Daily backgammon puzzle
One position a day to keep your eye sharp. Some ask for the best checker play, others for the right cube decision. Work out your answer first, then reveal the reasoning — over time these are how a feel for the game becomes instinct.
How it works
Each puzzle shows a position or a money-game scenario. For a checker puzzle, work out the play that does most for your position; for a cube puzzle, decide whether to double, and whether a double should be taken or passed. Then reveal the answer and the reasoning behind it. If a term is unfamiliar, the glossary has it, and the strategy guides and calculators explain the ideas in depth.
Work through every puzzle
Opening roll — White to play an opening 3-1. What is the best move?
8/5, 6/5 — make your 5-point.
Making the 5-point, the 'golden point', is the single strongest opening in the game. It starts your home board and helps block the opponent's back checkers. This is why 3-1 is regarded as the best of all opening rolls.
Source: Opening-roll consensus, bkgm.com.
Opening roll — White to play an opening 4-2. What is the best move?
8/4, 6/4 — make your 4-point.
4-2 makes a home-board point cleanly, with no checker left exposed. Building points in your home board early is almost always better than a loose, slotting play, which is why making the 4-point is the standard best 4-2.
Source: Opening-roll consensus, bkgm.com.
Opening roll — White to play an opening 6-1. What is the best move?
13/7, 8/7 — make the bar point.
6-1 makes the bar point (the 7-point) at once, extending a blockade directly in front of the opponent's back checkers. It is an undisputed best play and one of the strongest opening rolls.
Source: Opening-roll consensus, bkgm.com.
Opening roll — White to play an opening 5-3. What is the best move?
8/3, 6/3 — make the 3-point.
Modern rollouts favour making the 3-point with an opening 5-3. It is a safe, constructive play that builds the home board, ahead of the older split or builder alternatives.
Source: Opening-roll consensus, bkgm.com.
Opening roll — White to play an opening 6-5. What is the best move?
24/13 — the 'lover's leap'.
6-5 runs a back checker all the way from the 24-point to the safety of the midpoint in one go. Escaping a back checker cleanly is so valuable that this play, the lover's leap, is the clear best move.
Source: Opening-roll consensus, bkgm.com.
Cube decision — Money game, last roll of the game. You will win with about 30% of your numbers and there are no gammons. Your opponent doubles. Take or pass?
Take.
On a last-roll, dead-cube position the take point is 25%: you risk one point to gain three, so any winning chance above a quarter is a take. With about 30% you are comfortably above the line.
Source: Janowski, Take-Points in Money Games.
Cube decision — Money game. You are about 92% to win and a large share of your wins would be gammons. Should you turn the cube and double?
No — you are too good to double. Play on for the gammon.
Doubling lets the opponent drop for a single point. When your position is worth more than one point per game — which heavy gammon chances at 92% give you — cashing throws away that extra value. Play on and try to win the gammon.
Source: Bell, The Doubling Cube; Janowski.
Cube decision — Money game, a long race. You lead and have roughly 80% winning chances with no gammons, but your opponent holds an anchor so the position could still swing. Should you double?
Yes — double.
At about 80% you are deep in the doubling window: a strong favourite, but with real volatility, since a swing could cost you your market (the chance to double at all). Your opponent, with around 20%, still has a bare take, so this is an efficient double — turn the cube.
Source: Janowski, Take-Points in Money Games.
Common questions
Is there a new puzzle every day?
Yes. The puzzle changes each day, rotating through a curated set of positions. You can also work through the whole set on this page at any time, in the list below.
Where do the puzzles come from?
They are curated from well-established backgammon theory — the consensus best plays for the opening rolls and classic money-game cube decisions — with the reasoning drawn from standard references such as Backgammon Galore. Each answer cites its source.
Do I need to sign up to do the puzzle?
No. There is no account and nothing to install. Read the position, decide on your move or your cube action, then reveal the answer to check your reasoning.