The Best Backgammon Online Casinos 2024
If you’re looking for the best online backgammon casinos, you’re in the right place. Our experts have tested hundreds of Indian casinos offering to the game to create a definite list of the top sites. Thanks to this, our top backgammon casinos are all safe, trustworthy, and rewarding.
You can select a backgammon casino from the list below or read on to learn more about this classic game. Whether you’re looking for backgammon rules or strategy tips, we’ve got you covered.
Best Backgammon Online Casinos in India April 23, 2024
Payment Options
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- +2
Average Payout Speed
0 – 24 HoursPros & Cons
- Free slot demos available
- Exclusive events on site
- 24/7 customer support
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Languages
- +5
Average Payout Speed
0 – 24 Hours
Payment Options
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- +39
Average Payout Speed
0 – 24 HoursPros & Cons
- Play games by over 120 providers
- Frequent tournaments & competitions
- Regular bonus and free spin offers
- Weekly cashback bonus programme
- Hindi and 30+ other languages
- Mobile app only Android compatible
- Indians can’t claim welcome spins
- No phone support available
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- +3
Average Payout Speed
0 – 24 HoursPros & Cons
- Indian focused casino and games
- Live Indian table games available
- Withdrawals processed in 4–5 hours
- INR currency accepted
- WhatsApp customer support
- Limited live chat support times
- Few on-site promotions available
- Mobile app only Android compatible
Payment Options
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- +5
Average Payout Speed
0 – 24 HoursPros & Cons
- Licenced by PAGCOR
- Trusted brand since 2008
- Accepts Bitcoin and e-wallets
- Super fast payout speed (5-10 min)
- Teen Patti and Andar Bahar available
- Accepts transactions in Indian Rupees
- 24/7 live chat and WhatsApp support
- Bonus T&Cs are complex
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- +6
Average Payout Speed
0 – 24 HoursPros & Cons
- Highly trusted site worldwide
- Stellar offers and promos
- Access casino games and sports
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- +4
Average Payout Speed
0 – 24 HoursPros & Cons
- Access to 1000+ games
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Payment Options
Languages
- +10
Average Payout Speed
0 – 24 HoursPros & Cons
- Play 2,000+ games by 25+ providers
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- Rewarding 4-tier VIP programme
- Dedicated Dafabet casino mobile app
- Hindi language available
- No FAQ section available
- Up to 4 days to process withdrawals
- Limited payment options
Payment Options
Languages
- +1
Average Payout Speed
0 – 36 HoursPros & Cons
- Daily jackpots
- Fast withdrawals
- 3000+ casino games
- Many payment options
- Accepts Indian Rupees (INR)
- Andar Bahar and Hindi Roulette
- Support via 24/7 live chat and email
- No native app
What Is Backgammon?
Backgammon is a classic board game with a history spanning almost 5,000 years. Two opponents battle head-to-head with the aim of getting all of their pieces into one corner of the board to then remove those pieces from the game.
This is a process known as ‘bearing off’. The first player to bear off – that is, the first player to remove their 15 from the board – wins.
Backgammon is popular in many Middle Eastern and European countries such as Iran, Turkey, Egypt and Greece. In some countries, players will enjoy friendly games in cafes and parks. The game is easy to set up – you just need thirty counters, two dice, and the board.
In the past, this was the only way to play, but online casinos are now becoming increasingly popular. They allow you to play backgammon online against real players for cash. We’ll talk about several different variants in this guide to the best backgammon casinos.
Backgammon Rules and How to Play
For simplicity, we’ll be explaining how to play standard backgammon, as opposed to the rarer variations. Here’s what you need to know about playing at online backgammon casinos:
Board Setup
A backgammon board is made up of four quarters, or quadrants, each with six pips. A pip is simply a point on the board where your pieces can move.
Each pip is numbered. Pip number one is closest to the end of the board for you, in your home quadrant (the area your pieces are heading to throughout the game). Pip number two is next to it, and so on.
The furthest point from your home quadrant is your opponent’s home quadrant, on the opposite side of the board. Here you’ll find pips 19-24. The next section is your opponent’s ‘outer board’, containing pips 13-18. Then it’s your outer board, with pips 7-12. And finally, your home quadrant, with pips 1-6.
You can’t choose where to put your pieces when you begin the game. Instead, each counter begins on a specific pip. Here’s the standard setup:
- 2 pieces on pip 24
- 5 pieces on pip 13
- 3 pieces on pip 8
- 5 pieces on pip 6
To move, you simply roll two dice. You can move one piece twice, using both rolls on a single game piece, or you can move two separate pieces. So, if you roll a 5-2, you could either move one piece seven places, or you could move one piece five places and another two places.
If you manage to roll a double, you’ll get four moves instead of two. For example, if you roll 6-6 you can move 24 spaces in total. Also, you and your opponent move in opposite directions across the board, each trying to get to your respective home quadrant.
Understanding Stacking
You’re allowed, and encouraged, to stack your own pieces on top of one another. The idea is to cover your pieces as often as possible. This is because, when you have two or more pieces on a pip, your opponent can’t land there.
However, if you leave one piece exposed – known as a ‘blot’ – your opponent can land on that space and remove your piece from the board. That piece will then have to start from the beginning again, moving through all four quadrants.
Bearing Off – Ending a Game of Backgammon
When you get your pieces to your home quadrant, you can begin removing them from the board. This process is called ‘bearing off’. In traditional backgammon games, you have to land an exact number to do this. In some variations rolling any large number may do. For this explanation we will imagine we are playing a traditional game where you need to roll an exact number.
For example, in the image below, the player has pieces on pips 1, 2 and 6. They need to roll the exact number that the pip is on in order to bear off (remove the piece). They rolled a 2 and a 3, so they choose to bear off one of the pieces on pip 2 and move one of the pieces on pip 6 to pip 3. If they rolled a 1 and 2 in their next go, they could bear off pieces from pips 1 and 2.
Earning Points
By default, winning a game of backgammon is worth one point. But there are ways to earn extra points, too:
- Gammon: A gammon is a two-point game. To earn two points, you must fully bear off before your opponent starts bearing off.
- Backgammon: A three-point win, achieved when you fully bear off while your opponent still has at least one piece in your home quadrant.
- Doubling cube: Games can be ‘doubled’, which mean a one-point win becomes a two-point win, a two-pointer becomes a four-pointer, and so on. You can find out more about this in the ‘Backgammon Doubling Cube’ section below.
Backgammon Doubling Cube
If you’ve only ever played backgammon among friends, you may not be familiar with the doubling cube. But, before you face opponents at the best backgammon online casinos, you should know what the doubling cube is – and when to use it.
A regular game is worth anywhere between one and three points. But a doubling cube can see these numbers multiply quickly.
How Does the Doubling Cube Work?
Either player may use the doubling cube, but it’s only sensible to play it when you already have an advantage in the game – or when it makes mathematical sense to double, as we’ll explain below. You can use the doubling cube at the beginning of your turn at any point in the game.
Let’s say you are beating your opponent and invoke the doubling cube. Your opponent has three immediate options:
- Accept. The game value is then doubled – so a one-point win becomes a two-point win, a two-point win becomes a four-point win, and so on.
- Refuse. Your opponent immediately forfeits the game and you earn one point.
- Double back. Your opponent has the option to double back. You double offer makes the game worth 2 points, they are now offering you the chance to play for 4. If you refuse, you lose a point.
If your opponent knows they’re losing, it puts them in a tough spot. Do they take the loss, or try to fight back against the odds – but potentially concede twice as many points? If your opponent believes they still have a good chance of winning, they can accept or even double back.
For example, let’s say you’re playing your opponent and it looks like it will finish as a one-point game. Your opponent uses the doubling cube, thinking they will win. However, you believe you have the better chance of winning.
Instead of accepting, you can re-double. You accept their offer, making the game worth two points. Then you re-double. If they accept, the game is suddenly worth four points. If they refuse, you win two points.
The doubling cube is displayed in different ways depending on which site you’re playing at. Often, it’s in the centre of the board – though it’s not a playable piece. It could also be located in the screen’s corner. To activate it, you click on it.
Doubling cubes add an interesting aspect to the game of online backgammon. Know when to take the loss – there’s no room for pride in backgammon!
Types of Backgammon Online
Thanks to top backgammon online casinos, multiple versions of backgammon have grown in popularity. Here, we’ll walk you through five of the most popular versions of online backgammon:
- Standard (Classic) Backgammon
This is what you might consider the ‘normal’ version of backgammon. Two players start with 15 counters each, and the aim of the game is to bear off before your opponent. To achieve this, you roll two dice and move your pieces strategically around the board. Games are relatively short, so you’ll often play in a ‘best of’ format. For example, in a ‘best of five game, the first player to get three points is the winner.
- Acey-Deucey
Acey-Deucey has several rather radical differences to standard backgammon. For one thing, all of your pieces begin off the board. This is in contrast to classic backgammon, where your pieces are arranged in a standard way, spread across the board.
As the name suggests, a roll of 1-2 has extra significance in Acey-Deucey. If you manage to roll a 1-2, you begin by taking your move in the usual manner. Then, you’re allowed to play a double of your choice. And finally, you roll again. Acey-Deucey rolls are stackable, so if you manage to roll 1-2 more than once in a row, your opponent misses another go.
- Nackgammon
This variant was invented by 1982 World Professional Championship winner Nack Ballard, so the only logical name was Nackgammon. Unlike Acey-Deucey, Nackgammon rules and gameplay are almost identical to the standard version.
The only difference with Nackgammon is that two of your pieces – one from pip 6, and one from pip 13 – are moved. Instead, both pieces are on pip 23 – the second furthest position from your home quadrant. This means that you’ll have four pieces which need to move around almost the entire board, rather than the usual two.
- Hypergammon
No surprises here – the ‘hyper’ version of backgammon is indeed a speedy version of the original. Instead of having 15 pieces each, you’ll only have three. They begin on the 22-, 23- and 24-pips.
When playing Hypergammon, you may notice that something called the Jacoby Rule is in play. If this is the case, neither backgammons (three-point games) nor gammons (two-point games) will count – unless the cube has been doubled. So, until the doubling cube is activated, every point is worth just one point. You can read about the doubling cube later in this backgammon guide.
- Misere
Misere is the total opposite of regular backgammon. All of the rules are the same, but the object of the game is to lose instead of win!
When you start playing backgammon online, you’ll realise that you’re often forced into making a move you don’t want to. So, even if you try not to win, you may eventually have no choice.
Backgammon Terminology
There are plenty of terms you’ll hear at real money backgammon casinos. Here are some of the most important backgammon terms along with a brief explanation of each:
- Backgammon – As well as being the name of the game, backgammon refers to a three-point win. To win via a backgammon, you must fully bear off while your opponent still has at least one piece in your home quadrant.
- Bear off – Removing pieces from the board by reaching your home quadrant and rolling the required numbers.
- Blot – A piece sitting alone on a pip.
- Doubling cube – A special cube in the centre of the board which allows you to double the value of points in the current game.
- Gammon – Also known as a double game, or two-point win. To win via a gammon, you must fully bear off before your opponent begins to bear off.
- Home quadrant/board – The area of the board where you can begin to bear off. This is the final quadrant, or the ‘end’ of the board for your pieces.
- Outer quadrant/board – The middling sections of the board.
- Pieces – Also known as counters, stones, checkers, pawns, chips and other names. These are your pieces. In standard backgammon, you and your opponent have 15 pieces each.
- Pip – One of the spaces on a backgammon board. There are four quadrants, each with six pips.
- Quadrant – A quarter of the board, containing six pips.
Backgammon Strategy
Backgammon is a game which combines luck and skill, much like online poker. If you want to win at online backgammon casinos, you must develop a sound strategy to beat your opponents.
Here are some top tips to help you win at backgammon casino games:
Avoid Big Stacks
Having more than one counter on a pip (to protect it from your opponent) is a good idea, it’s a really bad idea to build giant stacks on one pip. If you do this, you can get stuck and be very limited in the moves you can make.
For example, imagine you had every counter on a single pip, and your opponent has two pieces on each of the four pips in front of them. Suddenly, you’d need to roll a 5 or 6 to move your pieces, as you can’t land on a pip that your opponent has more than one piece on. Spreading your pieces out gives you more flexibility. You don’t want to be stuck and wasting your turn as your opponent can gain a big advantage.
Use the Doubling Cube Strategically
Unlike some popular casino classics like online slots, backgammon is a game that requires strategic thinking. Sometimes in backgammon, it’s better to play for three points rather than one point – even if you’re behind. For example, let’s say you’re playing a first-to-five match and you’re trailing 2-3. Your opponent uses the doubling cube, and you accept. At this point, you should re-double.
Why? Because, if you lose the two-point match, you lose the whole contest. So, it makes sense for you to re-double and make it a four-point match. If you lose, you’ll lose the contest – so no change. But, if you win, you’ll earn four points instead of two, which means you’ll win the entire contest yourself.
Learn to Create Primes
In backgammon, a prime is a series of six pips, each of which is covered by at least two pieces. With a prime in place, your opponent can’t get past, no matter what they roll. This can buy you valuable time to get all of your pieces into an ideal position, knowing that your opponent is stuck while you set yourself up for the win.
Of course, even primes need to be treated with caution. At some point, you’ll have to break up your prime – which could give your opponent the chance to counter-attack. So, always make sure you have a strategy in place to leap over your opponent quickly once your prime breaks up.
Try Free Backgammon First
To get started, you might want to play backgammon online for free – just until you learn the rules. This gives you the chance to get comfortable and make mistakes without any added pressure. When you’re ready, shift to a real money game.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which are the best backgammon sites to play at?
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Are online backgammon casinos legal?
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