Bearing off in backgammon

When you can start

You can bear off only when all fifteen of your checkers are in your home board, your points 1 to 6. If even one checker is still outside, or on the bar, you have to bring it home first.

If one of your checkers is hit while you are bearing off, it goes to the bar and has to come all the way round the board again. You can't bear off any more until it is back in your home board, so a single hit late in the game can turn a sure win into a loss.

Using each die

A die bears off a checker from the matching point: a 4 takes a checker off your 4-point. You can also use the die to move a checker inside your home board instead, if you prefer.

If the point that matches the die is empty, you must move a checker from a higher point if you have one. Only when you have no checkers on any higher point can you use the die to bear off from your highest point. With a 6 and no checker on the 6-point, you bear off from your highest point instead.

You must still use the whole roll

The usual rules about using both dice still apply. If you can play both numbers, you must, whether that means bearing off or moving inside. Doubles let you bear off up to four checkers. On OneGammon the points you can move to, and the checkers you can bear off, are marked when you tap a checker.

Bearing off against contact

If your opponent still has checkers in your home board, or on the bar waiting to come in, every blot you leave can be hit. Clear your points from the back, starting with the highest, keep an even number of checkers on each point where you can, and avoid leaving a single checker within reach of their checkers.

Sometimes the safest play is not to bear off at all but to move checkers down inside your home board. Safety matters more than speed while there is still contact.

Bearing off in a race

Once the checkers have passed each other, nothing can be hit and the game is a pure race. Now speed is all that matters. Take a checker off with every die you can, and when you have to move inside, fill the gaps in your home board, so that later rolls don't land on empty points.

Piling many checkers onto the low points wastes pips: a 6 rolled when your highest checker is on the 2-point still removes only one checker.

Winning, and by how much

The first player to bear off all fifteen checkers wins. If the loser has borne off at least one checker, the win is a single game. If they haven't borne off any, it is a gammon and counts double. If they also still have a checker on the bar or in the winner's home board, it is a backgammon and counts triple.