The doubling cube is what turns backgammon from a dice game into a game of judgment. It is also the single biggest gap between a casual player and a strong one. The good news: the core ideas are simple, and learning them is the fastest way to win more. Here is how the cube works, when to double, and when to take or drop, without the jargon.
The doubling cube is a six-sided block marked 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, and 64. It tracks the current value of the game, which starts at 1. Instead of every game being worth a single point, the cube lets either player propose raising the stakes when they think they are ahead, and lets the other player decide whether the game is worth continuing at the higher value.
Aim to double when you are clearly ahead but the game is not over: roughly a 65–75% chance to win is the classic window. Below that, you usually do not have enough of an edge to commit. Above it, your opponent will simply drop and you will only win 1 point, when playing on might have won you a gammon worth 2. The sweet spot is where your opponent is squeezed into a hard decision.
The most common beginner error is the opposite of greed: doubling far too rarely. If you almost never turn the cube, you are leaving points on the table every session. When in doubt in a clearly winning position, double.
This is where the famous 25% take point comes in. If you expect to win at least about a quarter of the time from the current position, you should take. It feels wrong to accept when you are behind, but over many games the points you save by taking your fair share of comebacks outweigh the times you lose at the doubled value. If you will own the cube after taking (so you can redouble later), the threshold drops a little, to around 22%. Only when your winning chances fall below roughly a quarter should you drop and concede the single point.
Owning the cube is valuable: it means your opponent cannot raise the stakes again, and you can. Good players factor this in. Because the owner can redouble, they can afford to take slightly thinner doubles, and they can later cash a winning position by redoubling to a value the opponent must drop. Watching where the cube sits is half of cube skill.
In match play to a target score, one special rule limits the cube: the Crawford rule. When either player first reaches a score one point short of winning the match, the very next game is played with no cube. After that one game, doubling resumes. This stops the trailing player from doubling immediately out of desperation. You can read the full ruleset, including Crawford, in our backgammon rules guide.
The cube is pure judgment, with no dice involved, which means it is the most learnable skill in the game. The fastest way to improve is to play real games and then review them: a backgammon engine can tell you exactly where you should have doubled, taken, or dropped, and by how much each decision cost. On Backgammon Battles every completed match is analyzed move by move, including your cube decisions, so you see your mistakes and stop repeating them. For more on why this skill compounds, see is backgammon skill or luck?
Play real matches with the doubling cube and the Crawford rule, then review every cube decision with computer analysis. Free to play.
Play backgammon freeBefore rolling on your turn you may offer to double the stakes. Your opponent drops (conceding the current value) or takes (doubling the stakes and taking ownership so only they can double next). The cube starts at 1 and can be redoubled to 2, 4, 8 and up.
Roughly when you have a 65 to 75 percent chance to win: strong enough to pressure your opponent, not so far ahead they simply drop. Most beginners double too rarely, so doubling earlier is usually the bigger fix.
Take if you expect to win at least about 25 percent of the time (about 22 percent if you will own the cube and can redouble). Below that, drop and concede the single point.
Read the complete backgammon rules →
Why the cube makes backgammon a game of skill →
© 2026 Backgammon Battles