Backgammon is played by 2, on a board with 24 points, with 15 pieces for each player and 2 dice. The dice show how much you move, and you choose which pieces to move. In Moldova both classic backgammon and long backgammon are played. Below you’ll find the basic rules, explained one by one.

What backgammon is

Backgammon is one of the oldest dice games. The board has 2 rows of 12 points each, drawn like arrows. Each player has 15 pieces of the same colour, usually white or black.

The winner is whoever first brings all their pieces into their home and then bears them off the board.

Backgammon isn’t part of the casinos’ offer, but here too the dice bring the element of luck. For casino games, on Slot.md you’ll find several casino bonus offers. Slot.md is the only legally licensed online casino in the Republic of Moldova.

As a traditional game, backgammon sits alongside the card games played here, which we wrote about in the guide on card games in Moldova.

What the board looks like

The board is divided into 4 equal parts, with 6 points in each. In the middle there’s a bar that separates the board into left and right.

• Your home: The 6 points in your corner. This is where you have to bring all your pieces.
• Your side: The other 6 points in your half of the board.
• The opponent’s home and side: The 12 points in their half.

The points are counted from 1 to 24, for each player from their own side. Point 1 is the last one in your home, and point 24 is the farthest, in the opponent’s home.

How the pieces are set up

In classic backgammon, each player sets up their 15 pieces like this:

1. 2 pieces on point 24, in the opponent’s home
2. 5 pieces on point 13, in the opponent’s side
3. 3 pieces on point 8, in your side
4. 5 pieces on point 6, in your home

The 2 players move in opposite directions. You go from point 24 toward point 1, and the opponent makes the same journey on their side.

How to play

Each player rolls one die. Whoever rolls higher starts and moves with the 2 numbers that came up. If equal numbers come up, they roll again.

On each turn you roll both dice. You can move:

• 2 different pieces, one for each die.
• The same piece twice, first with one die, then with the other.

If you roll a double, for example 4 and 4, you move 4 times by 4 points. In backgammon the old names of the dice are also often used, like “shesh” for 6 or “shesh-besh” for 6 and 5.

You have to use both dice, if you can. If you can move with only one, you use the higher one.

Of the casino games, the one closest to backgammon is craps, where everything also starts from 2 dice, but you play against the house. The rules are in the guide on how to play craps.

You can place a piece on an empty point, on a point where you already have pieces, or on a point where the opponent has a single piece. You can’t move onto a point where the opponent has 2 or more pieces. That point is closed.

The more closed points you have next to each other, the harder the opponent gets through. If you close 6 points in a row, they can’t get through at all anymore.

When you take the opponent’s piece

A single piece on a point is exposed. If the opponent moves exactly onto that point, they take your piece, and you have to put it on the bar, in the middle of the board.

As long as you have a piece on the bar, you can’t move anything else. First you have to bring it back into play, in the opponent’s home, on the point shown by one of the dice. If all the entry points are closed, you lose your turn.

Good players don’t leave pieces exposed where the opponent can take them easily. On every move they weigh the risk, just as is done in the casino table games, such as blackjack.

How to bear the pieces off the board

You can only start bearing off the pieces when all 15 are in your home. Here too you move according to the dice:

• With a 6 you bear off a piece from point 6, with a 5 from point 5, and so on.
• If you have no pieces on the point shown by the die, you move a piece from a higher point.
• If you have no pieces on higher points, you bear off the piece from the highest point you have.

If the opponent takes a piece while you’re bearing off, you have to bring it back into your home before you bear off any further.

The winner is whoever bears off all 15 pieces from the board first. If the opponent hasn’t managed to bear off any piece, you win with a gammon, meaning the game is worth 2 points instead of 1. Many games are played up to a certain number of points, set by the players at the start, usually 5 or 7.

Variants played in Moldova

Besides classic backgammon, 2 variants are also often played in Moldova:

1. Long backgammon: It’s also known as narde or nardî. All 15 pieces start from the same point, and both players go in the same direction. Pieces aren’t taken: a single piece is enough to close a point. The game is slower and relies on blocking the other’s path.
2. Ghiul: The pieces are spread over as many points on the board as possible, and the rules for doubles differ from those in classic backgammon.

The rules can change a little from one group of players to another. Before you play with someone new, agree from the start which variant you’re playing and by which rules.

Conclusion

In backgammon, the basic rules are few: you set up the pieces, roll the dice, bring your pieces into your home and bear them off before the opponent. The game is won, though, through decisions: which pieces you leave exposed, which points you close and when you take a risk. The same thinking applies to long backgammon too, even if there the pieces aren’t taken.

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Frequently asked questions

1. How many players can play backgammon?

Backgammon is played by 2. Each player has 15 pieces of the same colour.

2. What does gammon mean in backgammon?

A gammon means you won before the opponent bore off any piece from the board. The game is then worth 2 points instead of 1.

3. What happens if you roll a double?

You move 4 times, not 2. For example, on a double 5 you move 4 times by 5 points.

4. Can I move onto a point where the opponent has pieces?

Only if the opponent has a single piece there. In that case you take their piece and they have to put it on the bar. If they have 2 or more, the point is closed.

5. How does long backgammon differ from classic?

In long backgammon, all the pieces start from the same point, both players go in the same direction and pieces aren’t taken. A single piece is enough to close a point.