Connect, Compete, and Celebrate Backgammon with the U.S. Backgammon Federation

Your hub for online and in-person backgammon play, tournaments, and community.

Online Tournaments
In-Person Tournaments
Local Clubs
ABT Brackets & Stats
Tournament Results
ABT Points
Join the USBGF
Become a Sponsor

Play Backgammon Online

The Online Tournament Series (OTS) offers dozens of exciting ways to play backgammon. Monthly divisional tournaments for your expertise level, jackpot prizes, nationwide rankings, and special tournaments for all types of players.

  • Divisional Tournaments Every Month
  • Fast Paced Tournaments
  • Exclusive Women of Backgammon Monthly
  • Speedgammon
  • Jackpot Tournaments (Win a board, lesson, and more!)
Visit Our Online Tournaments

Play Backgammon In-Person

Discover the joy of backgammon beyond the screen. Playing in person offers a unique experience—engage in face-to-face competition, connect with a vibrant community of players, and build lasting friendships at your local club or tournament. Whether you’re a seasoned player or just getting started, in-person play brings the social and strategic aspects of the game to life like nothing else.

Find a Club

Join The American Backgammon Tour

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High Quality Backgammon News In Your Hands

Our PrimeTime magazine, published quarterly, remains one of the best publications on backgammon analysis, tournament highlights, world-class events and numerous side stories of interest. Premium members receive access to a digital version, and Premium Plus members receive a print copy.

About the USBGF

The U.S. Backgammon Federation is a not-for-profit organization devoted to advancing the awareness, participation, education, and enjoyment of the skill-based game of backgammon.

Our focus is to help spread awareness, provide education, and offer quality play experiences. We are grateful for our exceptional and colorful community who inspire us with their sense of fun, passion, and dedication.

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Increase Your Skill

Video Lessons

Master new strategies with expert analyst Phil Simborg's detailed video analysis of techniques.
Click Here

Bray's Learning Curve

Review complex positions and see what the right move is after guessing. Chris Bray provides detailed analysis of the correct answer.
Click Here

Beat Roberto's Moves

Review Roberto's excellent quiz questions and test your knowledge.
Click Here
View of the dice distribution spreadsheet

Dice Distribution Spreadsheet

Utilize this specially designed spreadsheet to elevate your backgammon studies. Watch the video to learn more.

Vintage Storage Drawers

Understanding Opening Replies

A principles-based approach to mastering the 651 most common 2nd-roll positions in backgammon. Store these in your memory for easy retrieval.

Starting Off Right - Mary Hickey photo

Starting Off Right: Offence vs. Defense

This article is the first in a series intended to address how to play when the game is still in its formative stages.

A backgammon set including a board, two sets of 15 pieces, two pairs of dice and a doubling cube.

What is backgammon?

Backgammon is a classic board game that people around the world have enjoyed for centuries.

Beginner's Guide to Backgammon: A post on a trail with a sign reading "start".

Beginner’s Guide to Backgammon

Backgammon is the most infuriating yet fascinating of games. It will provide you with highs and lows of emotion that you will find scarcely credible. Enjoy it!

The U.S. Backgammon Federation Official Website Image of a green backgammon board with red checkers.

What is Backgammon 101?

Learning backgammon basics and having fun while doing it!

Join the Community

Jason has been playing competitive backgammon for over 30 years, starting with X’s and O’s on FIBS, and continuing today in ABT events. Jason won the 2005 Los Angeles ABT tournament, the 2009 Vietor Invitational Cup, and a small handful of other events over the years.
Jason Lee
Alex Eshaghian is a Master backgammon player who started playing as a child. He has a passion for improving his knowledge by analyzing the game. He helps manage the local club scene in his hometown and does commentary & streaming on live matches between elite players on a popular YouTube channel.
Alex Eshaghian
Stu learned backgammon as a kid on summer holiday and only recently discovered the online competitive backgammon. He's been learning about the cube, live tournament play and recently won an Intermediate event in Los Angeles.
Stu Steene-Connolly

Become a Member for $4/mo

When you become a U.S. Backgammon Federation (USBGF) member, you join a passionate community of people who love the game. Our mission is to grow backgammon and to provide quality education and play experiences.

You will get access to all point races, online and offline, access to online tournaments and special events, and enjoy rich educational materials. 

Join Us

Support & Contact

To play in online tournaments or an ABT event, you must be a USBGF member. Basic Membership begins at $45/year (or $5/mo) and if you want to get our exclusive backgammon publications, you can upgrade your membership. https://usbgf.org/membership/join-renew/ 

Resetting your password usually resolves this issue.  Go to the login page, click on the Forgot Password link, and follow the prompts to reset your password.

Visit https://usbgf.org/login/ and enter your account email. You can then click the “Forgot your password” to reset your credentials. 

The U.S. Backgammon Federation has many international members.  International members are welcome to participate in online tournaments as well. 

Heroes accounts are by invite only. So you can either ask someone you know who is a player, by asking them to login > click Menu in top left, then My Profile from the dropdown > then Invite Player in the top. Alternatively, you can send a quick email to hello@usbgf.org requesting an invite to Heroes and we’ll respond within a few hours. 

Click on your name in the top right corner My Membership > Membership > click Change Plan

Any plan change will automatically pro-rate the charges.

You can check the current status of your membership by visiting Your Profile > Your Memberships page under the profile. You must have a current membership to play in online or ABT live events. 

You can purchase a membership of basic, premium or premium plus on the Join page. https://usbgf.org/join-renew

First sign into your account, once logged in, click on your profile picture in the upper right-hand corner.
  • Select > My Membership
  • Select > Subscriptions
  • Select > Update and enter your payment method details.

The USBGF accepts personal checks and/or money orders. Membership choices are.

  • Basic – Annual (1yr) $45 + (manual activation fee $10) = $55
  • Premium – Annual (1yr) $85 + (manual activation fee $10) = $95
  • Premium Plus Annual (1yr) $195 + (manual activation fee $10) = $205   

Please include following contact information – mailing address, phone number, email address.

Make your payment out to the USBGF, please indicate in the memo line or note what the payment is for, and mail to the following address.

Mail your payment to:

U.S. Backgammon Federation
6589 – 135th Street West
Apple Valley, MN  55124

Once your check and/or money order has been received and processed, your membership will be activated manually, and information will be emailed to you on how to access your profile account.

Most plans are set to auto-renew each month or year. If you decide you no longer want to be a member, simply cancel your membership from the profile area. Click on your name in the top right corner My Profile > Membership > Subscriptions > Cancel my Subscription.

If you received an auto-renewal payment and no longer wish to be a USBGF member, you can result a refund through our support portal on the Support form. Simply state your full name, reason for cancelling and we will process within two business days.

First, you need to have at least a basic monthly membership. Once you have done so, you should also have an account on either Backgammon Studio Heroes or Backgammon Galaxy to play your match. Read our Playing in your first tournament post for detailed walkthrough.

If you change computers and need to transfer your XG registration to a new computer, or lost your Activation Code, please go to eXtremeGammon’s Help and Support page:

http://www.extremegammon.com/support.aspx

The XG Help page provides the answers to these questions and many more.

Tournament registrations are done on the websites built by tournament directors. You can find links and dates to each tournament website on the Event Calendar

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