Backgammon
The classic board game against the computer, calm and free.
PlayDon’t forget to save to your device. More info here
What to expect
No timer
Take as long as you like.
Nothing to lose
No score. You can even undo a loss.
Undo anytime
As many times as you like.
Hints anytime
Ask as often as you like.
About this game
Backgammon is a race. You and the computer each have 15 checkers, and you move yours around the board to your home corner and then off the board. The dice say how far you can move. A lone checker can be hit and sent back to the start, and two checkers together are safe. This version is made to be easy going: there is no timer, no doubling and no score to lose. You always see which checkers can move and where they can go. The checkers differ by color and by shape, so you never need color alone to tell them apart. The board is wide, so on a phone it is best held sideways.
How to play
Roll the dice.
Tap Roll the dice. Each die is a number of steps for one checker. If you roll a double, you play that number four times.
Tap a checker, then tap where it goes.
Tap one of your light checkers to pick it up. Every spot it can go to gets a dashed outline. Tap one to put it down, or tap the checker again to put it back. Two or more dark checkers on a spot block it.
Hit, and come back in.
Landing on a lone dark checker sends it back to the start. If one of yours is hit, it waits on the bar in the middle and has to come back in before anything else moves.
Bring them home and take them off.
Move all 15 of your checkers into your home corner, the bottom right. Then tap a checker and tap the box on the right that says Off. The first side to take off all 15 wins.
Hints and saving
Hints: Tap Hint any time, as often as you like. It outlines the checker to pick up and the spot to put it, and says why in plain words. Undo goes back as far as you like, even past the computer’s turn. You can ask the computer to play gently, fairly well or well.
Saving: Your game is saved on this device after every move, so it is just as you left it when you come back. New game asks first.