Play backgammon with a friend online
On BlitzBackgammon you challenge a friend by their username and play a full game of backgammon together. It is two player backgammon in the plain sense: two people, each on their own phone, tablet or computer, wherever they happen to be. Nobody passes a device back and forth.
Free account · Browser, iOS and Android · 13+ · Coins have no cash value
What you both need
Each of you needs a free BlitzBackgammon account, and an email address is enough to make one. BlitzBackgammon is for players aged 13 and over, or the minimum age in your country if that is higher.
Play in a browser on a laptop, tablet or phone, or in the BlitzBackgammon app for iOS and Android. It is one account everywhere, so you can be on your phone while your friend is on a laptop. The game screens are in English.
Sending a challenge
Open Challenge and type your friend’s username. Pick a clock and how many coins you each put in, then send it. Your friend sees the challenge in BlitzBackgammon, and the game starts the moment they accept.
Not on BlitzBackgammon yet? The same screen can send the invite to an email address instead. It stays valid for seven days, and the game starts once your friend has made an account and opened it.
Pick a clock
A challenge offers the same twelve clocks as matchmaking:
- Bullet: 1+3, 1+5, 2+3 or 2+5.
- Blitz: 3+6, 3+8, 5+6 or 5+8.
- Rapid: 7+10, 7+12, 10+10 or 10+12.
The first number is the minutes each player starts with. The second is the increment: the seconds added to your clock after every turn you play. Every clock has one.
Coins in a game between friends
A challenge is a coin match like any other game: you both put in the same number of coins, so nobody can buy an edge. Say you agree on 10 coins each. That puts 20 coins on the line, the winner gets all 20 as the match reward. Backgammon has no draws. Gammon and backgammon are shown on the result. The winner always takes the pot.
Every game needs at least 10 coins from each player, and nobody can put in more than their balance.
Coins have no cash value and cannot be withdrawn or exchanged for money. Play responsibly. They cannot be transferred between accounts or exchanged for goods or services either.
When your balance runs out
Your balance does not refill automatically. New coins come from the daily bonus, which starts the day after you sign up, from winning games, and from partner offers and surveys in Wallet → Free coins. Buying coins is optional.
Questions
Can we play on one device?
No. Each player signs in on their own device. That is what makes it work from two different rooms, or two different countries.
Is it fair if my friend sent the challenge?
Yes. The dice are rolled on our servers, and every move, both clocks and every coin movement are checked there, so neither device decides anything. A brief network drop does not cost you time you were not using.
Can I play other people too?
Yes. Skip the challenge and ask for a match, and BlitzBackgammon pairs you with another person who wants the same game. Live backgammon by time control explains how each clock plays.
Keep reading
How a game is paired and settled is on play backgammon online, and anything else is probably on the support page.