How do I bear off my checkers?

 

\You've made your way around the TrigammonX board — now it's time to bring your checkers home and race toward victory!
Bearing off is the final stage of the game, when players remove their checkers from the board. The first player to legally bear off all 15 checkers wins!

1. What Does Bearing Off Mean?

Bearing off means removing a checker from your home board and placing it into your designated bearing-off tray.

Each of the three players has their own home board and bearing-off area. Your goal is to bring all 15 checkers safely home and then remove them from play.

2. When Can I Start Bearing Off? 

You can begin bearing off when all 15 of your checkers are inside your own home board. You cannot begin bearing off while any of your checkers remain outside your home board or on the bar.

Once all your checkers are home, you may use your dice to start removing them.

3. How Do I Bear Off a Checker? 

Your dice determine which checkers you can remove.

For example:

• A roll of 3 may allow you to bear off a checker from your 3-point.
• A roll of 5 may allow you to bear off a checker from your 5-point.
• Multiple dice may allow you to bear off multiple checkers during the same turn.

You may also be able to move checkers within your home board instead of bearing them off. All movements must follow the legal-move rules.

4. What If There Is No Checker on the Exact Point? 

Sometimes you roll a number that doesn't match an occupied point.

Depending on the arrangement of your checkers, you may be able to move another checker within your home board or use a higher die value to bear off an eligible checker. The game evaluates the available moves according to its bearing-off rules. Watch the legal-move indicators to help identify your available options.

5. Bearing Off with Triple Dice

TrigammonX uses three dice by default.

Triple Dice provides three movement values during your turn, subject to the game's legal-move rules.
For example, a roll of 2, 4, and 6 may allow you to:

• Bear off several checkers.
• Move checkers within your home board.
• Combine legal movements and bearing-off actions.

The optional Two-Dice variation follows the same general objective but uses two dice instead of three.

6. What Happens If One of My Checkers Is Hit? 

Even after you've started bearing off, a checker remaining on the board may be hit by an opponent.

If this happens:

1. Your checker is sent to your bar.
2. You must re-enter that checker when a legal opportunity becomes available.
3. Move it back toward your home board.
4. Once all your remaining checkers are home again, you can resume bearing off.

This means protecting vulnerable checkers remains important, even during the final stage!

7. How Do I Win? 

The first player to legally bear off all 15 checkers wins the game.

With three players competing, every turn can change the race to the finish!

Ready to Practise?The best way to learn bearing off is to play a game and experience the final race for yourself.

Play TrigammonX
Three players. Three dice. One winner!
TrigammonX™ — Backgammon for Three!