Gammon vs Backgammon: Scoring Explained

Classify the position when the winner legally removes their last checker. Singles, gammons and backgammons are alternatives, not bonuses to add together. A backgammon scores three times the cube, not a single plus a gammon plus a backgammon.

1. Has the loser removed any checker? If yes, it is a single, whatever their remaining checkers’ positions.
2. If none are off, is a loser checker on the bar or in the winner’s home board? If yes, it is a backgammon.
3. If none are off and neither location applies: it is a gammon.

The location is the winner’s home board, not the loser’s. In the loser’s numbering, the winner’s 1–6 are the loser’s 24–19. A losing checker in its own home board does not create the backgammon condition.

Use the game’s accepted cube value, then apply one result multiplier. At an unturned cube, use 1. Standard match play counts gammons and backgammons even at that unturned value.

These are ordinary backgammon match points. They are not automatically fantasy ledger points, FC salaries or Baxies: those products have their own published scoring and virtual-unit rules.

For tournament resignations and result agreements, follow the governing rules rather than improvising a score from an unfinished position. Optional money-play Jacoby treatment is separate from standard match scoring; see the rules reference and tournament procedures.

• Calling any no-checkers-off loss a gammon without first checking the backgammon locations.
• Looking in the loser’s home board instead of the winner’s.
• Awarding a backgammon after the loser has already removed a checker.
• Adding the three result multipliers together, or applying one to a cube drop.

Can you lose a backgammon after bearing off one checker?

No. Any legally borne-off losing checker rules out both a gammon and a backgammon, even if another checker is later hit.

Is a checker in my opponent’s outer board enough?

No. With none off, a backgammon needs a losing checker on the bar or in the winner’s home board. The winner’s outer board is not part of that condition.

Do gammons count when the cube was never used?

Yes in standard match play: a gammon scores 2 and a backgammon 3 at cube 1. Optional money-play Jacoby conventions are separate and must not be assumed in a match.

Original Bet On Gammon explanations, worked examples and illustrations. Further reading and rule references are listed below.

• USBGF — Beginner’s Guide to Backgammon ↗ — standard setup, checker play, bearing off, cube and results.
• USBGF — Tournament Rules ↗ — the governing rules hub.
• USBGF — Rules for In-Person Play ↗ — match and cube procedures; follow your event’s rules and director.

Beginner’s Guide to Backgammon brings the full game together. Use the rules reference for a compact check, or return to the learning order.