Bearing off

Bearing off is the last stage of the game: once all your checkers are home you start removing them, and the first player to take off all fifteen wins. The rules are short. Doing it well takes a little more thought.

The rules

You may only start bearing off when all fifteen of your checkers are in your home board: your 1-point to your 6-point. Bringing them there is called bearing in. Once they are all home, each die lets you either:

• take off a checker from the point matching the die (a 4 takes a checker off your 4-point), or
• move a checker inside your home board, using the die as a normal move.

You choose, die by die. The usual rule about using your whole roll still applies: if you can play both dice, you must. A double gives four moves, so 3-3 can take off four checkers from your 3-point if you have them.

If you are not yet sure how checkers move or how the board is numbered, read how to play first.

Rolling high numbers

Late in the bear-off you often roll a number higher than any point you still occupy. The rule:

• If you have a checker on the point you rolled, you may take it off.
• If that point is empty but you have checkers on a higher point, you must play the number by moving a checker down from a higher point.
• If that point is empty and you have no checkers on any higher point, you take a checker off from your highest occupied point.

The reverse does not work: a small number never takes a checker off a higher point. A 2 cannot bear off a checker from your 4-point; it can only move that checker to your 2-point.

Getting hit during the bear-off

If your opponent still has checkers behind yours, they can hit a blot you leave in your home board. The hit checker goes to the bar as usual. You may not bear off any more checkers until it has re-entered in your opponent's home board and travelled all the way back to your home board. Any checkers you had already borne off stay off.

That trip home costs a lot of time, and meanwhile your opponent keeps moving. Being hit in the bear-off is one of the most common ways to turn a winning game into a loss, which is why bearing off safely matters so much when there is contact.

Technique in a race

In a pure race, nobody can be hit and the only goal is to finish in as few rolls as possible. A few principles cover most positions.

Take a checker off when you can

Bearing a checker off is almost always better than moving one inside your board. Each turn you want to remove as many checkers as possible, and normally that means two per roll (four with doubles).

Fill gaps when a checker cannot come off

When a die cannot bear a checker off, use it to fill an empty point. Gaps cause misses later: if your 4-point is empty, a future 4 has to be played by moving a checker down from the 5 or 6-point rather than taking one off.

Spread your checkers

Having checkers on many different points means more of your numbers bear off. Piling checkers on your 1 and 2-points wastes pips: a 6 that takes a checker off your 1-point uses only 1 of its 6 pips. While bearing in, bring checkers to the higher home points (6, 5 and 4) rather than deep into your board. The pip counting page calls this wastage and explains why it matters for racing decisions.

Count rolls near the end

With only a few checkers left, count the rolls each side needs rather than pips. Two checkers on your 1 and 2-points come off with any roll, while two checkers on your 6-point come off in one turn only with 3-3, 4-4, 5-5 or 6-6, just 4 rolls in 36. When the race is close and only a few rolls remain, the doubling cube becomes important.

Bearing off against contact

When your opponent still holds a point in your home board, usually an anchor on your 1-point or 2-point, the priority changes from speed to safety. A blot left in front of their checkers can be hit, and a hit checker has to go all the way round.

• Clear from the back. Clear your highest point first, then the next highest, so the remaining checkers stay grouped.
• Keep an even number on your highest points. If your 6-point has two checkers, a single 6 leaves one behind as a blot. Even numbers are easier to clear safely.
• Avoid gaps. Gaps on high points make awkward rolls that force you to leave a blot.
• Safety first, speed second. It is often right to move checkers down instead of bearing off if that keeps you from leaving a shot.

In that position, 6/off 4/off removes two checkers but leaves two blots, one 5 pips from the dark anchor and one 3 pips away: a lot of rolls hit. Clearing the 6-point leaves no blot at all. You have borne off one checker instead of two, but you have kept the game safe.

Sometimes no roll is completely safe. Then choose the play that leaves the fewest shots, and prefer blots far from your opponent's checkers. The odds page lists how many rolls hit a blot at each distance. If you do get hit, it is not over: you may be able to win the race back if your opponent's board breaks while your checker comes home.

Saving and winning gammons

If you bear off all fifteen checkers before your opponent removes one, you win a gammon, worth double. When you are well behind, your priority changes: get every checker home and take off at least one as soon as you can. That can mean moving checkers into your home board efficiently rather than neatly, crossing into your home board with as many checkers as possible each turn.

From the other side, when you are far ahead and your opponent is struggling, bear off quickly and keep an eye on whether their last checkers can get home in time. In matches, the value of a gammon depends on the score; see match play.

The bear-off is where many games are decided. Play the computer and use the hint button to see the safest bear-off when your opponent still has contact.

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