How to Play Tables

By Jaques of London · Est. 1795 · Updated 2026-08-17

Tables is a two-player abstract race game played on a distinctive rectangular board divided into twenty-four narrow triangles called points. Players roll dice to move their fifteen pieces around the board in opposite directions, blocking, hitting, and racing past each other in a contest that rewards both tactical thinking and cool-headed probability assessment.

The game is popular in homes, clubs, and informal settings alike because a single match can be completed in under half an hour, yet the interplay of dice luck and positional skill keeps it engaging for players of all levels. A doubling cube is often included in sets and raises the stakes of each game considerably, which is a large part of the appeal for regular players.

A little history

Tables is the collective name for a family of board games played on a track of points with dice and pieces, and the family has a well-documented history stretching back at least two thousand years, with archaeological finds in ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt pointing to even earlier ancestors. The specific form most widely played today, in which all pieces travel in the same rotational direction and a doubling cube is used, became standardised in the early twentieth century, with the doubling cube itself introduced in New York gambling circles during the 1920s. The name 'Tables' itself is the older English term for the whole family of games and appears regularly in medieval English literature; its origins before the medieval period are unclear.

Setting up

1. Place the board so each player has their home board in the lower-right quadrant from their own perspective.
2. Player 1 (traditionally using dark pieces) places 2 pieces on their opponent's 24-point, 5 pieces on their opponent's 13-point, 3 pieces on their own 8-point, and 5 pieces on their own 6-point.
3. Player 2 (traditionally using light pieces) mirrors this arrangement from the opposite side.
4. Set the doubling cube to 64 (or the highest face) and place it in the middle of the bar to show it is centred and unclaimed.
5. Each player takes one die and rolls simultaneously to determine who moves first; the higher roll wins. In the event of a tie, roll again. The winner may use the two dice already rolled as their opening move.

How to play

1. Players alternate turns. On your turn, roll both dice and move your pieces the number of points shown, using the two numbers as two separate moves in any order.
2. All pieces move in one direction only: from your opponent's home board, around the board, into your own home board, and then off the board.
3. A point occupied by two or more of your pieces is a made point and is closed to your opponent. You may stack as many pieces as you like on a single point.
4. A point occupied by exactly one piece is a blot. If your opponent lands on a blot, that piece is hit and placed on the central bar.
5. A piece on the bar must re-enter the board before any other move is made. Re-entry is into your opponent's home board on the point corresponding to the die value rolled (1 to 6). If both numbers are blocked, your turn is forfeited.
6. If you roll a double, you play the number shown four times rather than twice, moving four pieces or the same piece up to four times.
7. You may split the dice values between different pieces in any way you choose, as long as each value used represents a legal move.
8. If only one of the two dice can be played, you must play it. If either die can be played but not both, you must play the higher value where possible.
9. Once all fifteen of your pieces are in your home board (points 1 to 6), you may begin bearing off. Roll the dice and remove pieces from the corresponding points.
10. If no piece sits on the point matching a die value, you must move a piece from a higher point if one exists. If no piece sits on any higher point, you may remove a piece from the highest occupied point.
11. Bearing off is interrupted if a piece is hit: that piece must re-enter, travel around the board, and return to the home board before bearing off continues.
12. The doubling cube: at the start of your turn, before rolling, you may offer to double the current stakes by turning the cube to the next value and passing it to your opponent. Your opponent may accept (the game continues at the new value) or resign (conceding the current stake). The player who last accepted a double owns the cube and is the only one who may offer the next double.

Winning and scoring

The first player to bear all fifteen pieces off the board wins the game. In a single game this means winning one point (or the current doubling cube value if the cube has been used). If the loser has not yet borne off any pieces when the winner completes bearing off, the loser is gammoned and the winner scores double the cube value. If the loser has not borne off any pieces and still has a piece on the bar or in the winner's home board, the loser is backgammoned and the winner scores triple the cube value. Match play is typically first to a pre-agreed number of points, commonly 5, 7, or 11.

The fine points

The most common dispute concerns the obligation to play both dice when possible. If playing one particular die would block you from playing the other, you must still find a move that uses both if any such combination exists across all your pieces. Only when no combination allows both dice to be used may you play a single die, and in that case you are required to play the higher value if the choice is between one die or the other. A move is not final until your hand leaves the piece, so a piece that has been touched but not released may be returned to its original point provided no part of your turn has been completed beyond that touch.

On the doubling cube, a common point of confusion is that once you pass the cube, your opponent owns it until they re-double. You have no power to offer another double regardless of how the game swings in your favour. Separately, if a player begins to roll their dice before their opponent has completed moving (including picking up the dice), the roll stands as the next turn and the opponent forfeits any remaining moves; this ruling discourages rushing and is standard in most organised play settings.

How to win more often

• Make points in your home board early, particularly the 5-point and 4-point: these are the hardest for your opponent to re-enter from the bar and dramatically slow their bearing-off race.
• Avoid leaving blots in your opponent's home board or on the bar unnecessarily; a hit piece at that stage of the board has the longest journey back.
• When you are ahead in the race, simplify the position by bearing off steadily and avoiding unnecessary contact with your opponent's pieces.
• Use the doubling cube actively but not recklessly: offer a double when your winning chances are roughly 70 to 75 percent or better, and be willing to drop a double when you estimate your winning chances have fallen below roughly 25 percent, as accepting a losing double costs more than conceding the current stake.
• Distribute your pieces across multiple points rather than piling them on one or two: a spread of points gives you more coverage on the dice and reduces wasted rolls during bearing off.

Variations

Nackgammon

Nackgammon uses the same rules as the standard game but adjusts the starting position so that each player begins with only thirteen pieces in the conventional layout and two additional pieces on the opponent's 23-point. This creates more immediate contact and hitting early in the game, producing a longer and more complex contest than a typical standard game.

Acey-Deucey

In Acey-Deucey, all pieces begin off the board and must be entered before they can move around the track. Rolling a 1 and a 2 (the acey-deucey roll) is special: the player plays the 1-2, then names any double and plays that as well, and then rolls again. This creates dramatic swings and is a popular variant particularly in Mediterranean and Middle Eastern traditions.

Hypergammon

Each player uses only three pieces rather than fifteen, placed on the opponent's 24, 23, and 22 points at the start. The reduced piece count makes the game extremely short, typically five to ten minutes, and increases the variance of the dice considerably. It is a useful format for beginners learning piece movement and bearing-off rules without committing to a full game.

Tavla (Turkish Tables)

The standard tables rules apply but without the doubling cube, which is not traditional to this form. The key structural difference is that a player who rolls a double plays the number four times as normal, but if the full four moves cannot all be completed legally, the entire double is forfeited rather than the player being required to play as many of the four moves as possible. This single rule change meaningfully affects blocking strategy.

Tables: frequently asked questions