Gammon

How it works in play

You win a gammon when you bear off all fifteen checkers before the opponent has borne off any. It counts double, so gammons change both checker play and the cube: a blitz is aimed at them, and a take that risks too many of them becomes a pass.

Related terms

• Backgammon (win) — Winning before the opponent bears off any checker while they still have a checker on the bar or in your home board. Worth 3× the cube value.
• Jacoby rule — Money play only: gammons and backgammons count single value unless the cube has been turned.
• Too good to double — A position so winning that doubling (and forcing a drop) earns less than playing on for the gammon.
• Blitz — Aggressive attacking strategy aiming to close the opponent out on the bar.

Go deeper

• Rules: single games, gammons and backgammons
• Cube theory: the 25% take point
• Backgammon strategy, from first roll to bear-off

In other languages

• العربيةالمارس (Gammon)
• ΕλληνικάΔιπλό (gammon)
• فارسیگَمون
• עבריתמארס (Gammon)
• РусскийМарс (gammon)
• TürkçeMars (Gammon)