Before you begin to play backgammon online or in real life, it’s a good idea to learn the terminology used by serious backgammon players. The terms are presented here not in alphabetical order, as you might expect, but rather starting from the most easily understandable terms, and moving on towards more complex terms.

The Backgammon Board
The board or table is the arena of play.

Point
One of the 24 triangles on the board / the score for winning one game

Inner Board
The section of the board from which the checkers are removed from the game is called the inner or home board.

Checker
Backgammon pieces are called checkers.

The Bar
The bar is the part of the board that separates the two halves of the board, left and right. The bar, also called the rail is where checkers go when they are hit.

Blot
When a single checker is on a point, vulnerable to being hit, it is called a blot.

Hit
To hit is to knock off your opponent’s blot by landing on it.

Entering
Coming into the opponent's home board from the bar.

Bear Off
To bear off is to remove a checker from the board.

Bear In
To bear in is to move checkers to the inner board (home).

Doubles
When the dice both show the same number, it is called doubles.

Make a Point
To make a point is to put two checkers on a point, giving you control over the point.

Control a Point
To control a point is to have at least two checkers on a point so your opponent can not land on it.

Split
To split is to separate two checkers that were on one point.

Outer Board
Not the inner board; the quadrant (quarter) of the board where checkers move before they reach the inner board

Pip
The number on the die / the number of spaces the checker moves.

Anchor
An anchor is point you occupy in your opponent’s inner board.

Backgammon
A situation when you bear off all your checkers before your opponent has started to bear off, and he has at least one checker in your inner board.

Chouette
When more than two people play a game of backgammon, there is a special variation called a choutte, in which a single player plays against a team.

The Captain
The captain is the team leader in a chouette; it the team wins, the captain becomes the box (or the man in the box) in the next game.

The Box
The player who plays opposite the team in a choutte is said to be in the box.

The Cube
The cube, also called the doubling cube, is a cube with one of the following numbers on each of its six sides: 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64. The cube is used for one player to offer the other to double the stakes of the game.

Holding Game
A game played using a defensive strategy is called a holding game.

To Slot
To slot is to leave an unprotected checker on a point.

To Own the Cube
The last player to accept the offer of doubling the stakes owns the cube.

To Take
To take is to accept an offer to double the stakes and get possession of the doubling cube.

To Pass
To pass is to turn down the offer to double the stakes and forfeit the game.

A Builder
A builder is one checker on a space which may be used to make a point

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Still need to learn more? Head for our guide to Opening Moves.