Bearing Off in Long Nard: The Final Six Points

By Pixhelm Editorial Team · 11 min read

Learn when Long Nard bearing off begins, exact dice removal, higher-number exceptions, doubles and mars scoring.

All fifteen must reach home

Bearing off is the final stage of a Long Nard game. Your home is points 1 through 6 when numbered from your own movement direction. You cannot start removing pieces while even one of your fifteen checkers remains outside that quarter. Some players mistake having most checkers home for permission to begin. The rule requires the entire active set. No checker is sent back by hitting in Long Nard, but unfinished travel still postpones the finish.

Exact dice are easiest

A die showing four can take a checker off your 4-point. A two can take one off point 2. Each die is played as its own move, and doubles represent four uses of the repeated number where legally possible. If the die matches an occupied point, the removal is straightforward; however you may also choose a legal move within home if the rules permit. Watch the position after the first die before allocating the second.

How the high die exception works

Suppose all your remaining checkers are on points 1 to 4 and your die is a six. Since points 5 and 6 are empty, the six can bear off a checker from the farthest occupied point, here point 4. But if point 6 is occupied and you roll a five while the 5-point is empty, you cannot use the five to take a checker from point 4 by pretending the checker on six is irrelevant. A legal inward move from the higher point must be examined.

Do not turn two dice into one

The familiar error is to add five and two and remove an imagined checker from seven. There is no 7-point within home. Each number must be considered separately, and a checker may move inside the home board before being removed with the other die if both intermediate steps are legal. Order matters when one move empties the highest occupied point and changes what the other number may remove.

Counting pips and limiting waste

The highest occupied home point tells you how far the last checker must travel. A checker on six has further to go than one on two, even if both look equally close to the exit in a crowded board. Distributing checkers across the home points can make future rolls more useful. Yet you cannot always choose the most attractive arrangement because compulsory play of available dice still applies.

The result is determined after the last checker

The first player to remove all fifteen checkers wins. The ordinary result is worth one point under the owner rules; mars counts two if the loser has borne off none. This is not a cash prize or a wager. An opponent who has removed just one checker may lose normally, but that game is not mars. Nard Online displays the game rules and legal moves; annotated diagrams still require owner validation.

Practice positions

1. The finish is a separate skill: 1

Every checker has already reached home; occupied points include 6, 4, 2. The dice read 6 and 2, while the farthest occupied point is 6. For this distribution, the numbers 6 and 2 call for exact matches or a legal inward movement near point 6. A follow-up move can change which point is farthest before the second die is used. For home points 6, 4, 2, reconsider the highest occupied point after each part of the 6 and 2 roll.

2. The finish is a separate skill: 2

For this endgame example, assume all active pieces are within home on 4, 3, 1. After a roll of 6 plus 1, the highest point still holding a checker is 4. The important exception is position-specific: a value of 6 lies beyond the highest occupied point 4, allowing removal of its farthest checker. Removing a checker is not always mandatory if another lawful home move is available. The order of 6 and 1 can alter the remaining arrangement of checkers at 4, 3, 1, so test both legal sequences.

3. The finish is a separate skill: 3

Mark home points 6, 4, 1; none of your checkers remains outside the final quarter. The number 5 arrives with 2; compare both against the maximum home point 6. Apply the actual home rule rather than intuition: with 5 paired with 2, the checker at 6 may need to advance rather than leave the board. A double offers four separate steps, and each must be checked against the changing board. At home positions 6, 4, 1, removing one piece can change whether the next die 2 has a matching point.

4. The finish is a separate skill: 4

The board is ready to bear off because all pieces are in home, including 5, 3, 2. To study order, write 5 first, 3 second, then circle the furthest checker at 5. Do not ignore the occupied higher points, since a point 5 checker cannot be ignored when testing 5 against 3 for possible removals. A single checker outside home would cancel the whole bearing-off stage. Keep the number 5 in view when considering the pair 5 and 3; it identifies the farthest current checker.

5. The finish is a separate skill: 5

Consider a complete home position whose occupied points are 2, 1. Two separate dice, 6 and 5, meet the home distribution whose furthest point is 2. The order of play can affect this result: with 6 above the occupied range ending at 2, the overshoot condition can apply. Never combine these two dice into one imagined oversized number. A diagram for 2, 1 should show each exact removal separately when the roll contains 6 and 5.

6. The finish is a separate skill: 6

Before rolling, check that all checkers are home on points such as 6, 5, 1. The die values are 4 and 2; do not confuse them with their combined sum. Look at the farthest occupied home point again because the rolled 4 and 2 may be used for movements inside the home containing point 6. Do not judge the chance of winning from only this one position diagram. On a 4 and 2 turn, the points 6, 5, 1 may permit several plays; do not claim one choice is mandatory without checking.

7. The finish is a separate skill: 7

The remaining checkers occupy home points 6, 2; the approach race is finished. With 6 currently highest, evaluate the rolled 6 and 6 as independent actions. When explaining a proposed removal, say explicitly that at this moment 6 remains the distant occupied point, and 6 plus 6 are separate dice. The opponent having removed one checker already rules out mars if they eventually lose. This home arrangement 6, 2 is a teaching case, not a prediction of the next dice or the match result.

8. The finish is a separate skill: 8

Every checker has already reached home; occupied points include 3, 2, 1. The dice read 3 and 2, while the farthest occupied point is 3. For this distribution, the numbers 3 and 2 call for exact matches or a legal inward movement near point 3. A follow-up move can change which point is farthest before the second die is used. For home points 3, 2, 1, reconsider the highest occupied point after each part of the 3 and 2 roll.

9. The finish is a separate skill: 9

For this endgame example, assume all active pieces are within home on 5, 4, 2. After a roll of 6 plus 3, the highest point still holding a checker is 5. The important exception is position-specific: a value of 6 lies beyond the highest occupied point 5, allowing removal of its farthest checker. With the specific 6 and 3 roll, the position at 5 must be read again. For this unique 6 and 3 test, the pieces on 5, 4, 2 require another count before any removal. Removing a checker is not always mandatory if another lawful home move is available. The order of 6 and 3 can alter the remaining arrangement of checkers at 5, 4, 2, so test both legal sequences.

10. The finish is a separate skill: 10

Mark home points 6, 3, 1; none of your checkers remains outside the final quarter. The number 3 arrives with 1; compare both against the maximum home point 6. Apply the actual home rule rather than intuition: with 3 paired with 1, the checker at 6 may need to advance rather than leave the board. With the specific 3 and 1 roll, the position at 6 must be read again. For this unique 3 and 1 test, the pieces on 6, 3, 1 require another count before any removal. A double offers four separate steps, and each must be checked against the changing board. At home positions 6, 3, 1, removing one piece can change whether the next die 1 has a matching point.

11. The finish is a separate skill: 11

The board is ready to bear off because all pieces are in home, including 4, 2, 1. To study order, write 4 first, 4 second, then circle the furthest checker at 4. Do not ignore the occupied higher points, since a point 4 checker cannot be ignored when testing 4 against 4 for possible removals. A single checker outside home would cancel the whole bearing-off stage. Keep the number 4 in view when considering the pair 4 and 4; it identifies the farthest current checker.

12. The finish is a separate skill: 12

Consider a complete home position whose occupied points are 6, 5, 4. Two separate dice, 2 and 1, meet the home distribution whose furthest point is 6. The order of play can affect this result: evaluate 2 and 1 individually with the farthest piece still located at 6. Never combine these two dice into one imagined oversized number. A diagram for 6, 5, 4 should show each exact removal separately when the roll contains 2 and 1.

Removing a checker is one possible legal use of a die, not permission to ignore other mandatory movements. Re-evaluate the farthest occupied point after every step.

Expert tips

Say the highest occupied home point aloud after each die. When the die has no exact match, distinguish the right to remove from a lower point from the obligation to play a checker on a higher point. Treat doubles as separate legal actions.

Common mistakes

Never start before the fifteenth checker arrives home. Do not add the dice into one imagined large removal, assume every overshoot is allowed, or call a normal win mars when the loser removed a checker.

Frequently asked questions

When does bearing off begin?

Only after all fifteen of your checkers have reached home, points 1 to 6 from your own perspective.

Can I remove a checker from the exact point?

Yes. A die equal to the point number can remove a checker from that point.

Can a six remove from point four?

Yes, when points five and six are empty and point four is the highest occupied home point.

What if point six is still occupied?

A lower die with no exact checker does not automatically remove from a lower point. Check a legal movement from a higher point first.

Do doubles let me remove four checkers?

A double offers four moves, but actual removals depend on the home configuration and legally available steps.

May I move inside home instead?

Yes, provided the move is legal and respects compulsory play of the rolled numbers.

Can I remove a checker while one is outside home?

No. Every remaining checker must be inside your home before the first removal.

Does Long Nard use hitting during the finish?

No. Long Nard has no hits and no bar re-entry.

What is mars at the finish?

A winner whose opponent removed no checkers receives two points under the Nard Online rule specification.

What if the opponent removed one checker?

That outcome is not mars under the stated definition, even if the winner then removes the remaining final checker.