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Backgammon · Tavla & Dama

How to Play Tavla and Backgammon

Tavla is the Turkish name for backgammon. Two players race their 15 checkers around the board with two dice, hit lone checkers on the way and bear them off once they are all home.

Tavla & Dama has two rule sets: Turkish Tavla, played without a doubling cube, and international Backgammon with the doubling cube, backgammons and the Crawford rule.

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.

Rules: Turkish

  • Start: 2 checkers on your 24-point, 5 on the 13, 3 on the 8 and 5 on the 6.
  • Landing on a single opponent checker hits it. It goes to the bar and must enter the opponent's home board before its owner moves anything else.
  • If all six entry points are closed, the player on the bar skips the turn until one opens.
  • Opening: each player throws one die. The higher one starts and throws both dice again; a tie is thrown again.
  • There is no doubling cube.

Rules: Backgammon

  • Start: 2 checkers on your 24-point, 5 on the 13, 3 on the 8 and 5 on the 6.
  • Landing on a single opponent checker hits it. It goes to the bar and must enter the opponent's home board before its owner moves anything else.
  • Opening: each player throws one die. The higher one starts and plays those two dice.
  • Doubling cube: before your roll you may double. Your opponent takes, and the cube doubles and becomes theirs, or passes and loses the game at the current value. The cube goes up to 64.
  • A backgammon is 3 points: the loser has borne off nothing and still has a checker on the bar or in the winner's home board. Every score is multiplied by the cube.
  • Crawford: when a player first gets one point short of the match, the next game is played without the cube.

Tips

  • Make points, especially in your home board and on your 5-point. Two checkers together cannot be hit.
  • Avoid leaving single checkers where your opponent can hit them with a likely roll.
  • Once the checkers have passed each other and nobody can hit, it is a pure race: just move as efficiently as you can.

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 Tavla 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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More rules in Tavla & Dama