When you may start
For Ivory, the 1 through 6 points are home. Every checker still in play must be there before you bear off. Checkers already off stay off. You can use one die to bring the last outside checker home and then use the other to bear off, provided the resulting move is legal.
An exact roll can take off from its matching point. A 6 takes a checker from 6, and a 3 takes one from 3. Moving inside your home board is still an option when legal. You may want to keep a made point and avoid leaving a shot even when you could remove a checker.
Ivory uses 6–3 to remove one checker from point 6 and one from point 3. The tray count rises from seven to nine.
Borne off · Ivory 7/15 · Umber 0/15
Use an oversized die on the farthest checker
If a die is larger than the highest point on which you still have a checker, you can use that die to take off from that highest occupied point. For example, if your highest checker is on 4, a 6 can take it off. A 4 with none on point 4 behaves differently if you still have a checker on 5. You can move the 5-point checker down to 1, but cannot use the 4 to take a lower checker off.
Recheck which point is highest after the first move. If the first die clears your highest point, the other die may become oversized for a checker on a lower point.
With 6–5, Ivory takes the checker on 4 with the 6. The 5 then takes a checker from 2 because 2 is now the highest occupied point.
Borne off · Ivory 11/15 · Umber 10/15
Play safely when the opponent can still hit
A pure bear-off is a race. Concentrate on removing checkers efficiently and leaving a useful distribution for next turn. Against an opponent on the bar or holding an anchor, also check which rolls hit you. A hit returns one checker to the start of its journey. You must re-enter and bring it all the way home before removing any more.
In the diagram below, 4/off and 1/off leave a blot on 4. Playing 4/off and 4/3 instead leaves blots on 3 and 1. You can also play 4/3 first and then take the remaining checker from 4, leaving those same two blots. Compare the number of return shots and the value of taking off two rather than one. Sometimes every legal play leaves a shot.
Ivory can take two off with 4–1. The remaining Ivory checker on 4 can be hit if Umber rolls a 4. Playing 4/off and 4/3 instead would leave two entry blots.
Borne off · Ivory 12/15 · Umber 0/15
Practice question
Ivory has checkers on 6 and 3 and rolls 5–3. Can Ivory take a checker from 3 with the 5?
Show answer
Only if 6 has first been cleared. The 5 cannot take from 3 while a checker remains on 6. With exactly one checker on each point and open destinations, 6/1 with the 5 and 3/off with the 3 is legal. Playing 6/3 with the 3 and then 3/off with the 5 is legal too.