10 Games Like Backgammon: Free Dice Board Games

Backgammon belongs to one of the oldest families of board games still played — the tables games, with ancestors that go back thousands of years in the ancient Middle East. The Wikipedia backgammon article covers the history. It’s a race game with dice (luck) and movement choices (skill). Here are 10 free browser games with similar dice-strategy or move-and-capture DNA.

Short answer: the closest game to backgammon is backgammon itself, and you can play it free against the computer on our Backgammon page. If you want the dice-plus-decisions feeling in a different shape, try Yahtzee or Farkle. If you want the race-and-capture side, try Mancala or Checkers. All 10 games like backgammon below run in your browser with no download.

Games like backgammon at a glance

Game	Luck element	Captures or blocking	Race to finish	Opponent on dinogame.gg
Backgammon	Two dice	Hit lone checkers, block points	Bear off all 15	CPU
Yahtzee	Five dice	None	No (score attack)	Solo, beat your best
Farkle	Six dice	None	First to 10,000	CPU
Dominoes	Hidden tiles	Blocking the line	Empty your hand	CPU
Mancala	None	Capture opposite pit	Most stones	CPU (3 levels) or 2 players
Checkers	None	Forced jumps	Reach the back row to king	CPU (3 levels) or 2 players
Chess	None	Yes	No	CPU (3 levels)
Nim	None	None	Last stone	CPU (2 levels) or 2 players
Crazy Eights	Shuffled deck	Draw-two and skip cards	Empty your hand	CPU
Tic-Tac-Toe	None	Blocking lines	No	CPU (3 levels) or 2 players

1. Backgammon

The classic. Roll dice, move checkers around the board, bear off all 15 to win. With proper bar and bear-off rules. Play Backgammon.

You play white against the computer from the standard starting position. Doubles give you four moves, a single checker hit by the CPU goes to the bar and must re-enter before you move anything else, and you can only bear off once all your checkers are in your home board. Click a checker and its legal landing points light up. There is no doubling cube, so every game is a single game rather than a match.

2. Yahtzee

Pure dice strategy. 13 turns, 3 rolls each, score into categories. Best dice game on a single page. Play Yahtzee.

Like backgammon, the dice set the options and you make the call. Do you keep chasing a large straight or take a safe score now? Our version adds the 35-point upper bonus when your upper section totals 63 or more and keeps your best total.

3. Farkle

Hot-dice game. Hold scoring dice, bank or roll again. Strategy vs. greed tension. Play Farkle.

You race the CPU to 10,000 points. Ones score 100, fives score 50, a 1-to-6 straight or three pairs score 1,500, and if all six dice score you roll them all again. Roll with no scoring dice and you lose the turn’s points. It is the closest dice game here to backgammon’s “do I take the risk?” moments.

4. Dominoes

Match tile ends; first to empty your hand wins. Luck of the draw plus tactical choices. Play Dominoes.

Ours is the draw game against the CPU: seven tiles each, the rest in the boneyard. If neither player can move, the lower pip count wins, so holding heavy tiles too long is a risk, much like leaving checkers stranded in backgammon.

5. Mancala

Sow stones across pits and capture into your store. Ancient race-and-capture game. Play Mancala.

Sow counterclockwise. Land your last stone in your store for an extra turn, or in one of your empty pits to capture the stones opposite. Play the CPU on Easy, Medium or Hard, or a friend on the same screen. Our how to play Mancala guide covers the rules in more detail.

6. Checkers

Move-and-capture on a board. Forced jumps, kinging, race to win. Play Checkers.

Checkers swaps the dice for full information, but the feel of moving a group of pieces forward while protecting stragglers is familiar. Multi-jumps chain, jumps are mandatory, and you can play the CPU at three levels or a second player.

7. Chess

Pure-skill move-and-capture. No dice; pure strategy. Play Chess.

You play white against the CPU on Easy (random moves), Medium (looks two moves ahead) or Hard (three moves ahead), with undo and a move history. Pick chess when you want a game where every loss is on you.

8. Nim

Mathematical pile game with optimal play. Take stones; last stone wins. Play Nim.

Take any number of stones from one heap per turn. Switch to misère mode and the last stone loses instead. Play the CPU on Easy or Hard, or a friend. Nim scratches the same counting itch as backgammon’s endgame, where you count the race to see who is ahead.

9. Crazy Eights

Card-based shedding game with a similar tactics-and-luck mix. Play Crazy Eights.

Match the suit or rank of the top card. Eights are wild, twos make the next player draw two, and aces skip a turn. Saving an eight for the right moment works a lot like saving a good backgammon roll for a key point.

10. Tic-Tac-Toe

A quick pure-skill grid game with no dice and no captures, just three in a row. Play Tic-Tac-Toe.

The Impossible CPU never loses, so the best you can do against it is a draw. Easy and Hard settings and a two-player mode are there for a gentler game.

Also worth a try

Cribbage is a card game with a race at its heart: both players peg their points along a board toward 121, and the lead can swing on a single hand. Reversi has no dice, but its big swings in the last few moves will feel familiar to anyone who has lost a backgammon game they were winning. For more games to play with a friend, see our best 2-player browser games.

Why is Backgammon still played after so many centuries?

Two reasons. The skill-luck balance — the dice prevent any one game from being purely deterministic, but the stronger player wins far more often over a long match. The doubling cube (added in the 1920s) — adds a betting-style element that makes match play strategic in a non-obvious way.

Skill vs luck in dice games

Pure-luck dice games (Snakes and Ladders) are forgettable. Pure-skill games (chess) lack tension. Backgammon found the sweet spot: any single game can swing on the dice, but skill decides the long run. Poker works on a similar balance. Other games on this list with similar balance: Yahtzee (more luck than Backgammon) and Farkle (similar to Yahtzee).

Other games in the backgammon family

Backgammon is one member of the tables family, and several close relatives are still played around the world. Nard (or nardy) is the long-established version in Iran and the Caucasus. In Greece, tavli is a set of games played on the same board, including portes, which is close to standard backgammon. Turkey has tavla.

Further back, the Royal Game of Ur from ancient Mesopotamia is another race game played with dice, though it is not a direct ancestor of backgammon. Ludo and Pachisi share the race-around-the-board idea too, with much less strategy.

How to choose your next game

You love the dice: Farkle for push-your-luck, Yahtzee for planning across a whole game.
You love hitting and blocking: Checkers or Mancala, where captures change the board in one move.
You love the race: Dominoes or Crazy Eights, where the first to empty their hand wins.
You want no luck at all: Chess, Nim or Tic-Tac-Toe.
You are playing with a friend on one screen: Mancala, Checkers, Nim or Tic-Tac-Toe all have two-player modes.

Backgammon habits that carry over

A few backgammon basics will make you better at our Backgammon game and at the games above. Avoid leaving single checkers where your opponent can easily hit them. Build points next to each other to block their path. When you are clearly ahead in the race, stop fighting and run your checkers home. For more depth, read our guide to mastering backgammon.

Frequently asked questions

What game is most similar to backgammon?

Its own relatives, such as nard, tavli and tavla, are the closest because they use the same board. Among other games, Farkle and Yahtzee share the dice-plus-decisions feel, and Mancala shares the race-and-capture idea.

Can I play backgammon against the computer for free?

Yes. Our Backgammon game lets you play white against a CPU opponent in your browser, with no download or signup.

Is backgammon a game of luck or skill?

Both. The dice can decide a single game, but the stronger player wins far more often over many games. That mix is a big part of its appeal.

Does the dinogame.gg version use the doubling cube?

No. Each game is played on its own without the cube. Our how to play backgammon guide explains how the cube works in match play.

Which games like backgammon can two people play on one screen?

On dinogame.gg, Mancala, Checkers, Nim and Tic-Tac-Toe all have a two-player mode. Our Backgammon game is currently against the computer only.

Need a break between games? The Chrome Dino game on our homepage is a one-button reset: no dice, just jumping.

10 Games Like Backgammon — Free Dice Strategy Games