Common backgammon terms include point, blot, bar, prime, anchor, pip, gammon, and bearing off. Knowing them makes the game much easier to follow.

  • Point: one of the 24 triangles checkers rest on.
  • Blot: a lone checker that can be hit.
  • Bar: where hit checkers wait to re-enter.
  • Prime: a wall of consecutive made points.
  • Anchor: a point you hold in the opponent's home board.
  • Pip: one unit of distance a checker must travel.
  • Gammon and backgammon: double and triple wins.