Bearing Off
📋 What it is
Once all your checkers reach your home board you "bear them off"; the first to remove all 15 wins.
🗣️ Coach says
The finish line: with every checker in your home quadrant, you start taking them off the board with your rolls. Bear off efficiently — do not waste a big roll on a checker that only needed a small one — and get all 15 off before your opponent.
🧠 Memory hook
All home, then off. Waste no pips — first to remove all 15 wins.
😂 Giggle
Why did the six-point prime feel unbeatable?
Because six points in a row block the opponent completely!
😲 Whoa!
A tidy, "smooth" home board bears off a couple of rolls faster than a lumpy one — efficient bearing off has decided countless close races.
✅ Quick check: When can you begin bearing off your checkers?
Say your answer out loud first — then reveal.
Only once ALL 15 of your checkers have reached your home board; if even one is still outside, you cannot bear off.
Bearing off is legal only when every checker is home.
🧪 Try it! (2 minutes)
Set 6 checkers in a home board and bear them off with dice rolls, trying to waste as few pips as possible.