Long Nard Dice and Doubles: How Each Move Works
Learn how two dice, four moves on doubles, blocked landings and forced moves work in Long Nard, with point-numbered examples.
Why a roll is not one long jump
A player sees 6 and 5, adds them to eleven, and slides a checker eleven points. The destination may be right, but the explanation is incomplete. Long Nard treats the dice as two individual instructions. If a checker leaves the head, which we number point 24, a six followed by a five gives 24 to 18 to 13. Reversing the dice gives 24 to 19 to 13. Both routes reach 13; they do not pass the same intermediate stop. If the opponent holds 18 but not 19, one route might be possible and the other forbidden.
This is the simplest way to read an unfamiliar position. First locate the mover's checkers. Next identify the two landing points for each available order. Only after checking those landings should you think about the shape of your next turn. A dice total is useful for estimating distance, but it cannot replace two legal moves. The same distinction matters whenever a point is closed by even a single enemy checker. Long Nard does not permit hitting.
One die or both: the obligation to move
Sometimes a player prefers to play just one die because using both would break a useful stack. That preference does not control the rules. If both values can legally be played, both must be used. When only one can be played, the normal larger-number requirement applies to the legally playable choice. Doubles are treated as a sequence of as many legal individual moves as possible, up to four.
These obligations are better learned by exploring alternatives rather than memorizing a slogan. Take a checker on 14 with a 5 and 3. Suppose 9 is held by the opponent and 11 and 6 are open. The five-first route is closed at 9, but the three-first route 14 to 11 to 6 may be available. If a second checker can legally play the five, that option also has to be examined. The precise answer depends on the entire board, not just one interesting checker.
The head rule does not disappear with doubles
The head starts with fifteen checkers. Ordinarily only one checker may leave that head during a turn. A 2-2 on a later turn cannot be used to send four different checkers away from point 24. One may depart, after which other twos must use legal moves by that checker or pieces already in play. If no additional legal movement exists, the remaining part of the roll may be unusable.
The narrowly defined opening exception concerns a player's first turn with 6-6, 4-4 or 3-3 and a blocked continuation caused by the opponent's head. It does not make all doubles into permission for multiple departures. A beginner who learns the four-step rule but forgets the head limit makes a predictable mistake. Treat dice quantity and checker departure as two separate questions.
How blocking changes the mathematics
Every opposing checker closes its point. This is different from Tavla Classic, where a lone blot can be hit. A Long Nard checker may pass over a closed point within one die's distance, but it cannot finish that die on the closed point. A long move can therefore be legal even when a shorter one is not, depending on the exact landing. Conversely, a clear final destination is worthless when the intermediate stop required by the chosen dice order is closed.
A six-point wall adds another legality issue. Creating six consecutive controlled points is prohibited if doing so traps all fifteen opposing checkers behind the wall. That constraint can change an otherwise attractive double. An honest explanation of a roll should list both the reachable destinations and any new wall it would complete. Speed alone is not the whole decision.
Learn the roll by narrating it
A helpful teaching habit is to say each landing aloud. For 4 and 2 from 17, announce 17 to 13, then 13 to 11; next test 17 to 15, then 15 to 11. This is more reliable than pointing at 11 and saying the checker traveled six. In difficult turns, write the point numbers down. You will quickly see that the dice order is an actual strategic choice, not decorative notation.
When playing Nard Online, legal-move highlighting and undo before confirmation can help you study alternatives. They do not erase the value of knowing why a move is allowed. Playing the browser version at /play/ gives a practical setting for checking your understanding. The Android Google Play release is live, while iPhone availability remains pending with no promised date.
Practice notebook
1. Two roads to point 13
You are making a Long Nard opening roll of 6 and 5, with all fifteen of your checkers on 24. Write 24 to 18 to 13, and directly below it write 24 to 19 to 13. Imagine that point 18 is occupied by one opponent checker while 19 and 13 are empty. The two routes have equal total distance, but only the second avoids the forbidden intermediate landing. This exercise proves why adding the dice before tracing the route can conceal a foul.
2. A middle-game 4 and 2
A checker stands on your point 17. Test four followed by two, landing on 13 and 11, then two followed by four, landing on 15 and 11. Suppose the opponent holds point 13 but not 15 or 11. The first order is blocked; the second can work. Next ask whether another checker offers a different way to use both dice. A correct answer considers the whole board, not an imagined entitlement to move the same checker every turn.
3. The double-two staircase
Your checker is on 18 in a practice diagram with points 16, 14, 12 and 10 open. A roll of 2-2 offers four moves, and the route is 18 to 16 to 14 to 12 to 10. Move the checker one step at a time. Now mark point 14 as enemy occupied. You may not leap from 16 directly to 12 by claiming that two twos make four. Search for other playable checkers after the first legal step.
4. What 5-5 does not promise
Imagine a developed position with one checker at 23 and another at 14. You roll 5-5. Trace candidate steps from 23 to 18 and from 14 to 9, then continue only to known open landings. The dice offer four moves of five, not four guaranteed successful moves. If the next point is closed, look for another route. If moving one checker creates an illegal six-point barrier, that option must be rejected even though the arithmetic is correct.
5. The head on a later double
It is your third turn and thirteen checkers remain on point 24. You roll 3-3. The first three may move one checker to 21. You cannot take three further fresh checkers off the head simply because three more moves are printed on the dice. Try 21 to 18 if free, or use another checker already on the route. The first-turn exception is a separate condition and no longer applies.
6. The blocked five
Your checker stands at 14 and your dice show 5 and 3. Point 9 is closed but 11 and 6 are open. Five first cannot land at 9. Three first to 11 and then five to 6 may be legal. Check the intermediate points rather than treating the eight-point total as a single instruction. If the rest of your board offers a completely different legal placement, compare it before committing.
7. Only one value can be used
Set up a late position with one movable checker and closed landing points blocking all options for a roll of 6 and 2 except a legal six. You must play the six, even if it worsens the shape of your home. Reverse the example so only a two can be played; then the smaller die is used because the six has no legal route. The larger-number preference does not permit stepping onto a closed point.
8. A wall made by the last move
On a practice board, your color controls five consecutive points. A double of one could appear to place a sixth checker on the missing point. Before approving the final step, check whether all fifteen enemy checkers would be trapped behind the new six-point wall. If they would, the completion is illegal. A series of perfectly numbered destinations can still fail the separate blocking restriction.
9. Passing is not landing
Suppose an opponent owns your point 13 and your checker waits on 17. A six could land on 11 if that point is open. The checker passes the vicinity of 13 but does not stop there, so that single die move is not rejected merely because 13 was crossed. Compare this with a four, which would land on 13 and therefore be forbidden. The marked endpoint determines occupancy legality.
10. Bear-off arithmetic is a later problem
A checker on point 4 is already in your home, but several others still lie outside points 1 through 6. A four on the dice does not yet let you remove that checker, because all fifteen must first be home. Use this example to separate the ordinary movement meaning of the die from the bearing-off phase. The shape of the board, not only the value rolled, determines what the move can achieve.
11. How likely is the next double?
There are 36 equally likely ordered outcomes from two fair six-sided dice. Six are doubles, giving a probability of 6/36 or one in six for any double. A particular 4-4 is only one outcome, 1/36. Neither probability tells you how many of the four moves will be playable on your board. Dice statistics describe the throw, while checker restrictions decide which steps survive.
Frequently asked questions
Can I treat 6 and 5 as one eleven-point jump?
No. You can sometimes use both dice consecutively on one checker, but the intermediate landing after the first die must be legal. The final point alone is not enough.
How many moves does 3-3 give?
Four individual moves of three points, subject to available landings and other Long Nard restrictions. The presence of four moves does not mean four fresh pieces may leave the head.
Do doubles override the head rule?
No. On an ordinary turn only one checker may depart from the head. There is a specific conditional exception on the player's first turn for 6-6, 4-4 and 3-3.
May I voluntarily ignore a bad die?
No. You must play all legally usable moves. The order can matter and should be checked before concluding that a die cannot be used.
Can I hit a single opposing checker?
in Long Nard. Even one enemy checker closes a point, unlike Tavla where a lone opposing blot may be hit.
Can I travel across an enemy point?
You may pass a point as part of a die move if the actual endpoint is legal. You cannot stop on a point occupied by an opponent.
Is a double always four successful moves?
It offers four moves, but blocks and other restrictions can prevent some. Play as many as the full legal board position allows.
Does a legal landing guarantee that the whole turn is legal?
No. You also need to consider the required use of dice, the head restriction and the prohibition on creating a six-point wall that traps every opposing checker.
How often do doubles appear?
With fair dice, any double appears in six of the 36 ordered outcomes, or one sixth of the time. A specified double such as 2-2 appears in one of 36.
Where can I practice the dice rules?
Use the Long Nard mode in the browser at /play/ and compare the legal-move highlighting with the point-by-point analysis in this guide.