Pip Count Basics
To make good decisions you need to know who is winning, and in backgammon that is not always obvious from a glance at the board. The pip count is the simplest and most reliable tool for answering that question. It tells you who leads the race, and that in turn tells you whether the position calls for safe, quiet play or for bold, aggressive moves.
What is the pip count?
The pip count is the total number of points your checkers still have to travel before they are all borne off. A checker on your 6-point needs 6 pips, a checker on your 13-point needs 13, and a checker on the bar needs 25. Add up all fifteen checkers and you have your pip count. At the start of the game both players have 167 pips.
Backgammon is, at its core, a race. Every roll moves you closer to home, and the pip count is simply the scoreboard of that race. The player with the lower count is ahead.
How to count quickly
Most online programs and analysis tools show the pip count for both sides. Over the board you have to count it yourself, and a few habits make it much faster:
- Multiply instead of adding one checker at a time: three checkers on the 8-point are 24 pips.
- Group points that add up to round numbers, such as the 6- and 4-points (10) or the 8- and 2-points (10).
- Track changes instead of recounting: if you knew the count last turn, subtract the roll you just played.
- Count only the difference when possible. Checkers that mirror each other on both sides cancel out.
An average roll moves about 8 pips (exactly 49/6, because doubles count four times). That is a handy yardstick: a 16-pip lead is roughly two rolls.
Using the pip count
The pip count matters because it shapes your whole plan. If you are clearly ahead, the race is your friend and contact is your enemy. If you are clearly behind, the opposite is true. As a rough guide, a lead of around 8 to 10 percent in a long race is enough to make you a solid favorite, and it is the range where doubling starts to be considered. The exact cube guidelines are covered in our article on the race.
When you are ahead
A race lead calls for safety. Your aim is to bring your checkers home without giving your opponent shots, because a single hit can wipe out a lead of many pips. Hitting is still allowed, of course, but in the middle and late game the leader should avoid unnecessary blots and let the opponent take the risks. Clearing points in a safe order and keeping your checkers out of reach of the opponent's back men is usually the winning recipe.
When you are behind
When you trail in the race, playing safe will only lose slowly. You need contact. The bigger the deficit, the more risk you can and should accept: hitting loose, keeping anchors in your opponent's board, and holding on to points that block his way home. Trading a quiet move for a chance to hit is often correct even if it leaves blots of your own.
Being behind also means you should not be in a hurry to run your back checkers. If they escape, the game turns into a pure race that you are likely to lose. Keeping them back means the opponent still has to get past you, and every time he does there is a chance for a shot.
What else to consider
The pip count is important, but it is not the whole story. Before you decide, look at:
- Home boards. If you are hit, how easily can you enter? If you hit, how strong is your board to contain the checker?
- Back checkers. Have they escaped, or are they still trapped behind a block?
- Distribution. Checkers piled on a few points move awkwardly and waste pips later in the bear-off.
Sometimes these factors outweigh the race. Even when you are behind, hitting and leaving a blot can be wrong if your opponent has a strong home board and is likely to enter and hit back in the same turn.
Summary
Whenever you are unsure between two moves, check the pip count. It will tell you whether to play for safety or for contact, and it is the starting point for every race and cube decision. Once the basic count becomes second nature, move on to the adjusted counts described in the race article.