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How to set up a backgammon board

Each player has 15 checkers. Put 2 on your 24-point, 5 on your 13-point, 3 on your 8-point and 5 on your 6-point. Your opponent does the same from their side, as a mirror image.

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The starting position, numbered for white (bottom). White moves along the arrow: from the 24-point to the 13-point, round to the 12-point, then home to points 1 to 6 on the bottom right.

Set up in four steps

  1. Pick your home board. Your home board is the quarter where you finish. In the diagram it is bottom right, points 1 to 6. Your opponent's home board is directly opposite, top right.
  2. 2 checkers on your 24-point: the far corner, deep in your opponent's home board. These are your back checkers.
  3. 5 checkers on your 13-point: the far end of the other side, often called the mid-point.
  4. 3 on your 8-point and 5 on your 6-point: the two points either side of the bar, on your side.

That is 2 + 5 + 3 + 5 = 15 checkers. Your opponent places theirs on the same numbers counted from their own side, so their 24-point is your 1-point.

Which way do the checkers move?

You always move towards your own home board, from high numbers to low: 24, 23, 22 … down to 1, then off the board. Your opponent moves the opposite way round. When all 15 of your checkers are in your home board, you start taking them off (bearing off). The first player to take all 15 off wins.

The home board can be on the right or the left. Players agree on it before the game (Turkish tournament rules also leave it to agreement). Both versions are the same game, just mirrored:

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Mirrored: the home board is bottom left and white moves clockwise. Same checkers, same game. In the app you can pick either direction in Settings.

Count check: 167 pips

A quick way to check the setup: add up how far every checker must travel. 2×24 + 5×13 + 3×8 + 5×6 = 48 + 65 + 24 + 30 = 167. Both players start on 167 pips. If your count is different, a checker is on the wrong point.

Common setup mistakes

  • Home boards on opposite sides. The two home boards face each other on the same side of the board (both right, or both left).
  • The five on the wrong point. Some guides draw the mid-point five on the 15-point. It belongs on the 13-point, the last point on the far side.
  • Swapping the 3 and the 5. The 3 checkers go on the 8-point in your outer board; the 5 go on the 6-point inside your home board.
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Wrong: white's five checkers are on the 15-point. Move them two points left, to the 13-point.

Questions people ask

How many checkers does each player have?

15 each, 30 in total: 2 on the 24-point, 5 on the 13-point, 3 on the 8-point and 5 on the 6-point.

Does it matter if the home board is on the left or the right?

No. It is the same game mirrored. Agree on it before you start.

Is the Turkish tavla setup different?

No. Tavla uses exactly the same starting position. The differences are in the opening roll and the scoring: see Tavla: Turkish rules.

By TavlArena. Updated: