What you need
Two players, a board of 24 narrow triangles called points, 15 checkers each, and dice. Each player usually has their own pair and a cup. A doubling cube, marked 2, 4, 8, 16, 32 and 64, is used only if you are playing for points. You can ignore it for a first teaching game.
The points are grouped into four quadrants of six. Yours are your home board and your outer board. Your opponent has the same on the other side. A bar runs down the middle.
Setup
Number the points from your own home board. Your 24-point is your opponent’s 1-point. Each player starts with two checkers on their 24-point, five on their 13-point, three on their 8-point, and five on their 6-point. Some boards are printed as the mirror image of that; the race still runs in opposite directions.
Each player rolls one die to start. The higher roll plays first and moves both of those opening numbers. If the dice match, roll again. After that, players alternate and roll two dice on their own turn.
How to play
Checkers move only forward, toward lower-numbered points. The two dice are two separate moves. A 5 and a 3 can move one checker 5 and another 3, or one checker 8, but only if the intermediate point, 5 or 3 away, is also open.
A point with two or more opposing checkers is closed. You cannot land there. A point with one opposing checker is a blot. Landing on it hits that checker and puts it on the bar. You may stack as many of your own checkers as you like on an open point.
Doubles are played twice: a roll of 6-6 is four sixes. You must use both numbers if you legally can, and all four of a double if you can. If only one number can be played, play it. If either number can be played but not both, play the larger. If neither can be played, you lose the turn.
A checker on the bar must come back in before you move anything else. Enter it on the opponent’s home board, on the open point matching one of your dice. If neither point is open, you lose the turn.
Scoring and winning
When all 15 of your checkers are in your home board, you may bear them off. A 6 takes a checker off the 6-point, and so on. If you have no checker on that point, you must move a checker on a higher point if you can. If every remaining checker is on a lower point, you bear one off from the highest occupied point. If you are hit while bearing off, that checker must travel home again before you continue.
The first player to bear off all 15 wins. If the loser has already borne off at least one checker, it is a single game, 1 point. If the loser has borne off none, it is a gammon, 2 points. If the loser has also left a checker on the bar or in the winner’s home board, it is a backgammon, 3 points.
Common variants
The doubling cube is standard in match play and optional at the kitchen table. Before you roll, you may offer to double the stake. Your opponent may refuse and lose the current value, or accept and own the cube, which means only they may double next.
At home you can skip the cube, beavers and the Jacoby rule. Do not treat automatic doubles (doubling because the opening dice matched) as required. Backgammon Galore lists them as optional.
A chouette lets three or more people share one game, one player against the rest. That is a social form, not the basic rules.
Tips for first games
Make the opening point if you can: two checkers on a point cannot be hit. A lone checker is a blot, and a hit sends it all the way back to the bar.
Do not race if you are far behind on the pip count. Hitting and building a prime (a wall of occupied points) matters more than sprinting home. When you are ahead, clear your blots and run.
Frequently asked questions
Can I pass my turn? No. If you have a legal move, you must play it, including the larger number when only one die can be used.
Can I put more than five checkers on a point? Yes. Five is only the starting stack on some points, not a limit.
What if a die lands off the board or on a checker? Roll both dice again. They should land flat in the right-hand half of the board.
Do we have to use the doubling cube? No. It changes the stake. A first game can be played to a single win, with no cube.
How long is a game? One game is often 5 to 30 minutes. Matches are a series of games to an agreed number of points.