You play Red, at the bottom of the board; the computer plays the other seats. Choose the number of players in the side panel and press New Game. Red always moves first, and play passes counterclockwise around the table, the same direction the pawns travel. Your four pawns begin in the round nest circles in your corner.
Everything is played with the mouse or a touch tap. Press Roll Dice to roll. Your available move values appear as chips under the dice; click a chip to choose it, then click one of the highlighted pawns on the board to move it. Green rings mark every pawn that can legally use the selected value, and a green circle on the board shows where the move would land. Hint / Play Best asks the computer to play the strongest available move for you. Sound mutes or restores the table sounds.
On your turn, roll both dice. Each die moves one pawn its full count — you may give both dice to one pawn (moving it twice) or split them between two pawns. A die may never be split between pawns. If you cannot use a value, it is forfeited and your turn ends when no legal move remains.
A pawn leaves the nest only on a five: either a die showing 5, or both dice together totalling 5 (1 + 4 or 2 + 3 — click the dashed 5 (pair) chip). The pawn enters on your tinted entry space. Entering captures a lone enemy pawn sitting there, even though the entry space is a safe space.
Pawns race counterclockwise around the 68-space track. The twelve circled spaces are safe: a pawn there cannot be captured, and you may not land on a safe space held by an enemy pawn. Two pawns of one color on the same space form a blockade that no pawn — yours included — may land on or pass. No space ever holds more than two pawns.
Land by exact count on a space holding a single enemy pawn (off the safe spaces) and you capture it: it returns to its nest, and you immediately earn a bonus move of 20, given to any one of your pawns. Bringing a pawn home earns a bonus move of 10. Bonus moves cannot be used to enter a pawn, and are forfeited if no pawn can use them.
Rolling doubles earns another roll after your moves. While all four of your pawns are out of the nest, doubles let you play the tops and bottoms of both dice — four values totalling 14 (a double 6 also plays two 1s). Beware: a third consecutive doubles ends your turn and sends your pawn nearest home (on the main track) back to its nest.
After circling the board, each pawn turns up its own colored home row. The home row is private and safe. A pawn needs an exact count to step into HOME at the center — a roll too large cannot be used on that pawn. The first player to bring all four pawns HOME wins the game; everyone else loses gracefully.
The game saves itself in your browser after every move. Reopen the game and your match resumes exactly where it stood. Press New Game at any time to abandon the current match and deal a fresh one.
Opening play: bring a second pawn out early and pair your pawns on a safe space to build a blockade on your side of the board — then hold it while your lead pawn runs.