What's a gammon, and what's a backgammon?

Every game of backgammon is worth at least one point. Some are worth two, and a few are worth three.

The difference is how badly the loser was doing when it ended, and it's the part beginners usually discover by accident.

A normal win: one point

You get all fifteen checkers off, your opponent has got at least one off, and the game is worth a single point.

Most games end this way. Somebody wins the race, somebody else was a few rolls behind.

A gammon: two points

If you bear off all fifteen of your checkers and your opponent hasn't managed a single one, that's a gammon, and it's worth double.

It isn't rare. It happens whenever one side gets stuck: a checker trapped behind a wall, a long stay on the bar, a position that never recovered. Which is why a player who is clearly losing will often race to get just one checker off. That single checker halves what they're about to pay.

A backgammon: three points

A backgammon is worth triple. For it to count, two things have to be true when you finish: your opponent has borne off nothing, and they still have a checker on the bar or in your home board.

In other words, they're not only behind, they're still stuck in your half of the board. It's the one true thrashing in the game, and it's uncommon enough that people remember them.

Confusing, we know: the game, the triple win and the thing you say when you win are all called "backgammon".

Then the cube multiplies it

If the doubling cube has been used, it multiplies whatever the result is worth.

A gammon with the cube on 2 is worth four points. A backgammon with the cube on 4 is worth twelve. This is why doubling in a game you might win big is a different decision from doubling in a close race, and why being doubled while you're stuck is so unpleasant.

Why it changes how you play

Once you know about gammons, two things follow.

When you're winning well, it's worth playing on for the extra point instead of hurrying home. When you're losing badly, getting one checker off is worth more than looking dignified.

The short version

• A normal win is one point: the loser got at least one checker off.
• A gammon is two: the loser got none off.
• A backgammon is three: the loser got none off and still has a checker on the bar or in your home board.
• The doubling cube multiplies whichever of those it is.
• Losing badly? Get one checker off and halve the damage.