Backgammon Terms A–Z

A

Ace — A roll of 1 on a die.

Ace-Point — The 1-point. Your ace-point is point 1 in your home board; your opponent’s ace-point is point 24 from your perspective.

Anchor — A made point (2+ checkers) in your opponent’s home board. Anchors provide safety for your back checkers and a re-entry point if you’re hit.

Advanced Anchor — An anchor on the opponent’s 4-point or 5-point. These are highly valuable because they block the opponent effectively while being close to escape.

B

Back Game — A strategy where a player who is behind intentionally maintains multiple anchors in the opponent’s home board, hoping to hit a blot as the opponent tries to bear off.

Backgammon — (1) The name of the game. (2) A triple victory — winning when the opponent hasn’t borne off any checkers and still has checkers in the winner’s home board or on the bar. Worth 3× the stakes.

Bar — The raised center strip dividing the board. Checkers that are hit go to the bar and must re-enter before any other moves.

Bar Point — The 7-point. Your bar point is adjacent to your home board and is a key strategic point.

Bear Off — To remove a checker from the board during the final phase of the game. Requires all 15 checkers in your home board first.

Blitz — An aggressive strategy of hitting your opponent repeatedly and building your home board, aiming to trap them on the bar.

Blot — A single checker on a point, vulnerable to being hit.

Board — (1) The backgammon playing surface. (2) A player’s home board, as in “closing your board.”

Builder — A checker positioned where it can help make a new point on the next roll.

C

Checker — A playing piece. Each player has 15 checkers.

Close Out — To make all 6 points in your home board (a full prime), trapping any opponent checkers on the bar with no way to re-enter.

Combination Shot — A hit that requires using both dice values to reach the blot (e.g., 3+4 to hit a blot 7 spaces away).

Crawford Rule — In match play, when one player reaches match point, the doubling cube cannot be used for one game. This prevents the trailing player from immediately doubling.

Cube — See Doubling Cube.

D

Dance — To fail to re-enter from the bar (all entry points are blocked). Also called “fanning.”

Direct Shot — A hit reachable with a single die value (1 through 6).

Double — (1) Both dice show the same number, giving 4 moves. (2) Offering the doubling cube to raise the stakes.

Doubling Cube — A die marked 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64. Used to keep track of the current stakes and who has the right to re-double.

Drop — To decline a double, forfeiting the game at the current stakes.

E

Enter — To bring a checker from the bar back onto the board in the opponent’s home board.

Equity — Your expected result from a position, measured in points or wins. Used in computer analysis.

F

Fan — Same as dance. To fail to re-enter from the bar.

G

Gammon — Winning when the opponent has not borne off any checkers. Worth 2× stakes.

Golden Point — A player’s 5-point, the most strategically important single point on the board.

H

Hit — To land on an opponent’s blot, sending it to the bar.

Hit and Cover — Hitting a blot and immediately covering (making) that point in the same turn.

Home Board — Points 1–6 for each player. All checkers must reach the home board before bearing off.

Holding Game — A strategy based on maintaining an anchor in the opponent’s home board and timing your escape.

I

Inner Board — Same as home board (points 1–6).

K

Kibitzer — A spectator watching a backgammon game.

L

Lover’s Leap — The play of moving a back checker from the 24-point to the 13-point, using a roll that totals 11 (5-6).

M

Make a Point — To place two or more of your checkers on a point, securing it.

Match Play — A contest where players play multiple games to reach a set number of points.

Midpoint — The 13-point, the starting position for 5 of your checkers.

Money Play — Playing individual games for stakes, as opposed to match play.

O

Outer Board — Points 7–12 for each player.

Outfield — A somewhat vague term for the outer board area, usually referring to the area opponents’ checkers must pass through.

P

Pip — A unit of distance on the board. Each point represents one pip.

Pip Count — The total number of pips all your checkers must travel to bear off. Lower is better.

Point — (1) A triangle on the board. (2) A made position (2+ checkers). (3) A unit of score in match play.

Prime — A series of consecutive made points. A 6-point prime is impassable.

R

Race — A position where all contact has broken and both players are simply trying to bear off first.

Re-double — To double the stakes after having previously accepted a double (you must own the cube).

Roll — The result of throwing two dice.

S

Slot — To deliberately place a single checker (blot) on a point you want to make, hoping your opponent won’t hit it and you can cover it next turn.

Split — To separate your two back checkers by moving one to a different point in the opponent’s home board.

Stacker — A checker piled uselessly high on an already-made point.

T

Take — To accept a double, agreeing to play at the higher stakes.

Turn — One player’s opportunity to roll and move.

W

Wastage — Excess pips spent during bearing off (e.g., rolling a 6 when your highest checker is on the 2-point = 4 wasted pips).