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Tavla, shesh besh, nard: names and variants of backgammon
Ask for backgammon in a cafe in Istanbul, Athens, Beirut or Tehran and you will get the same board with a different name, and sometimes a different game. Here is what each name means.
Backgammon
In English the name backgammon means the standard game with 15 checkers each, hitting, the bar and the doubling cube, as described in our rules guide. This is the game played in clubs and tournaments around the world and in BackgammonTalk.
Tavla (Turkish)
In Turkey tavla is both the board and the game, from the Latin tabula. The Turkish game is played much like international backgammon, usually without the cube and with local house rules. Tavla is a cafe tradition, played in tea houses, on seafronts and at family gatherings.
Tavli (Greek)
In Greece tavli (τάβλι) is a set of three related games played in a row: Portes, Plakoto and Fevga, usually until one player reaches 5 or 7 points. Portes is close to backgammon: players move in opposite directions and blots can be hit. In Plakoto there is no hitting; a checker is pinned by landing on it, and is stuck until the pinning checker leaves. In Fevga (also called Moultezim, or Jacquet in French) both players move in the same direction around the board, nothing is hit or pinned, and the game is a race with blocking. There is normally no doubling cube.
Tawla or tawleh (Arabic)
In Arabic the game is tawla (طاولة), meaning “table”, also spelled tawleh and towla. It is popular in Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Iraq and the Gulf, where cafes are known for the noisy slap of checkers and the call of the dice numbers. Players across the region often call out dice results in a mix of Persian and Turkish number words, a habit that came with the game.
Shesh besh (Levant and Israel)
Shesh besh is the name used in the Levant, including Lebanon, Syria, Israel and Palestine. It combines shesh, the Persian word for six, and besh, the Turkish word for five. It is the same board and, nearly always, backgammon rules.
Nard, takhte nard and nardy
Nard is the Persian name, from the old game nardshir. In Iran the board is called takhte nard, “board of nard”. In Georgia and Azerbaijan it is nardi, and in Russia and former Soviet countries nardy. The popular Russian long nardy is a different game from backgammon: both players start with all fifteen checkers on one point, move in the same direction round the board, and there is no hitting; the object is to block the opponent and bring your checkers home first. Short nardy is closer to backgammon.
Other variants
- Hypergammon: each player has only three checkers, which makes a very fast game with lots of hitting.
- Acey-deucey: a variant with the checkers starting off the board, in which rolling a 1 and a 2 gives a bonus.
- Chouette: a social way to play with more than two people, where one player takes on a team.
Comparing the family
| Game | Directions | Hitting | Where you will find it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Backgammon, tavla, shesh besh, Portes | Opposite | Yes, blots are sent to the bar | Worldwide; Turkey, Greece, the Levant |
| Plakoto | Opposite | No, checkers are pinned | Greece |
| Fevga, Moultezim, Jacquet | Same | No | Greece, France |
| Long nardy | Same | No | Russia, the Caucasus |
At the table: sounds and habits
Wherever you play, the game is loud. Players slam the checkers, shake the dice in the hand or cup, and call the numbers aloud before they move; the dice have their own names in each language: Turkish players say düşeş for a double six, from the Persian words for two and six. The game is a social one: spectators advise, tea or coffee is poured, and a friendly game can go on for hours. The point of BackgammonTalk is to keep this noise when the players are in different cities.
Which one is BackgammonTalk?
BackgammonTalk plays standard international backgammon, with the doubling cube. It is the same board, dice and fifteen checkers you know under any of these names. If your family plays Portes, Plakoto or long nardy, the first two rules to agree on are who goes first and whether the cube is used. Then play backgammon online with your people.
Frequently asked questions
Is tavla the same as backgammon?
In Turkey tavla is backgammon, and the rules are nearly the same. Greek tavli is three games in a row, one of which, Portes, is nearly identical to backgammon.
What does shesh besh mean?
Shesh is Persian for six and besh is Turkish for five. The name is used across the Levant for backgammon.
Is nard the same as backgammon?
Nard is the Persian ancestor and name for a family of games. Short nard is close to backgammon, but long nardy has no hitting and is a different game.