Bearing Off in a Backgammon Game

Once you've moved all your checkers to your home area on the backgammon board, you're ready to bear off. This is the name given to the removal of all your checkers from the board. It is the last stage in a backgammon game and the speed in which you do it will determine whether or not you are the winner. The way in which players bear off their checkers is to roll the dice and move the total number of spaces displayed by the pip count.

If you roll the dice and are unable to move any checkers the amount of spaces shown on the dice, you forfeit your turn. As you can imagine, bearing off in a backgammon game is like a race and can be neck and neck until the final roll of the dice.

Because each player wants to be the first to bear off, a range of backgammon strategies have developed to support this goal. Players may adopt a running strategy, which involves moving their checkers as fast as possible around the backgammon board while avoiding hits. Or they may try a back game strategy where the erection of anchors at strategic points on the board aims to slow down their opponent. It is generally recommended that a combination of both defense and attack are necessary in order to play a solid backgammon game.