Start with what happens to one exposed checker
Imagine a walnut board on a crowded table. You place a single ivory checker on a point, reach for your tea, and watch the other player roll 4 and 2. Before either die touches the board, there is one question that matters more than the numbers. What can the other player do to that lone checker? In short backgammon they may hit it. In Plakoto they may pin it underneath a checker. In Long Nard they may not land on its point at all. Three different games are hiding beneath the same familiar triangles.
This guide uses variant to mean a distinct way of playing a related tables game, not a different color of dice or board. The physical equipment overlaps: a board often has 24 triangular points separated by a bar, and most traditions use fifteen checkers per player. But direction, initial placement, contact, doubles and scoring can differ. If a family uses its own house rule, that deserves respect as a local convention; it does not automatically become a universal rule.
There is another boundary here. Nard Online supports Long Nard, Tavla Classic and Tavla Modern. The additional games discussed below are part of a knowledge base. Their appearance in this article is not a promise that a Plakoto, Fevga or Acey-Deucey button exists in the app. The full browser game is at nardonline.com/play/. The app overview explains the supported modes without pretending every documented variant is playable.
The three games actually available in Nard Online
Long Nard, the blocked-point race
Long Nard begins with all fifteen pieces of each color on a single starting point called the head, in diagonally opposite corners. Both players travel counterclockwise along their own route toward home. A lone opposing checker makes its point unavailable, and there is no hitting or bar re-entry. Usually just one checker may leave the head in a turn, subject to the game's narrowly defined first-turn exception for 6-6, 4-4 and 3-3 when the opposing position prevents full use of the roll. A six-point barricade cannot imprison all fifteen enemy checkers. A normal victory scores one; mars, when the opponent has borne off none, scores two.
Here is an elementary Long Nard picture using points numbered from the mover's perspective, descending from 24 toward 1. Your checker is on your 17-point and you roll 4-2. If the 13-point is empty and legal, you can advance four to 13; if the 11-point is also legal, you can then advance two to 11. If an opponent occupies point 13, that route is closed even when the opposing stack contains only one checker. You must consider a different legal sequence. That is not how a Tavla blot works. Read the exact Long Nard rules before playing a live race.
Tavla Classic, where exposed pieces can be hit
Tavla Classic starts from the familiar short-backgammon arrangement. From each player's perspective it is two on 24, five on 13, three on 8 and five on 6. Players move in opposite directions. A lone enemy checker is called a blot; a legal landing on it sends it to the bar. The struck player must re-enter that checker before moving others. Double dice offer four moves of the shown number, and bearing off begins only when all fifteen pieces reach home. The Nard Online rules specify double scoring for mars or gammon and no doubling cube in Classic.
Suppose your Tavla checker rests on your 13-point and the 8-point is occupied by just one opposing checker. A roll containing 5 may allow you to land on 8, hit the blot and put that opposing checker on the bar. The example assumes that the destination is in fact the opponent's blot in this position and that all other movement obligations are satisfied. In Long Nard the same arrival would be forbidden. For setup, bar priorities and exceptions see the Tavla rules.
Tavla Modern, Classic plus a doubling cube
Modern uses Tavla's contact and movement rules with a doubling cube. The cube is a game-value decision, not a third die and not a license to wager money. The owner specification does not confirm a separate three-point backgammon outcome for the app, even though such a result exists in some international rule sets. This guide must not silently transfer that convention to Tavla Modern. Both Classic and Modern are described as the actual supported modes; the rest of this page is comparative education.
Long Nard and Short Nard are different branches
People often ask whether long and short nard differ merely in how far each checker travels. They do not. A short-game player who leaves a blot is taking a calculated risk because the other player may capture it. A Long Nard player who leaves a checker alone is creating a tiny locked gate. That difference rewrites the value of almost every position on the board. The Long versus Short Nard guide compares openings, contact and winning plans in greater detail.
Their starting pictures are equally distinct. Long Nard's fifteen-piece head makes the first few rolls an exercise in bringing pieces into play. Short Nard distributes pieces among four groups at the beginning, so contact and safe points matter immediately. Both use dice and a bear-off race, yet the best move in one may be impossible in the other. This is why a search for "nardy" should not automatically lead to a Western hitting tutorial, and why a tutorial for "tavla" must say what sort of tavla it means.
Names are especially slippery across countries. Russian длинные нарды usually points to the long, no-hit race; короткие нарды generally describes the short, hitting game. Azerbaijani players distinguish uzun nərd and qısa nərd. In Turkish the word tavla most commonly evokes the hitting game, while uzun tavla signals the long game. These are useful search and conversational terms, not proof that every household follows exactly identical exceptions or scoring.
Western backgammon and Turkish tavla
International backgammon and Turkish short tavla share the central arrangement and the possibility of striking a blot. The distinction is partly cultural and partly about conventions around match scoring and the cube. It would be inaccurate to suggest that a cube must appear on every physical tavla board, or that every online backgammon app implements precisely the same scoring options. Nard Online has deliberately separated the cube-free Classic mode from Modern. Its product definition is the final authority for those two choices.
Consider an ordinary contact position: one player has a pair on their own 5-point and a single piece on 9; the other player has a possible hitting number. The importance of securing the 5-point and weighing the exposure of the piece on 9 transfers between short tavla and international backgammon. The meaning of a proposed double does not transfer to a cube-free match. This is a useful way to study another culture's version without importing a rule that changes the match.
The word mars is familiar in Turkish and Azerbaijani conversation, while English lessons often say gammon. In each case a double result generally concerns a loser who has not borne off any checker. More specialized scoring beyond that needs a specific rulebook. We distinguish between standard international practices described by outside references and confirmed Nard Online behavior. That discipline protects a beginner from learning a score that the game does not award.
The Greek Tavli trio
A Greek evening of tavli may involve not one ruleset but three games played in a cycle: Portes, Plakoto and Fevga. A published study of Tavli strategies describes that familiar three-game structure and notes that regional ordering can vary. It is better to call this a family or match format than to translate every occurrence of tavli as one single variant. Traditional cycles generally do not use a doubling cube, although a home table may agree on different customs.
Portes is closest to the short hitting game. A lone checker can be struck and sent to the bar, and the starting arrangement resembles standard backgammon. Plakoto changes contact completely: it traps a lone checker beneath an enemy rather than sending it to the bar. Fevga uses a blockade race without hitting. A competent Portes player may enjoy aggressive shots and feel helpless in Fevga, where timing a wall matters more than forcing a return from the bar.
A practical way to remember the trio is to attach one verb to each name. In Portes, hit. In Plakoto, pin. In Fevga, block. This shorthand is a learning device rather than the complete rules of any of the three. A Greek player can readily discuss further subtleties such as initial restrictions or regional scoring. None of these three named games is advertised as a separately supported Nard Online mode; Tavla Classic happens to resemble Portes, which is not the same as claiming an identical implementation.
Plakoto and Tapa: trapping instead of hitting
Plakoto is often the first surprising game for someone who thinks every piece has only two states, on the board or on the bar. Here the opponent can land on an unaccompanied checker and hold it down. The trapped checker stays in its place but cannot move until the trapping checker or stack leaves. Two enemy checkers already occupying a point cannot normally be pinned in that way. The essential object is still a race to remove all pieces, but mobility is being negotiated through pins rather than captures.
Imagine a Plakoto position described from your own perspective. You have a checker on your 15-point, and a lone opposing checker occupies your 12-point. A legal 3 may allow your checker to land on 12 and pin that opponent. The enemy checker is not sent to the bar. On a later turn, if you move your holding checker off 12 and no other of your checkers remains on top, the trapped piece is released. Exact starting-point privileges and exceptional wins should be checked against the rule set being used, not guessed from this illustration.
In Bulgaria, a related pinning game is called Tapa. Reference works commonly group Tapa with Plakoto, but local arrangements and exceptions deserve separate verification. Calling them related is safer than erasing all distinctions. The key point for a learner is firm: do not apply Long Nard's never-share-a-point rule and do not apply Tavla's bar when you have agreed to play a pinning game. Those choices produce a fundamentally different puzzle.
Fevga and Moultezim: the patient blockade
Fevga belongs to the no-hit side of the family. Both sides move around the board in a common direction from concentrated starts; an opponent's single checker shuts a point. Its resemblance to Long Nard is real. But resemblance is not identity, because details about the opening checker, permitted primes, doubles and particular local restrictions can vary. If two strangers agree to play Fevga, they should establish those details before the opening roll. A familiar title alone is not a complete rules contract.
Moultezim, associated in reference catalogs with Turkish and Eastern tables traditions, also features a no-hit race with common-direction movement and strong blockades. Do not use the word Moultezim as a casual synonym for every version of Long Nard. The variant comparison gives you a stable reference for Nard Online's own rules; other names need their own documentation. Historical reach is difficult to quantify, so this guide makes no claims about the most popular national variant by player count.
Here is a thought experiment. Your lone checker guards point 10, with your other men pressing toward home. In Fevga-like play that lone checker prevents an opponent from landing on 10. In a hitting game, the same lonely presence might instead invite a hit. Your decision to leave the checker exposed cannot be transferred from one rules family to the other. Before asking whether a wall is clever, ask which contacts the rules allow.
Gul Bara and Gioul: why doubles change everything
Gul Bara is sometimes called Crazy Narde or Rosespring Backgammon. It resembles the no-hit blocking family, but the late double rule is its signature. One published rules account states that during the first three rolls, doubles behave conventionally. After that, rolling a double leads to playing that value four times and then successive higher doubles through 6-6, provided the moves can legally be made. A 3-3 can therefore invite four threes, four fours, four fives and four sixes. This is not a feature of Nard Online's Long Nard.
The double rule sounds generous until the board narrows. A chain of compulsory moves may run into closed points. Once the player cannot complete the required step, the turn ends under the referenced Gul Bara rules. The dramatic value of a double is therefore conditional on open lanes and the exact version at the table. A guide that merely says "double means four moves" would miss the distinctive heart of this game, while a guide promising all those extra moves in standard Long Nard would be wrong.
Gioul is another regional variation described in specialist collections. It combines elements that resemble pinning-style starting arrangements with a single-checker block and powerful doubles. Such combinations are a reminder that our tidy three-family classification is a map, not an exhaustive taxonomy. Details here belong to independently documented traditional variations, not to the current Nard Online game selection. A serious player interested in these games should read a dedicated rules source before attempting to recreate the game manually.
Persian Takhteh and other regional names
Takht-e nard or Takhteh is associated with Persian backgammon traditions. Specialist variant directories describe a game near the familiar hitting branch, not a blanket synonym for the no-hit Long Nard. Some local play incorporates particular constraints about hits or movement, so the English phrase "Persian backgammon" cannot carry all of the fine print. Likewise, terms such as shesh besh travel across languages and tables, where they may name a roll, a familiar short game, or a local social tradition.
There is a useful editorial distinction between language and mechanics. Saying "нарды" to a Russian reader tells you a cultural category, but often not which rules the speaker wants. Saying "backgammon" to an English reader makes a hitting game likely, but it does not tell you whether a cube is in use. Saying "nərd" in Azerbaijan often needs the follow-up "uzun, yoxsa qısa?". The responsible glossary records these ordinary ambiguities rather than forcing the same English label onto every local use.
The name tavola reale sometimes appears in Italian historical writing, while French sources discuss jacquet and trictrac. Those words deserve a history page and a rules comparison, not placement in a list of modes available to click. Our Nard history pillar and glossary provide places to develop those relationships without confusing readers about current app support.
Acey-Deucey: a special opening and special roll
Acey-Deucey is particularly associated in game histories with American maritime and military communities. In the American form, all checkers begin off the board and enter as play progresses, rather than appearing in the usual 2-5-3-5 formation. A roll of 1 and 2 is special: the player makes those moves, chooses a double to play, then rolls again if the rules allow the sequence to continue. This is a distinct game with its own opening rhythm, not just a friendly nickname for Tavla.
Try picturing a first turn. Your board is empty because your fifteen checkers have not yet entered. A 1-2 gives entry possibilities determined by the open points and the agreed variant. If the full special sequence is legal, the additional chosen double may shape several new pieces at once. None of this maps to the Long Nard head, whose pieces start stacked on the board. Even the name Acey-Deucey covers multiple forms, including American and European versions with different procedures for doubles.
For this reason, do not print a single universal Acey-Deucey cheat sheet and assume it settles arguments everywhere. Backgammon Galore catalogues separate American, European, Greek and Mexican forms. A sound comparative article can explain their defining differences without claiming that one edition represents every ship, club and neighborhood. Nard Online documents Acey-Deucey as knowledge only.
Hypergammon and Nackgammon
Hypergammon strips the short game down to three checkers per player. In the standard description those pieces begin on the 24, 23 and 22 points from their owner's perspective. With so little material, individual rolls and contact choices become stark. It is a wonderful example for studying how changing only the number and placement of checkers can transform a familiar board. It is not simply a fast button inside Nard Online; this variant is not listed as a supported game.
Nackgammon, created by Nack Ballard, keeps fifteen checkers but adjusts the standard short-game opening to retain more back checkers. A standard Nackgammon arrangement from the mover's perspective is two on 24, two on 23, four on 13, three on 8 and four on 6. This setup often creates longer contact battles than the familiar opening. It retains the hitting logic of backgammon. If a reader only memorizes the word "different setup," they miss why a second deep anchor alters the timing of escape and the value of rolls.
Suppose you roll 6-1 early in Nackgammon. You cannot blindly borrow the best-known standard backgammon opening because pieces now occupy a different configuration, including an additional stack on 23. The precise legal candidates need to be evaluated on this new board. That is the lesson shared by both Hypergammon and Nackgammon: the board is the same, but the distribution of material changes tactical priorities. Further comparison belongs in the Tavla strategy guide, with the caveat that its worked positions refer to Tavla, not the experimental variants.
Longgammon, Jacquet and Trictrac
Longgammon is a specially named backgammon variant in which all fifteen pieces start at the opponent's one-point. The resulting long initial race is not identical to Long Nard. Under the commonly documented Longgammon rules, the contact and hitting mechanics remain those of backgammon. Two games having all checkers clustered at the start does not make them the same game. Inspect contact and movement rather than rely on "long" in the name.
Jacquet is a historical French tables game with its own setup and movement requirements. It belongs to the family's rich European branch; explaining all its exceptions in a paragraph would overpromise. A reader researching Jacquet should use a dedicated period-specific rules source. Our purpose here is to distinguish it from international backgammon and from the supported Nard Online modes, not to invent a simplified rule set to fill an index slot.
Trictrac, another French historical game, illustrates a much larger change in the objective. In published explanations, players score for certain positions and movements during the game; a race to remove every checker is not the entire scoring story. Traditional terms and tallies can be intricate. A modern search result that says only "Trictrac is French backgammon" gives a misleading impression. Treat historical names as specialist topics that deserve references and careful editorial review before publication.
Other variations worth recognizing
A survey should not stop with its most famous fourteen labels. Variant directories also describe Swedish tables, Dutch and French backgammon, the Roman Tabula, the English game sometimes called Irish, Tourne-case, reversal or misère games, and experiments such as roll-over or dice-free backgammon. Some change the start, others change the scoring objective, and a few even change how turns are selected. They demonstrate how resilient the 24-point board has been as a platform for different games.
There are good reasons not to assign each obscure name a confident one-line rule. Historical reconstructions may depend on period sources. A modern club variant may have several published editions. Some same-sounding names refer to separate games in different languages. Rather than multiplying unsupported facts, we maintain an expandable Backgammon Variants pillar with narrower cluster pages for topics where rule references and owner-reviewed examples are available. This strategy serves readers better than a long list of speculative "facts" optimized only for keyword count.
One final modern distinction matters. A player can create a home rule by changing an opening, but that does not automatically establish a new international variant. If your group plays first to three games instead of first to five, you have changed the match format, not necessarily the checker movement rules. If you play a recognized form with no cube, describe that choice explicitly. The point is to make the next game understandable to everyone at the table.
Compare variants without mixing their rules
The easiest comparison uses six questions, answered before anyone moves. Where do the checkers start? Which way does each side travel? May one opposing checker be landed upon, and what happens then? What do doubles permit? Which restrictions govern blocks and entry? When and how is the result counted? Even if both players know the physical board, failing to settle any one of these can create an honest dispute by the fourth roll.
For Long Nard, the answer begins with a stacked head, common counterclockwise movement, no hits and a strictly defined head restriction. For Tavla, start with 2-5-3-5, opposing routes, blots that may be hit and compulsory return from the bar. For Plakoto, ask about pinning. For Fevga, ask about the one-checker blockade and local initial constraints. For Acey-Deucey, ask which named version supplies the special 1-2 sequence. For Gul Bara, ask when cascading doubles begin. Specific rules sources matter more than mere resemblance.
An illustrative experiment: place one enemy checker on your 8-point and a friendly checker on 14. With a roll of 6-2, a 6-step move from 14 to 8 has three different meanings. In short Tavla it may hit the blot. In Plakoto it may trap the piece. In Long Nard it is illegal because the point is occupied. That example uses point numbers from the mover's perspective and assumes the preceding path, entry priorities and other moves otherwise permit the relevant action. It makes a strong teaching diagram precisely because the destination stays the same while the rules change.
How to choose a game and learn responsibly
Choose by the sort of decision you enjoy. Long Nard rewards development from the head, careful blocks and steady race management. Tavla Classic suits players who enjoy calculating shots, protecting blots and planning bar re-entry. Tavla Modern adds the distinct question of when to offer or accept a doubling decision. Someone curious about pinning may find Plakoto fascinating, but should read a proper Plakoto rulebook rather than search the Nard Online game selector for it.
A beginner might start by playing Long Nard against an offline Easy bot, examining legal-move highlighting and undoing a move before confirmation if necessary. Then try Tavla Classic to learn the bar, and Modern later when the meaning of the cube is familiar. Nard Online also provides Pass & Play, online quick matches and private rooms. This sequence is advice, not a claim that a special guided curriculum or an Acey-Deucey training feature is present in the product. Read the beginner guide for an actual first-game walkthrough.
There is no real-money stake in Nard Online. Online tables use virtual coins, which have no cash value and cannot be withdrawn. Do not confuse historical discussions of match value or the doubling cube with an invitation to gamble. The app carries a 17+ or 18+ rating depending on the store context. Learning a cultural board game and respecting the players at the table is the point of this knowledge base.
Common mistakes and table disputes
The most common error is to watch one instructional video and assume every rule survives a switch of game. You see a player hit a blot, then attempt the same landing in Long Nard. Or you learn that one checker blocks in Long Nard and assume a lone checker is safe in Tavla. The board looks reassuringly familiar, so the change goes unnoticed. The cure is to name the game before the first roll and check the treatment of an exposed piece.
The second error is a naming dispute disguised as a rules dispute. "We always played nardy like this" may mean a distinct regional form, not that one player is making up moves. Be precise about uzun nərd, qısa nərd, dлинные нарды, Turkish tavla or Greek Tavli. A third error is borrowing scoring from an unrelated manual. Some international backgammon rules award a separate triple result. The Nard Online product brief does not establish that as a feature. When a rule matters to your match, use the mode's rule page, not a general search snippet.
Backgammon Variants: A Guide to Long Nard, Tavla and More: Android is available on Google Play, while the iPhone submission remains in Apple review.
Frequently asked questions
How many variants can I play in Nard Online?
Three distinct game choices are documented: Long Nard, Tavla Classic and Tavla Modern. This guide describes additional traditional variants for education only. Those names should not be read as a list of extra playable modes.
What is the biggest difference between Long Nard and Tavla?
In Long Nard, an opposing checker blocks a point even when it stands alone. In Tavla, a lone opposing checker can be hit and sent to the bar. Starting arrangements and movement directions differ too.
Are Portes, Plakoto and Fevga the same game?
No. They are three games commonly grouped into Greek Tavli sessions. Portes involves hitting, Plakoto involves pinning, and Fevga is a no-hit blocking race. Their detailed rules are not interchangeable.
Can you hit a checker in Plakoto?
A lone opposing checker may be pinned underneath your checker rather than hit and sent to the bar. Its ability to move is restricted until the pin is released, subject to the agreed Plakoto rules.
Is Fevga exactly Long Nard?
They belong to a related no-hit family and share important movement and blocking ideas, but particular opening restrictions and house rules can differ. Do not declare the two identical without comparing specific rulebooks.
Why are Gul Bara doubles unusual?
In the documented Gul Bara rules, a double after the first three rolls can lead through successive higher doubles, potentially through 6-6, as long as legal moves remain. Nard Online Long Nard does not use this feature.
What does 1-2 mean in Acey-Deucey?
In a common American form, 1-2 is a special roll that can be followed by a chosen double and an additional roll, subject to the variant's procedures. Other Acey-Deucey forms differ.
Does Hypergammon use fifteen checkers?
No. Standard Hypergammon uses only three checkers per side. Most familiar backgammon movement ideas remain, but the reduced material changes the game dramatically.
Who created Nackgammon?
Nack Ballard is credited with the variant. It changes the standard short-backgammon starting arrangement so that more checkers begin deep in the opponent's board, creating longer contact play.
Is French Trictrac simply modern backgammon?
No. Historical Trictrac has an elaborate system for scoring board positions and movements. It needs its own rules and vocabulary rather than a brief translation of modern backgammon instructions.
Can I play Plakoto or Gul Bara in the Nard Online browser game?
They are not included in the owner's listed supported modes. The documented playable games are Long Nard, Tavla Classic and Tavla Modern. The browser game is the live place to play those modes.
Are virtual coins gambling prizes?
No. Nard Online virtual coins have no real-world value, cannot be exchanged for cash and cannot be withdrawn. The online game does not offer real-money gambling.
Summary
A backgammon board is a shared piece of equipment, not a single universal ruleset. The exposed checker that can be hit in Tavla may be pinned in Plakoto or may close the entire point in Long Nard. Different beginnings, doubles, scoring and local customs create the rest of the family. Choose a game by its rules, recognize which names are regional, and separate educational variants from actual Nard Online features. If you want to play now, begin with one of the three supported games in the browser and use the full rules pages when a dispute arises.