Puzzles

Backgammon puzzles

One position, one roll, best move. A new puzzle every Monday, with the answer explained.

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This week’s puzzle

You cannot get both checkers off with 4-3. How do you play it to give yourself the best chance of finishing next turn?

Puzzle 1. Light, the reader, has two checkers left: one on the 6-point and one on the 5-point, thirteen already off. Dark has three checkers left, all on dark's own 1-point (the reader's 24-point), twelve off. Light to play 4-3.1234567891011121314151617181920212223241312
You are light, bearing off at the bottom right. Your opponent has three checkers left on their ace point. Your roll: 4-3.
Solve Puzzle 1

All puzzles

The series opened on Sunday 11 October 2026 with puzzles 1 to 4, published together as a launch set. From then on, one new puzzle every Monday.

  1. Puzzle 1: 4-3 with your last two checkers11 October 2026Two checkers left on your 6 and 5 points and a roll of 4-3. Which play gives you the best chance next turn? The answer, explained, with exact odds.
  2. Puzzle 2: 6-1 with one checker still outsideLaunch setOne checker still on your 8 point, three on the 1 and one on the 3, and a roll of 6-1. Find the play that wins two games in three, with exact odds.
  3. Puzzle 3: 3-2 with two checkers on the 6-pointLaunch setTwo checkers on your 6 point, two on the 1 and a roll of 3-2 in a bear-off race. Which way do you move? Answer, explanation and exact winning chances.
  4. Puzzle 4: 5-2, take a checker off or not?Launch setYour 6, 4, 4 and 3 points against an opponent with four checkers left, and a roll of 5-2. Do you take a checker off? The answer, with exact odds.

How do the puzzles work?

Every puzzle is drawn from your side of the board: your checkers are the light ones, your home board is at the bottom right, and you move from the 24 point down to the 1 point and off. The page gives the roll and the facts that matter, such as the pip counts and whether the cube is in play, then asks one question. The answer sits behind a button so you can think first.

How are the answers checked?

We publish an answer only when it has been checked, and each page says how. The first four are bear-off races with no contact left, where the game can be solved exactly: we enumerate every sequence of rolls to the end of the game, so the winning chances on those pages are exact figures, computed twice with two programs written independently. Positions with contact will be checked with GNU Backgammon, and the page will cite the analysis.

New to the game? Start with how to play backgammon, then the bearing off rules, which most of these puzzles turn on. Every other guide is on the Learn page.