) A type of win where the loser hasn’t borne off any checkers and still has a checker on the bar or in the winner’s home board. Worth 3× the cube value.
Back game — A defensive strategy using two or more anchors deep in the opponent’s home board, hoping for a late hit.
Bar — The raised center strip of the board. Hit checkers are placed here and must re-enter before other moves can be made.
Bar point — The 7-point. An important point to control for building a prime.
Bear off — To remove a checker from the board during the final phase of the game, after all your checkers are in your home board.
Beaver — An optional rule allowing a player who was just doubled to immediately redouble while keeping ownership of the cube.
Blitz — An aggressive strategy focused on hitting opponent blots and building a strong home board to prevent re-entry.
Blot — A single checker on a point, vulnerable to being hit.
Board — (1) The backgammon playing surface. (2) Short for “home board” — as in “building your board.”
Builder — A checker positioned where it can contribute to making a new point on a future roll.
C
Checker — One of the 15 playing pieces each player uses. Also called stones, men, or counters.
Closed board — A home board where all six points are occupied. A player with a closed board prevents any opponent checkers from re-entering from the bar.
Cockade — Rolling doubles (same number on both dice).
Come in — To re-enter a checker from the bar.
Connectivity — How well your checkers are spread to support each other across the board.
Crawford rule — In match play, when one player reaches match point minus one, the doubling cube cannot be used in the immediately following game.
Cube — Short for the doubling cube.
Cube ownership — The right to offer the next double. Belongs to the player who last accepted a double.
D
Dance — To roll and not be able to enter from the bar. Also called “fanning.”
Diversification — Arranging checkers so that many different dice rolls produce good results.
Double — (1) To offer to multiply the stakes by 2 using the doubling cube. (2) Rolling the same number on both dice (doubles).
Doubling cube — A special die marked with 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, and 64, used to track the current stakes of the game.
Drop — To decline a double, conceding the game at the current stake.
Duplication — Arranging your checkers so your opponent needs the same dice numbers for multiple objectives, reducing their effective options.
E
Entering — Moving a checker from the bar into the opponent’s home board.
Equity — The average expected value of a game position, measured in points or cube value.
F
Fan — To fail to enter from the bar. Same as “dance.”
G
Gammon — A win where the loser hasn’t borne off any checkers. Worth 2× the cube value.
Golden point — A player’s 5-point, widely considered the most strategically important point on the board.
H
Hit — To land on a point occupied by a single opponent checker (blot), sending it to the bar.
Hit and cover — To hit a blot and then cover the point with another checker, making it safely.
Holding game — A strategy where you maintain an anchor in the opponent’s board and wait for opportunities.
Home board — Points 1 through 6. The destination quadrant where all your checkers must arrive before you can bear off.
I
Inner board — Same as home board.
J
Jacoby rule — An optional rule where gammons and backgammons only count as a single win unless the doubling cube has been used during the game.
K
Kibitzer — A spectator watching a game, sometimes offering unsolicited advice.
L
Lover’s leap — Moving a back checker from the 24-point to the midpoint (13-point) with a roll of 6-5.
M
Make a point — To place two or more of your checkers on a point, securing it from the opponent.
Match play — Playing a series of games to a target score, as opposed to individual games for stakes.
Midpoint — The 13-point. An important staging point in the early game.
N
Natural — A roll that isn’t doubles.
O
Outer board — Points 7 through 12. The quadrant between your home board and your opponent’s side of the board.
Own the cube — Having the right to offer the next double.
P
Pip — A unit of movement. Moving one checker one point equals one pip.
Pip count — The total number of pips all your checkers must move to bear off. Lower is better. Starting pip count is 167.
Point — (1) One of the 24 triangular spaces on the board. (2) A point occupied by 2+ of your checkers (“making a point”). (3) A unit of match score.
Prime — A sequence of consecutive points you occupy. A 6-prime (all six consecutive points blocked) is impenetrable.
R
Race — The phase of the game where there’s no more contact and both players are simply trying to bear off first.
Re-enter — To bring a checker back from the bar to the board.
Redouble — To double the stakes when you already own the cube.
Running game — A strategy focused on racing your checkers home without engaging in contact.
S
Safe — A point occupied by 2+ of your checkers, immune to being hit.
Slot — To intentionally move a single checker to a point you want to secure, risking that it might be hit.
Split — To move one of two back checkers from the 24-point to a different point.
Stacking — Placing many checkers on the same point, which is generally inefficient.
T
Take — To accept a double and continue playing at the higher stake.
Timing — How efficiently your position can maintain itself over future rolls. Good timing means having useful moves available.
V
Voluntary doubles — Doubles that are offered by a player using the doubling cube, as opposed to automatic doubles.
W
Wastage — Inefficient use of dice rolls, often because of stacked checkers or a broken prime.
Next Steps
- How to Play Backgammon — Beginner’s guide
- Strategy Guide — Put these terms into practice
- Play Now — Start a game