Bearing off in backgammon

Once all 15 of your checkers are in your home board, you start taking them off the board. The first player to take off all 15 wins.

Illustration: a hand lifting a white checker off a tavla board, with borne-off checkers in the tray.

The rules

All 15 must be home (points 1–6) before you take any off. A checker that comes home earlier in the same turn counts.
A die takes off a checker from its own point: a 4 from the 4-point.
If that point is empty, you must move a checker from a higher point if you have one.
If there is no checker on a higher point, the die takes off your highest checker.
You may move inside your home board instead of bearing off, as long as you use your dice by the usual rules.

A higher number takes the highest checker

6-4 with checkers on the 5 and 3. Nothing is on the 6-point, so the 6 takes off the checker on the 5; the 4 then takes off the one on the 3. Moving 5/1 and bearing off the 3 is also legal, but worse.

A checker on a higher point blocks it

5-4 with checkers on the 6 and 2. You can't bear off the 2 with the 4 first, because a checker still sits on the 6. Play 6/2 with the 4, then bear off from the 2 with the 5 (or play 6/1 and bear off the 2).

Moving instead of bearing off

6-3: the 6 takes off from the 5. The 3 can take off from the 3-point, or move 4/1, or 5/2. All three are legal. Some Turkish house rules require bearing off whenever possible; standard rules don't.

Hit during the bear-off

White has 10 off but a checker on the bar. It must enter first and come all the way home before anything else is borne off. With 6-5 here: bar/14, or bar/19 and 6/1. Nothing comes off this turn.

Habits that save rolls

Take a checker off with every number if you can. In a race, every checker off is a roll saved.
Fill the gaps. Spread checkers over several points so more numbers bear off. Fifteen checkers piled on the 6-point need about 12.3 rolls on average; spread out, far fewer.
Safety first while there is contact. If your opponent still has a checker in your home board or on the bar, avoid leaving a blot, even if it costs a checker.
Doubles are worth four checkers. A single checker on the 6-point comes off in one roll 27 times in 36: it fails only with 1-1, 2-1, 3-1, 4-1 and 3-2.

Expected rolls: a few numbers

Average rolls to bear off with no opponent in the way (best play)
Position	Rolls
One checker on the 1-point	1.00
One checker on the 6-point	1.25
Two checkers on the 6-point	2.11
15 checkers on the 1-point	6.98
15 checkers on the 6-point	12.27

Questions people ask

Do you need an exact roll to bear off?

No. If no checker is on a higher point, a larger number takes off your highest checker.

Do you have to bear off if you can?

Not under standard rules: you may move inside your home board instead. Some Turkish house rules make bearing off compulsory.

What if I get hit while bearing off?

Your checker goes to the bar. It must enter and come back home before you bear off again.

By TavlArena. Updated: 25 October 2026