Pip count

How it works in play

Both sides start at 167 pips, and an average roll moves about 8 (8.17, with doubles counted four times). Comparing counts tells you who leads the race, and the lead as a percentage of the count drives race cube decisions such as the 8-9-12 rule.

Related terms

• Pip — One unit of distance on the board — one point of travel.
• Race — A position with no remaining contact between the two sides.
• Keith count — A pip-count adjustment that accounts for checker distribution before race cube decisions.
• EPC — Effective pip count — the raw pip count plus expected wastage; the standard measure in bear-off positions.
• Crossover — Moving a checker into a new quadrant of the board.

Go deeper

• Pip counting
• Pip counting: race formulas for the cube
• Backgammon strategy, from first roll to bear-off

In other languages

• العربيةعدّ النقاط (Pip count)
• ΕλληνικάΜέτρημα πιπ (pip count)
• فارسیشمار پیپ
• עבריתספירת פיפים (Pip count)
• РусскийПип-каунт (pip count)
• TürkçePip sayısı