Long Nardy for Beginners

Long nardy in five lines

1. Each player has 15 checkers, all starting on one point — the head. The heads are diagonally opposite.
2. Both players move counterclockwise, all the way round the board, to their home board.
3. You can't land on a point with any opposing checker. There's no hitting.
4. Only one checker leaves the head per turn (two on the first turn with 6-6, 4-4 or 3-3).
5. When all 15 are home, you bear them off. First to finish wins; if the loser has borne off none, it's a mars (2 points).

Your first game, step by step

The opening roll

Each player rolls one die; the higher number starts and rolls both dice again for the first move. On NARDEON this happens automatically.

The first turns

You can only bring one checker off the head per turn, so your first moves are about one checker at a time. Move it with both dice, or split the roll between it and a checker already in play. With 6-6, 4-4 or 3-3 on your very first turn you may take two checkers off the head, because one checker can't play the whole roll — your opponent's head is in the way.

The middle game

Your checkers spread out around the board. Every point you hold — even with one checker — is closed to your opponent. Several of them in a row form a block that's hard to get past. Five in a row is strong; six in a row is only allowed if at least one opposing checker is already past it.

The race home and bearing off

Once the paths separate, it's a race. When all 15 of your checkers are in your home board — the last six points of your path — you start bearing off: a die takes off a checker from the matching point, or from the highest point if no checker is higher.

Five beginner mistakes

• Forgetting the head rule. Planning to move two head checkers with an ordinary roll. Only one can go.
• Thinking like a backgammon player. A single checker is safe here — nobody can hit it — and it closes the point.
• Leaving the head too slowly. Checkers stuck on the head late in the game cause blocked rolls and a mars.
• Building a block with nowhere to go. A block is great until you're forced to break it. Keep some spare checkers.
• Ignoring the mars. If you're losing the race, hurry at least one checker off — it halves the loss.

Learn by playing

The quickest way to learn is a few games against the computer. NARDEON highlights where each checker can go and never lets you make an illegal move — including taking a second checker off the head or building a forbidden block. There's no clock against the computer, and you can undo a step before confirming. Start here: long nardy vs computer.

Play for freeNo sign-up, no download — right in your browser

Where to go next

• Full long nardy rules — every detail, including bearing off.
• Long nardy strategy — the opening, blocks, timing.
• Long nardy vs backgammon — if you already know one of the two.
• Glossary — head, block, mars and other terms.

Updated: October 23, 2026