By Valentin Updated rules variants
In acey-deucey all thirty checkers start off the board and enter through the opponent's home board, so the opening is a race to bring them in. Rolling 1 and 2, the acey-deucey itself, lets you play the 1 and the 2, then any double you choose, and then roll again.
Orion plays the international rules, with the standard starting position and the doubling cube, and acey-deucey is not a mode in the app. This page is for the many players who learned the game on a ship, in a barracks or at a family table and want them written down.
The other regional games are compared side by side in our tour of backgammon variants.
Every Orion guide to the standard game is listed on the Learn page.
Where does acey-deucey come from?
Its roots are usually traced to the eastern Mediterranean, where several old forms of the game also began with the checkers off the board. Its reputation is American: acey-deucey has been a favourite of the United States Navy, the Marine Corps and the Merchant Marine since the First World War, and much of its spread happened aboard ships rather than in clubs. The name is old gaming slang: ace for a one, deuce for a two.
How does an acey-deucey game start?
The board starts empty. Each player rolls one die, the higher number goes first, and that player rolls both dice for the opening turn. Every checker enters the way a hit checker re-enters in backgammon: a 6 brings one in on the opponent's 6 point, a 3 on the opponent's 3 point, and so on, through the opponent's home board.
You do not have to bring everything in before moving. Once a checker is on the board it can move on later rolls while others are still waiting to enter, and every turn is a choice between entering, advancing, or doing a little of each.
What happens when you roll acey-deucey (1-2)?
- First, play the 1 and the 2 as normal moves or entries.
- Then name any double, from 1-1 to 6-6, and play it in full: four moves of that number.
- Then roll again and play that roll as a normal turn. If it is another 1-2, the whole sequence repeats.
There is a catch. If you cannot play both the 1 and the 2, the turn ends there, with no double and no extra roll. If you can play the 1-2 but only part of the double you name, you play what you can and lose the extra roll. Some tables roll a die to pick the double instead of letting the player choose, and some give an extra turn after every double as well; settle both before the first roll.
Is there hitting in acey-deucey?
Yes, exactly as in the standard game. A lone checker is a blot, landing on it sends it to the bar, and a checker on the bar must re-enter through the opponent's home board before its owner moves anything else. Because both armies are entering through each other's home boards at the start, the opening is full of contact and hits come early.
How do you bear off and score in acey-deucey?
Bearing off begins when all fifteen checkers are in your home board and follows the usual rules: a die removes a checker from the matching point, and a higher number can only be used that way when no checker sits higher. Some tables ask for exact rolls and stricter movement inside the home board, so check the house version.
Scoring is where tables differ most. A common American method has the loser pay one point for every checker still on the board or not yet entered, with no gammons and no doubling cube. Other groups simply count games won. Either way, the first player to bear off all fifteen wins the game.
What strategy works in acey-deucey?
- Build blocks early. With both sides entering through the same home boards, a few made points in front of the opponent's entry area slow every checker they still have to bring in.
- Use the named double for structure, not just distance. The free double after a 1-2 is often best spent making two points at once.
- Primes are powerful, because the opponent's checkers arrive a few at a time and can be held back long before the race begins.
- Expect swings. A single 1-2 can feel like three turns in one, so a big lead is less safe than it looks.
Can I play acey-deucey in Orion?
No. Orion plays one game, standard international backgammon, with the usual starting position, hitting, gammons and the doubling cube. Acey-deucey is explained here as part of the family, not as a mode in the app.
Practise the standard game in a real match: Orion is free on iPhone and Android, and every roll can be checked at orion.arthea.ai/verify.