Count points from your own exit
Bearing off means removing your checkers from the board. You win when all fifteen are off. Here, point 1 is the point nearest your own exit, point 6 is the farthest point in your home board, and point 7 is just outside it. Your checkers move toward lower numbers. These are relative numbers for the examples, not a promise that the screen prints the same labels for both players.
Choose short backgammon for this guide. Unless an example says otherwise, all your remaining checkers are on the listed points and the rest have already been borne off. Assume the destination points used in the examples are not occupied by opposing checkers. The examples describe legal decisions in a position; they do not predict your opponent's next roll.
Bring every remaining checker home first
Before any removal, every checker you still have in play must be on points 1–6, and none may be on the bar. Having fourteen checkers home is not enough if the fifteenth is still outside. A hit checker must re-enter and travel all the way home before you can bear off again; checkers already removed stay off.
You can reach this condition during a turn. Suppose thirteen checkers are already off and your last two are on points 7 and 3. With a roll of 1–3, move 7 → 6 using the 1. Both checkers are now home, so the remaining 3 can bear off the checker on point 3. You do not have to wait for another turn.
Separate exact rolls from oversized rolls
An exact die removes a checker from the matching point: a 3 can remove one from point 3 even while another remains on point 5. You do not have to empty the farthest point first when the value is exact. A die smaller than the checker's distance cannot remove it; a 2 moves a checker from point 3 to point 1 instead.
A die larger than the distance can remove a checker only from your farthest occupied point. With checkers on points 5 and 3, a 6 can remove one from point 5, but not from point 3. The checker farther from the exit prevents that smaller-point removal. After every move, check which point is now farthest.
The table treats each row as a separate position with just one die left, so there is no second die to change the choice. In every row you have one checker on point 5, one on point 3 and thirteen already off.
| Die left | Proposed move | Is it legal? |
|---|---|---|
| 3 | Point 3 → off | Yes: an exact value |
| 6 | Point 3 → off | No: point 5 is still occupied |
| 6 | Point 5 → off | Yes: your farthest checker |
| 2 | Point 3 → point 1 | Yes: a move within home |
Compare both orders of a 6–4 roll
Now keep the same two checkers on points 5 and 3, with thirteen off, but give yourself a full roll of 6–4. Use the 6 first to remove the checker on point 5. Point 3 becomes your farthest occupied point. The remaining 4 is now allowed to remove that checker, and all fifteen are off: you win.
Reversing the dice changes the position. You cannot use the 4 to remove the checker on point 3 while point 5 is occupied. Instead, use the 4 to move 5 → 1, then use the 6 to remove the checker on point 3. Both dice have been used legally, but one checker is still on point 1. This sequence does not finish the game.
The lesson is specific: for this position, the 6-first sequence removes both checkers. It is not a rule that the larger die must always go first. Compare the positions left by each legal first move before choosing an order.
| Dice order | Two separate moves | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 6, then 4 | 5 → off; 3 → off | Both removed; game won |
| 4, then 6 | 5 → 1; 3 → off | One checker remains on point 1 |
Use the whole roll, even near the finish
Happy Games requires the greatest number of playable dice values. A move can therefore be unavailable even when its distance looks right. With only one checker left on point 6 and a roll of 6–1, removing it immediately with the 6 would use only one die. The legal sequence is 6 → 5 using the 1, then off using the 6. This uses both dice and removes the last checker.
If only one of two different values can be used, the higher playable value takes priority. With your last checker on point 1 and a roll of 1–6, either value would remove it in isolation, but you cannot use both. Happy Games permits the removal with the 6. These two examples explain why “always bear off with the exact die” is not a complete rule.
You are not otherwise obliged to remove a checker whenever a removal is available. A move within your home board can be legal if the complete sequence meets the dice-use rules, as the 4-first sequence above does. Legal and best for the position are different questions.
Play doubles as four separate values
A double gives four moves of the same value, as far as they can be played legally. With eleven checkers already off and four on point 3, a roll of 3–3 lets you bear off one checker with each of the four threes. After the fourth removal, all fifteen are off.
Do not treat the double as one move of twelve or as permission to remove four checkers from arbitrary points. Check each removal against the board left by the preceding move. A double may involve moves inside the home board as well as removals.
Check three things before bearing off
First, look for a checker outside home or on the bar. Second, distinguish an exact value from an oversized one and locate your farthest occupied point. Third, compare complete dice sequences, including whether an internal move makes the next removal possible. This short check explains both legal refusals and avoidable wasted turns.
The guided demo below shows a short backgammon opening with a fixed 3–1 roll, not the endgame positions above. Use it to practise treating the dice as separate moves. For a full game, open Happy Games in Telegram, choose Backgammon and select the short variant. The linked beginner guide explains hits and re-entry; the variant guide compares short and long backgammon.