The board is set. The pieces are ready. Now you need to figure out who gets to start dominating the board.
Roll one die each. High number wins. That player uses both dice values to move. Tie? Roll again. Keep going until someone wins the toss.
If you’re playing with people who actually care about this game, you don’t just toss the dice. You use a shaker. Place both dice inside. Shake it up. Drop them on the right-hand side of the board. Left-handed? Doesn’t matter. Same rule applies.
If a die lands off the right side? Re-roll. If it hits a checker? Re-roll. If it leans? Re-roll. If it gets stuck in the plastic? You guessed it. Re-roll.
Getting a clean roll is only half the battle. Now you have to move.
The numbers on the dice tell you how many points, or pips, your checkers can travel. They always move from higher-numbered points down to lower-numbered points. Here is how that actually works in practice.
Moving Checkers to Open Points
You can only move a checker to an open point. What does that mean?
- Empty point? Go ahead.
- Point with only your checkers? Stack them up. You can pile as many as you want.
- Point with one opposing checker? You can land there. This is called a “hit.”
- Point with two or more opposing checkers? Blocked. You can’t move there.
Playing Your Dice Rolls
The dice show separate moves. If you roll a 4 and a 2, you have options.
Move one checker 4 spaces. Move another 2 spaces. Or, move a single checker 6 spaces forward. You can do the 6-space move only if the intermediate points (2 spots away and 4 spots away) are open.
Doubles are a different beast. Roll a double? You get four moves of that number. Roll double 3s? You get four moves of 3 pips each. You can split them up however you want. Move one checker 12 spaces? Sure, if you can get there. Move four checkers 3 spaces each? Also fine.
Must You Play Both Numbers?
Yes. Usually.
If you can legally play both numbers on the dice, you must play both. Can only play one? Play that one. Can play either, but not both? Play the higher number.
Roll a double? Play as many of your four moves as you legally can. If you can’t play either number, your turn ends. Your opponent gets to roll again.
Seems straightforward? Maybe too simple for a game with centuries of history. But the real drama isn’t in the basic moves. It’s in how you use them to trap, block, and annoy your opponent.
That’s where the game gets interesting.
