Backgammon — how to play

Simple rules — the game also teaches you as you play.

1. Long nardy: each player has 15 checkers, all starting on the “head”. Checkers travel around the board counter-clockwise into their home.
2. Roll two dice and move by the numbers — one checker by the total or two checkers separately. Doubles are played four times.
3. Only one checker may leave the head per turn. Exception: a first roll of 6-6, 4-4 or 3-3 lets two leave.
4. You can’t land on a point held by an opponent’s checker. You can’t build a wall of six in a row unless an opponent’s checker is already ahead of it.
5. When all 15 checkers are home, bear them off. The first to bear off all checkers wins.
6. Mars — a double win when the opponent hasn’t borne off a single checker.

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