Start and finish a turn
At the start of a game, each side rolls one die. Reroll ties. The higher roller moves first using both numbers already rolled. From the second turn on, the player on turn rolls both dice. If you roll doubles, play the number four times, subject to available moves.
Each die is its own move. You can move different checkers or move one checker twice, and you can try either order. For a 6–5 played with one checker, the checker must legally land after the first move. In the app, use the marked destinations, then confirm your completed play.
With 6–5, Ivory can move 24/18 and then 18/13. Point 18 is open and the checker ends on the friendly midpoint.
Check each landing point
A point is open to you if it is empty, holds your own checkers or holds exactly one opposing checker. Two or more opposing checkers block a landing. You can jump over a blocked point as part of a single die move. If a point is the intermediate landing when you use two dice with one checker, it must be open.
In the opening position, Ivory’s 13-point is friendly and 12 is blocked by Umber. Imagine moving from 13 with a 1. You cannot land on 12, but a 2 can jump directly to 11. The legality of the 2 is independent of what lies on 12.
After an opening roll has been played by the other side, doubles are possible. In this example Ivory uses the four 1s to make the 7-point and 5-point: 8/7 twice and 6/5 twice.
Use as many dice as you can
Look for a sequence that uses both dice before settling for a single move. With doubles, play the greatest possible number of the four moves. If only one die can be played and either die is individually legal, use the higher number. If only the smaller die is legal, use it. If every move is blocked, your turn ends.
The order can decide whether you use the whole roll. In the starting setup with 6–5, 24/19 is blocked, so that rear checker can only reach 13 by playing the 6 first. You could also use the dice with other checkers. Always test the whole play before judging it.
Ivory has one checker left on the 6-point and an open home board. With 4–3, both dice can be played as 6/2, 2/off. The final 3 is oversized.
Borne off · Ivory 14/15 · Umber 0/15
One Ivory checker is on the 2-point. Either 6 or 5 could remove it on its own. Using the 6 is mandatory because there is no second checker to move.
Borne off · Ivory 14/15 · Umber 11/15
Practice question
In the starting position, can Ivory use a 6 to play 13/7 even though 12 is blocked?
Show answer
Yes. A 6 is one move, and the destination, 7, is open. Only the landing point matters for that die.