Backgammon Quiz

45 questions in eight categories — ten a round, answers explained

Last updated 13 August 2026

How well do you actually know the game? Ten questions a round, drawn at random from a pool of 45 across eight categories, so a second attempt is a different paper. Every answer comes with the reasoning and a link to the guide it is based on. Nothing is recorded, nothing needs an account — go and play when you are done.

Every question, with the answer

The full pool, for reading rather than guessing — and so the quiz is of use with JavaScript switched off.

Basics

How many checkers does each player have?: 15 — Thirty checkers on the board in total, fifteen a side. Read more
In the standard setup, how many checkers start on your 13-point?: Five — The 13-point (the midpoint) holds five — the biggest stack of the opening position: 2 on the 24, 5 on the 13, 3 on the 8 and 5 on the 6. Read more
What is the pip count at the start of a standard game?: 167 — Both players start level at 167 pips. (Nackgammon starts at 194, Hypergammon at 69.) Read more

Terms

What is a blot?: A point with exactly one checker — A lone checker on a point. It can be hit and sent to the bar. Read more
What is an anchor?: A point you own inside your opponent's home board — A made point in the opponent's home board. It keeps your back checkers safe and gives you a base to work from. Read more
You bear off all fifteen checkers before your opponent bears off a single one. What is that called?: A gammon — It counts double. If they also still have a checker on the bar or in your home board, it is a backgammon and counts triple. Read more
What is a blot?: A single checker alone on a point — One checker alone on a point can be hit and sent to the bar. Two or more make the point safe. Read more
What is an anchor?: Two or more of your checkers on a point in your opponent's home board — A safe landing place deep in enemy territory. It cannot be attacked, and it gives you somewhere to re-enter after being hit. Read more
Which point is known as the golden point?: The 5-point — Your 5-point: a home-board point, the middle of any prime, and the point an escaping back checker most wants. Read more
Which point is the bar point?: The 7-point — The 7-point, right beside the bar. With the 6- and 5-points it forms the core of a blockade. Read more
What is a prime?: A row of consecutive points you hold — Consecutive made points form a wall. Six in a row cannot be jumped by any roll. Read more

Rules

One of your checkers is on the bar. May you move a different checker first?: No — the checker on the bar must enter first — While you have a checker on the bar, nothing else may move. If it cannot enter, you forfeit the turn. Read more
You roll 4-4. How do you play it?: Four moves of four — Doubles are played four times — 4-4 gives you four moves of four. Read more
You can only play one of your two numbers, and either one would be legal on its own. Which must you play?: The higher one — You must use as much of the roll as possible, and when only one number fits, the higher one is compulsory. Read more
When may you start bearing off?: Once all fifteen of your checkers are in your home board — All fifteen must be home first. If one gets hit later, you must bring it all the way back before bearing off again. Read more
Your opponent has two checkers on a point. Can you land there?: No — two or more enemy checkers block the point — A point held by two or more opposing checkers is blocked. A single one is a blot and can be hit. Read more
You can play either die but not both. Which must you play?: The higher number — If only one number can be played and either would be legal alone, the rules require the higher one. Read more
You have a checker on the bar. What may you do?: Nothing until the checker re-enters — A checker on the bar must come in before that player may move anything else. Read more
You roll 4-4. How many moves do you get?: Four of 4 — Doubles are played four times — that is why they are worth so much more than the pips suggest. Read more
Neither die can be played legally. What happens?: You lose the turn — The turn simply passes. It is the one case in backgammon where you do nothing. Read more
What makes a win a backgammon (triple game)?: The loser has borne off none, and still has a checker on the bar or in your home board — A gammon is bearing off all fifteen before the opponent bears off any. It becomes a backgammon if they also still have a checker on the bar or in your home board. Read more

Openings

Which opening roll is generally considered the best?: 3-1 — 3-1 makes the 5-point (8/5, 6/5) straight away — the most valuable point on the board. Read more
What is the standard play with an opening 6-1?: 13/7, 8/7 — make the bar point — 6-1 makes the bar point (your 7-point), the second most valuable point after the 5-point. Read more
Which roll produces the “lover's leap”?: 6-5 (24/13) — With 6-5 a back checker runs all the way from the 24-point to the safety of your own 13-point. Read more
Can your very first move of a game be doubles?: No — the opening is decided by one die each, and ties are re-rolled — Each player casts a single die and the higher one starts, playing both dice. A tie is re-rolled, so the opening is always two different numbers — which is why there are fifteen opening rolls, not twenty-one. Read more
What is the standard play for an opening 3-1?: 8/5 6/5 — It makes the 5-point immediately — the strongest thing that can happen on the first move. Read more
Can the opening roll be a double?: No — a tie is re-rolled — Each player casts one die and ties are re-rolled, so the opening is always two different numbers. That is why there are fifteen openings, not twenty-one. Read more
What does slotting mean?: Leaving a lone checker on a valuable point, hoping to cover it — Usually the 5-point: a deliberate risk, betting you can cover it before it is hit. Read more

Variants

How many checkers does each player have in Hypergammon?: Three — Three, starting on the 24-, 23- and 22-points. Every other rule is unchanged. Read more
How does Nackgammon differ from backgammon?: Each side starts with four back checkers instead of two — One checker from the 6-point and one from the 13-point start on the 23-point instead, so each player has four checkers to bring home from the far corner. Read more
How many checkers does each side have in Hypergammon?: Three — Three, on the 24-, 23- and 22-points — a 69-pip sprint where most wins are gammons. Read more
Where do the checkers start in acey-deucey?: All fifteen off the board — The board starts empty and both players enter their fifteen checkers from off the board, as if from the bar. Read more
In acey-deucey, what does rolling 1-2 give you?: Any double you choose, plus another roll — Play the 1 and the 2, then pick any double and play it, then roll again. It is the move the variant is named after. Read more
What is the starting pip count in Nackgammon?: 194 — 194 — two checkers start on the 23-point instead of nearer home, which is 27 pips further to travel. Read more

Pip count

What is each player's pip count at the start of a game?: 167 — 2x24 + 5x13 + 3x8 + 5x6 = 48 + 65 + 24 + 30 = 167, and both sides are mirror images. Read more
How many pips does a checker on the bar count?: 25 — One more than the 24-point: it must re-enter in the opponent's home board before it can start the journey. It is the pip most often forgotten. Read more
How many pips does an average roll move you?: 8.167 — Across all 36 combinations the total is 294 pips, because the six doubles are played four times each. 294 / 36 = 8.167. Read more
In a race, is a higher or a lower pip count better?: Lower — The count measures the distance still to travel, so the lower count is nearer home. Read more

Odds

A blot sits six points away. How many of the 36 rolls hit it?: 17 — Seventeen — the most of any distance. Six is the largest number a single die can carry, and it can also be made from combinations. Read more
How many of the 36 rolls escape from behind a full six-point prime?: 0 — None. No single die is larger than six, so a wall of six consecutive points cannot be jumped at all. Read more
Your opponent has made all six home-board points and you are on the bar. How many rolls re-enter?: 0 — A closed board means no entry at all — you forfeit every turn until a point opens. Read more

Doubling cube

Roughly what winning chance do you need to accept a double?: 25% — Dropping costs one point for certain; taking risks two to gain two, which breaks even at one win in four. Read more
After you accept a double, who may offer the next one?: Only you — Taking a double also takes ownership of the cube, so only you may turn it next. Read more
When may you double?: On your turn, before you roll — Only on your own turn and only before rolling — which is why the decision has to be made without knowing your numbers. Read more
What happens in the Crawford game?: No doubling is allowed — The first game after either player reaches one point short of victory is played without the cube. It applies once per match. Read more

What the eight categories cover

The pool is weighted towards the things that actually decide games rather than trivia. If a category keeps catching you out, the guide behind it is linked from every answer.

Category	Questions	What it tests
Rules	10	The situations beginners get wrong: the higher number when only one can be played, the bar before anything else, doubles played four times.
Terms	8	Blot, anchor, prime, the golden point, the bar point — the vocabulary every guide assumes you already have.
Openings	7	The standard first plays and why the opening is never a double.
Variants	6	Nackgammon, Hypergammon and acey-deucey: what changes and what does not.
Pip count	4	The 167 start, what the bar is worth, and the 8.167-pip average roll.
Doubling cube	4	The 25% take point, who owns the cube, and the Crawford rule.
Odds	3	Shot counts out of 36 — including the two that are exactly zero.
Basics	3	Checkers, the starting stacks, the object of the game.

How the quiz works

Ten questions, drawn at random. With 45 in the pool you can play four rounds before repetition sets in.
Answered immediately. The reasoning appears the moment you choose, while the question is still in your head — and the correct answer is always marked, whether you got it or not.
One shot per question. Clicking again changes nothing, so the score means something.
Nothing is stored. No account, no score history, no cookie for the quiz. Close the tab and it is gone.
It works without JavaScript too — every question and answer is written out below, which is also the fastest way to revise before playing.

Where the answers come from

Every question here is settled by the rules, the starting position or established opening theory — nothing that strong players would argue about. The guides behind them: how to play, the board setup, the complete rules, the opening moves, strategy, and the variants Nackgammon and Hypergammon.

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