Wastage

How it works in play

Wastage is the pips you throw away by bearing off with bigger numbers than you need: 6-6 with four checkers on your 1-point uses 4 of its 24 pips and wastes 20. Spreading checkers across your home board keeps it low, and effective pip counts measure it.

Related terms

• EPC — Effective pip count — the raw pip count plus expected wastage; the standard measure in bear-off positions.
• Bear off — Remove a checker from the board, allowed once all 15 of your checkers are in your home board.
• Stack — Multiple checkers piled on one point; tall stacks waste material.
• Late race — A race position with most checkers in or near the home board.

Go deeper

• Pip counting: effective pips and wastage
• Backgammon strategy, from first roll to bear-off

In other languages

• العربيةالهدر (Wastage)
• ΕλληνικάΣπατάλη (wastage)
• فارسیاتلاف (Wastage)
• עבריתבזבוז (Wastage)
• РусскийПотери (wastage)
• TürkçeFire (Wastage)