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Backgammon · Tavla & Dama

How to Play Gul Bara

Gul Bara, also written Gülbara, is a Turkish backgammon game in which both players race round the board in the same direction. There is no hitting, a single checker blocks a point, and doubles can set off a chain of ever higher doubles.

It uses the usual board, 15 checkers each and two dice.

Players:
2
Checkers:
15 each
Dice:
2

Goal

  • Bring all 15 of your checkers into your home board and bear them off. The first player to bear off all 15 wins the game.

Moving

  • Each die moves one checker that many points. A double is played four times.
  • You must play as many dice as you can. If only one of the two dice can be played, play the larger one when you can.
  • You cannot land on a point held by two or more opponent checkers.
  • If you have no legal move, the turn passes.

Bearing off

  • When all 15 checkers are in your home board, a die bears off a checker from its own point.
  • A higher die bears off your farthest checker when no checker stands on a higher point.

Scoring

  • A win is 1 point. A gammon, when the loser has borne off no checker, is 2 points.
  • The first player to reach the match length wins the match.

Gul Bara

  • Start: all 15 checkers on your 24-point. The players start in opposite corners and move round the board in the same direction.
  • No hitting: even a single checker closes its point to the opponent.
  • Double chain: after each player's first three turns, a double is followed by every higher double up to 6-6, for example 4-4, 5-5, 6-6. From the first one you cannot play, your opponent plays the rest and then rolls as usual.
  • Opening: the higher die starts and throws both dice again. There is no doubling cube.

Tips

  • Because one checker is enough to block, spreading out to cover many points can trap your opponent.
  • Keep room to move: a big double chain is only good if you can play it. Points you cannot use pass to your opponent.

Controls

  • Tap the dice to roll.
  • Tap a checker and then a lit point, or drag the checker there.
  • Undo takes a move back. Done ends your turn.

Play Gul Bara in Tavla & Dama

Tavla & Dama puts backgammon and draughts in one beautiful wooden box: Tavla, Tapa and Gülbara, and eight kinds of draughts. Play smart bots anytime, even offline, or open a private room and play with a friend.

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