When can you bear off in backgammon?
Only when all fifteen checkers are in your home board. Bear off with an exact roll, or a higher one from your farthest-back point if nothing is behind it.
Bearing off means taking a checker off the board for good. The first player to bear off all fifteen wins, so this is the finish line of the race.
Before you can start
Every one of your fifteen checkers must be in your home board, points 1 to 6 for Ivory and 19 to 24 for Ebony. A checker still outside, or on the bar, stops all bearing off.
Which rolls bear a checker off
- An exact number. A 4 takes a checker off your 4-point (for Ivory, point 4).
- A bigger number. If you have no checker on the point matching the die and none on any higher point, the die takes off your farthest-back checker.
- A smaller number. It can’t bear off; move a checker inside the board instead.
Example: Ivory has checkers on 6 and 2 and rolls a 4. The checker on 2 can’t come off, because one still sits further back on 6, so the 4 has to move 6 to 2. If only the checker on 2 remained, the same 4 would bear it off.
A checker that is hit while you bear off goes to the bar and stops the process until it is back home; see how to enter from the bar.
Play Backgammon free →Invite a friend or practice with the computer. No sign-up.