Swiss Backgammon is a go-to guide for backgammon and traditional board games. Learn the rules, master the strategy and discover variants from all over the world.
Learn backgammon Play online for freeFounded by board game enthusiasts based in French-speaking Switzerland, Swiss Backgammon brings together everything you need to get started or improve at backgammon: the official rules, the strategies used by professional players, traditional variants from around the world and comparisons of online platforms. We also cover other great classics — draughts, go, dominoes, jacquet — that belong to the same gaming heritage.
To equip yourself with quality board games, we recommend Le Palais des Echecs, which offers a superb collection of backgammon sets, draughts and dominoes in solid wood (maple, walnut, mahogany, ebony…).
From the basic rules to advanced strategy, all our guides to help you improve
The complete official rules: moving checkers, hitting, entering from the bar, bearing off. Ideal for beginners.
How to set up the 15 checkers of each colour at the start of the game. With a detailed diagram.
Running game, back game, priming, anchoring, blitz: the five main strategies used by the pros.
When to double, when to take and when to pass. The 25% rule explained simply.
Dice odds, pip counting, race calculations: the mathematics of backgammon.
Jacquet, Trictrac, Narde, Tavla, Acey-Deucey, Plakoto… backgammon in all its forms.
Buying guides to help you find the backgammon set that suits you
Solid wood, leather, travel: how to choose according to your level, budget and use. A selection of solid-wood backgammon cases.
Read the guide →The best compact, lightweight sets for playing anywhere: folding and magnetic models compared.
Read the guide →The best online and high-street shops for buying backgammon, draughts, go and other wooden board games.
See the comparison →Backgammon belongs to a rich family of classic games
The complete rules of French and international draughts. A timeless classic for all ages.
Read the guide →Learn the game of go (weiqi): basic rules, capturing, territory, life and death. The deepest board game of all.
Read the guide →Rules of classic dominoes and its variants: Mexican Train, All Fives, the Block Game. A complete guide.
Read the guide →The world of wooden board games: mahjong, 3D noughts and crosses, mikado and many other gaming traditions.
Read the guide →Backgammon is one of the oldest board games known to humankind
With ancestors almost 5,000 years old, between Mesopotamia and Persia, backgammon has travelled through civilisations: Persia, ancient Rome, the Byzantine Empire, the Arab world, medieval Europe… Each culture has left its mark on it. Today, the number of players worldwide is estimated at more than 100 million.
The doubling cube is what sets backgammon apart from every other dice game. Learn when to use it to maximise your winnings and minimise your losses.
Trictrac was played at the court of Versailles; jacquet, which appeared around 1800, then took hold in family homes. Discover these little-known variants and their distinctive rules.
There are 36 possible combinations with two dice. Knowing which ones work for you and which work against you will transform your game.