Backgammon Glossary

A

Anchor: A point occupied by two or more checkers in the opponent's home board.; See also:
Back Game , Home Board
Automatic Double: When both players roll the same number on their first roll, the stakes are automatically doubled.; See also:
Double , Doubling Cube
Ace Point: The 1-point in each player's home board.; See also:
Point , Home Board
Acey-Deucey: A variant of backgammon where rolling 1-2 gives special privileges.; See also:
Roll , Dice

Back Game: A strategy where a player maintains two or more anchors in the opponent's home board.; See also:
Anchor , Home Board
Bar: The raised divider in the middle of the board where hit checkers are placed.; See also:
Hit , Bar Point
Bar Point: The 7-point in each player's home board, adjacent to the bar.; See also:
Bar , Point
Bear In: To move checkers into your home board from the outer board.; See also:
Bear Off , Home Board , Outer Board
Bear Off: To remove checkers from your home board when all checkers are there.; See also:
Bear In , Home Board , Pip Count
Blot: A single checker on a point, vulnerable to being hit.; See also:
Hit , Direct Shot , Safe Play
Blitz: An aggressive strategy of hitting multiple blots to gain an advantage.; See also:
Blot , Hit
Builder: A checker placed to potentially make a point on the next roll.; See also:
Point , Slot

Checker: The playing pieces used in backgammon.; See also:
Point , Blot
Closed Board: A home board where all points are blocked by two or more checkers.; See also:
Home Board , Prime
Cube: The doubling cube used to increase the stakes of the game.; See also:
Double , Doubling Cube
Contact: A position where checkers from both players are in contact with each other.; See also:
Race , Split
Crossover: Moving a checker from one quadrant to another.; See also:
Outer Board , Home Board

Double: To offer to double the stakes of the game using the doubling cube.; See also:
Doubling Cube , Take , Pass , Redouble
Doubling Cube: A die marked with the numbers 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, and 64 used to increase the stakes.; See also:
Double , Cube
Dice: The two dice used to determine checker movement.; See also:
Roll , Throw
Direct Shot: A blot that can be hit with a single roll of the dice.; See also:
Blot , Hit

Gammon: A game won when the opponent hasn't borne off any checkers.; See also:
Bear Off , Gammon Save
Golden Point: The 5-point in each player's home board.; See also:
Point , Home Board
Gammon Save: A play that prevents losing a gammon.; See also:
Gammon , Safe Play

Hit: To land on a single opposing checker, sending it to the bar.; See also:
Bar , Blot , Direct Shot
Home Board: The quadrant of the board where a player bears off their checkers.; See also:
Bear Off , Outer Board , Closed Board
Heavy Point: A point with more than two checkers on it.; See also:
Point , Builder

Open Point: A point that can be landed on by either player.; See also:
Point , Closed Board
Outer Board: The quadrant of the board between the bar and the opponent's home board.; See also:
Home Board , Outfield
Outfield: The outer board and opponent's outer board combined.; See also:
Outer Board , Home Board

Point: A triangle on the board where checkers can be placed.; See also:
Checker , Closed Board , Open Point
Prime: A sequence of six or more consecutive blocked points.; See also:
Closed Board , Squeeze
Pip Count: The total number of pips (spaces) a player needs to move to bear off.; See also:
Bear Off , Race
Pass: To decline a double, ending the game and paying the current stakes.; See also:
Double , Take

Redouble: To double the stakes after the opponent has already doubled.; See also:
Double , Take
Roll: The numbers shown on the dice when thrown.; See also:
Dice , Throw
Race: A position where both players are trying to bear off, with no contact.; See also:
Contact , Pip Count , Bear Off

Split: To move two checkers from the same point to different points.; See also:
Contact , Safe Play
Slot: To place a single checker on a point, leaving it vulnerable to being hit.; See also:
Blot , Builder
Safe Play: A move that does not leave any blots.; See also:
Blot , Gammon Save
Squeeze: To force an opponent to move from a point by blocking their other moves.; See also:
Prime , Contact

Take: To accept a double, continuing the game with doubled stakes.; See also:
Double , Pass , Redouble
Throw: To roll the dice.; See also:
Roll , Dice
Too Good: A position so strong that doubling would be a mistake.; See also:
Double , Take