Nard Glossary: The Words That Explain Long Nard and Tavla

How to read a nard term correctly

A word shouted over a backgammon board can describe a location, a tactical threat, or an entire style of play. You may hear someone say a checker is 'on the bar', but that sentence means nothing in Long Nard: checkers are not hit there. Ask which game is being played before applying a definition. Long Nard, Tavla Classic and Tavla Modern share a familiar board and fifteen checkers per player, yet important terms have different consequences. This glossary uses the Nard Online rules for product-specific claims. Traditional house rules may vary and should not silently replace the in-app rules.

Each worked position below uses the mover's perspective. Your 24-point is furthest from your home; your 1 to 6 points form your home board. A notation such as 13/8 means moving a checker from your 13-point to your 8-point, a distance of five pips. A longer sequence, 13/8/6, uses two dice on the same checker, subject to an available landing point after each part. For a complete first lesson, visit how to play nard. For rules without jargon, compare the Long Nard rules and Tavla rules.

The board and its geometry

Point, pip and twenty-four points

A point is one of the twenty-four narrow triangles on the board, not a score earned for winning. An ivory checker can occupy a burgundy triangle or the other way around; the color is decoration, not a movement rule. A pip may refer to a single step along the route, to a die spot, or loosely to a triangle. In strategy writing, 'five pips' usually means five steps of travel. On your side, 13/8 is five pips regardless of how the triangles are painted. A player's numbered viewpoint matters because the other player approaches home from the other direction in Tavla.

Home board, outer board and quadrant

Each side of the physical board has two groups of six points, yielding four quadrants overall. Your home board consists of your 1 through 6 points. Your outer board holds your 7 through 12 points. The remaining twelve are farther along your route. Bringing a checker from point 7 to point 6 is a small physical shift and an important strategic crossing into home. Do not confuse 'home' with the corner where a Long Nard checker starts. That starting pile is called the head and is far away from the finish. The home board entry develops this distinction.

The bar, as a piece of equipment

The bar is the divider between the two halves of a traditional board. In Tavla it has a second meaning: a waiting area for hit checkers. If a blot is hit, its owner must re-enter the checker before making any other move. In Long Nard, the middle divider is still physically visible but is not a holding area for captured checkers, because capturing does not occur. Watch for language that accidentally transfers the Tavla definition to Long Nard. The separate bar definition explains the move-order consequence with positions.

Checker, man, pul and daş

A checker is a playing piece, also called a man in older English books. In Azerbaijani conversation, daş is natural; Turkish players often say pul; Russian players commonly say шашка. Every player begins with fifteen checkers in the Nard Online variants. 'Checker set' can also mean a visual cosmetic collection in the app, but a different color or texture does not alter where the pieces may move. When reading an international article, translate 'men' as ordinary checkers rather than inventing a separate class of pieces.

Pieces, dice and notation

Dice, roll and turn

A roll is the outcome of two six-sided dice. A turn is the opportunity to apply that roll legally and, where permitted, confirm it. A player who rolls 6 and 5 has two movement values, not an automatic eleven-point jump. Moving one checker eleven pips may be possible if it can legally stop after the first die and then after the second. A blocked intermediate landing point can invalidate a route even if the final destination looks clear. The same pair of dice therefore produces different decisions in Long Nard and Tavla.

Doubles and four movements

When both dice show the same number, that number is available four times. A roll of 3 and 3 supplies four moves of three pips, not merely two moves of three. Those four parts can go to one checker or several where the rules allow. Long Nard still restricts normal departures from the head to one checker per turn. Its documented first-turn exception applies to 6 and 6, 4 and 4, or 3 and 3 when the opponent's pieces would otherwise block completion. 'Doubles' is not synonymous with the separate doubling cube.

Notation and an intermediate landing point

Printed analysis often writes 24/18 for a six-pip move or 8/5 for a three-pip move. The slash describes start and end points from the mover's viewpoint. It does not show whether a path was legal unless the writer includes the board context. Suppose Tavla Classic gives you 6 and 2 and a checker at 13. The route 13/7/5 might be possible; 13/11/5 might not, because point 11 could be occupied by two opposing checkers. Point numbers and the legal intermediate stop are more useful than simply saying 'move eight'.

Legal move, forced move and usable roll

A legal move obeys the occupancy rules, direction and dice values of the chosen variant. A forced move is the play you must make when no alternative legal use of the dice exists. If both dice can be played, both must be used; if only one of two different dice can be played, the larger playable value takes precedence under the documented rules. This is not permission to choose a convenient smaller die because it protects a favorite checker. Undoing an unconfirmed move in Nard Online does not make an illegal action valid.

Long Nard movement vocabulary

Head, baş and голова

The head is the stack where all fifteen Long Nard checkers begin. For the mover in the examples here, it is point 24. Black's head sits diagonally opposite, and both players travel counterclockwise around the physical board. Only one checker ordinarily leaves the head per turn, even when the dice are different. On a 6 and 5 first turn, you can move a checker 24/18/13 if the intermediate point 18 and final point 13 are open, rather than take two different checkers off the pile. Details appear in the dedicated head rule guide and head glossary entry.

Head exception on opening doubles

The first-turn exception is not a general instruction to release multiple checkers whenever doubles appear. Nard Online specifies the exception for first-turn 6 and 6, 4 and 4, or 3 and 3 when opposing checkers would otherwise prevent using the full roll with one checker. On later turns, the standard one-checker head limit applies. Before teaching a friend, distinguish the exact condition from a local table habit. A terse glossary note that says 'two may leave on doubles' would be incomplete and potentially wrong. The opening roll section supplies the longer explanation.

No hit and a closed point

Long Nard has no hits. If a point contains one opposing checker, it is unavailable for landing. In Tavla, by contrast, a lone opponent on a point is a blot that can be hit. Imagine your Long Nard checker at your 15-point and you roll 5. If the opponent occupies your 10-point, you cannot land there, even if only one opposing checker is present. Nor may you send that piece to a bar. The whole tactical vocabulary changes with this one rule: you manage routes and blocks, not attacks on isolated pieces.

Six-point block and the anti-trap rule

A block is a set of points an opponent cannot land on. Six consecutive Long Nard points can deny all passage across that stretch because a die never exceeds six. The documented rule forbids making such a blockade when it would trap all fifteen opposing checkers behind it. A legal barrier must leave at least one opposing checker beyond it. Three or four linked points may already constrain an opponent, but a full six-point wall triggers the special restriction. See prime and block and Long Nard strategy for the timing question, not only the definition.

Running, holding and timing

To run is to advance checkers toward home while preserving useful routes; to hold is to keep a position or barrier instead of pushing everything forward immediately. Timing describes how long a useful formation can be maintained with the moves you expect to have. A row of blocking checkers is not free: later dice may force you to dismantle part of it. In Long Nard, measure both how many pips remain and whether your pieces can move without self-blocking. A player ahead in raw distance can still be tactically cramped.

Tavla contact vocabulary

Blot and exposed checker

A blot is a lone checker sitting on a point in Tavla. If an opponent lands there legally, the blot is hit. Two checkers on a point normally protect it from an opposing landing, making a made point. When you move 13/8 with a five in Tavla Classic and leave one checker at point 8, you may have created a target. Whether the exposure is worth it depends on the opponent's next roll and your board. In Long Nard a single checker already blocks the landing point, so the same visual formation should not be called an exposed blot. See blot.

Hit, capture and re-enter

To hit in Tavla is to land on a point occupied by exactly one opposing checker and send it to the bar. The hit checker must re-enter from the opponent's home board before any other checker moves. The die value determines the entry point. If all relevant entry points are closed, some or all of the turn cannot be used. A hit is neither a score nor a piece removed from the match. It temporarily sends a checker back into contact, often transforming a race into a complicated defensive position.

Anchor and made point

An anchor usually means a secure point made by two or more of your checkers inside the opponent's home board. Such a point can keep a player connected to the position while waiting for a chance to escape or hit. A made point is any point held by at least two of your checkers in Tavla. A checker at your 20-point backed by another checker there is not a blot. In Long Nard, two pieces together may strengthen flexibility, but a single piece already denies the point to the opponent, so the tactical meaning differs.

Prime, partial prime and escape

A prime is a run of consecutive occupied or made points designed to stop an opposing checker advancing. In Tavla, making a point ordinarily takes at least two checkers; a row of single blots will not function as a safe wall. In Long Nard, one checker per point blocks. A partial prime contains fewer than six linked points, or a gap; an opponent may escape with some dice rolls. A full six-point formation is extremely strong, but remember the special anti-trap limit in Long Nard. One borrowed English word hides two distinct building costs.

Blitz, back game and holding game

A blitz is a Tavla plan built around hitting vulnerable checkers and closing re-entry points. A back game is a strategy of holding multiple anchors deep in the opponent's home and seeking later shots. A holding game uses an anchor to preserve contact while a player waits for a useful opportunity. These are concepts from hitting backgammon, not interchangeable names for Long Nard barriers. A glossary becomes dangerous when it copies a fashionable strategy term into every variant without asking whether checkers can be hit at all.

Building points and reading positions

Pip count, not a die prediction

A pip count totals the distances all your checkers still need to travel before bearing off. With three checkers at your 6-point and two at your 4-point, that group's count is 3 × 6 + 2 × 4 = 26 pips. That number can be compared with an opponent's count in a clean race. It does not forecast the next roll, and it cannot by itself tell whether a checker is trapped or exposed. Read the full pip count entry alongside the dice and probability guide.

Builder, slot and useful spare

In Tavla, a builder is a checker positioned to help make an important point on a future turn. A slot means placing one checker alone on an intended point, accepting that it may be hit before a second one arrives. A spare is an extra checker on a point that can move without breaking the point's control. These words describe resource allocation, not special game buttons. When a five moves a spare checker into range of your intended 5-point, the choice may help future rolls. It may also create exposure, so 'builder' does not automatically mean 'good move'.

Contact, race and crossover

A contact position in Tavla means players can still hit one another. A race begins once checkers have passed so that hitting is no longer possible. A crossover is a move carrying a checker between board quadrants, such as from 7 to 6. In Long Nard, movement is always without hitting, yet the race still involves blockades that may delay progress. Therefore the phrase 'no contact' in Western backgammon is not proof that both games have become strategically identical. Crossovers and spare-checker distribution still matter.

The home stretch and scoring

Bear in and bear off

To bear in is to bring checkers into your home board. To bear off is to remove them from play once all fifteen checkers are home. If your last Long Nard checker sits on point 7, a checker already on point 2 cannot be removed yet. Once every checker is on points 1 through 6, dice may be used for removal under the game's exact-point and higher-roll rules. A checker borne off is no longer moved. Read bear off for examples where taking the farthest checker is compulsory or permitted.

Mars, gammon and ordinary win

A normal Nard Online Long Nard victory scores one point. Mars is the double result when the losing player has borne off no checker, worth two points. Tavla's corresponding term is gammon, with the same double-result principle confirmed for the app. Beware an English article that discusses backgammon as a special triple result: that exists in conventional Western rules, but the owner's Nard Online game specification does not confirm a separate triple-scoring feature. It is wrong to advertise it as available without owner approval. See mars and the scoring rules.

Koks and triple terminology

Russian-speaking nardy discussions sometimes use кокс, transliterated koks, for a severe loss, but the condition and value vary by variant and local rule set. Western backgammon also has a technical triple-result definition. Neither a glossary translation nor a cultural reference proves that the Nard Online scorekeeper awards a third level of victory. This glossary describes those terms as external background only. Product UI copy should stick to the explicitly confirmed one-point win and double mars or gammon until the owner signs off a broader scoring policy.

The doubling cube and game variants

Doubling cube, not a third die

The doubling cube is a marked cube used to offer a change in a game's point value; its faces conventionally show 2, 4, 8, 16, 32 and 64. It is not rolled to move pieces. Nard Online has it in Tavla Modern. Tavla Classic does not use it, and neither does Long Nard. The distinction matters whenever a search result promises 'backgammon with cube': the board and ordinary dice may look familiar while the decisions differ. The standalone doubling cube definition provides the term without confusing it with doubles.

Take, pass and cube ownership

In standard cube vocabulary, take means accepting a proposed double; pass means declining it under the applicable game rules. After a take, control of the cube changes according to the match convention. This is a description of terminology, not a claim about every interface detail in Nard Online. Do not confuse pass on a doubling decision with a blocked turn when no legal checker movement exists. The first is a response to a proposed change of value, the second follows dice and occupancy. Their outcomes and prompts are different.

Long Nard, short nard and Tavla

Long Nard is also called nardy, uzun nərd or uzun tavla in appropriate contexts. Both players move counterclockwise; checkers start together on the head and cannot hit. Short Nard and Tavla use opposing directions, a dispersed starting arrangement, hitting and bar re-entry. Tavla Classic and Tavla Modern differ in cube use. Other names, including Plakoto, Fevga, Gul Bara and Hypergammon, designate different traditions. Their inclusion in the variants guide is educational; it does not mean the app offers those games.

Dice names across languages

Shesh-besh, şeş-beş and шеш-беш

The traditional name shesh-besh refers to the 6 and 5 dice combination in many regional traditions. Azerbaijani writes şeş-beş, Turkish also uses şeş-beş, and Russian commonly writes шеш-беш. A name for a roll does not grant a special movement ability. In Long Nard, 6 and 5 still involves the head rule and legal intermediate stops. In Tavla, the same roll is evaluated for hits, safety and blocking. The detailed dice-roll names guide will give pronunciation and regional evidence without pretending every café uses exactly the same words.

Dü-şeş, pənc-ü-dü and düşeş

Azerbaijani traditional expressions include dü-şeş for 2 and 6 and pənc-ü-dü for 5 and 2; exact spelling can vary. Turkish düşeş is commonly the double six, 6 and 6, while hepyek denotes double one in familiar Turkish tavla speech. These examples illustrate why dice names cannot be mapped merely by their sound. The Turkish word for double six is not the Azerbaijani name for a roll containing a two and a six. Record both the language and the pair of numbers when creating a multilingual glossary.

Doubles, cüt, qoşa and дубль

English doubles, Azerbaijani qoşa or cüt, Turkish çift and Russian дубль identify two identical dice. They are roll descriptions, not promises of bonus coins, extra matches or the doubling cube. If the dice show 4 and 4, that value is played four times, subject to the particular game's restrictions. When translating a rule paragraph, a local editor must preserve the difference between four uses of a rolled number and a stake-changing cube that appears only in Tavla Modern.

Positions that settle common disputes

Long Nard: a tempting hit that is illegal

Suppose you have a Long Nard checker on your point 14 and roll 4 and 1. Your opponent has one checker on your point 10 and another on your point 9. The move 14/10 is impossible because point 10 is occupied by an opponent. The move 14/13/9 also fails if point 9 is still occupied. You must look for other legal checkers and combinations, using the full roll when possible. Calling the opponent's solitary checker a 'blot' changes nothing; it cannot be hit under Long Nard rules. This illustrates why precise terminology prevents table arguments.

Tavla Classic: entering first changes everything

Now switch to Tavla Classic. Your checker is on the bar after being hit, and you roll 5 and 2. Before moving a checker from your 13-point, check which points in the opponent's home board accept the bar checker for those dice. If entry on the 5-point is blocked by two opposing checkers but entry on the 2-point is legal, your obligation to re-enter narrows the rest of the turn. The phrase 'on the bar' expresses a move priority, not merely the checker location. Only after any required bar entry may other checkers be moved.

Scoring: a double result is not a cube

Take two final boards. In the first, you bear off the fifteenth Long Nard checker while the opponent has already removed three; that is a normal one-point win. In the second, the opponent has removed none; the Long Nard result is mars, worth two. Neither outcome requires a doubling cube, and no cube exists in that variant. A player who says 'double' must specify whether they mean identical dice, the double mars result, or a cube decision in Tavla Modern. Three meanings, three separate mechanisms.

Frequently asked questions

How many points are on a nard board?

A standard Long Nard or Tavla board has twenty-four narrow triangular points arranged in four quadrants of six. The bar divides the halves. Board point count is not the same as the number of points awarded for winning.

What is the head in Long Nard?

The head is the starting stack of fifteen checkers. Normally only one checker can leave it per turn. Nard Online documents a narrow first-turn exception for certain doubles when opposing pieces would otherwise prevent the roll from being completed.

Is a single opponent checker blocking in Long Nard?

Yes. You cannot land on any point occupied by an opposing checker in Long Nard. Hitting does not exist in that game, so a lone piece already closes the landing point.

What is a blot in Tavla?

A blot is one checker standing alone on a point. It may be hit by a legal opposing move. The hit checker goes to the bar and must re-enter before other pieces move.

What does mars mean?

Mars is a double-scoring result when a player wins before the opponent bears off any checker. Nard Online confirms a normal one-point win and double mars for Long Nard, and double gammon for Tavla.

Is koks the same as mars?

What is a full prime?

A full prime is a block of six consecutive controlled points. In Long Nard a lone checker closes a point, but a six-point block cannot trap all fifteen opposing pieces behind it. Tavla requires different checker occupancy for made points.

What does pip count measure?

It measures the total remaining checker movement distance toward bearing off. It is helpful in a straightforward race but does not capture exposure to hits, blocked routes or future mobility on its own.

What is the difference between doubles and the doubling cube?

Doubles occur when both ordinary dice show the same number and allow four uses of that number. The doubling cube is a separate value-setting object supported by Nard Online in Tavla Modern only.

What does şeş-beş mean?

It is a traditional name for a roll showing 6 and 5, found in Azerbaijani and Turkish speech and represented as шеш-беш in Russian. It does not override the normal movement rules of the game being played.

Can I play Long Nard in the browser?

Yes. The owner specifies the complete browser game at Nard Online Play. Long Nard, Tavla Classic and Tavla Modern are supported. Mobile submissions are under review, so the glossary should not claim live app-store downloads.

Are Plakoto and Fevga supported in Nard Online?

No. They may be mentioned in educational comparisons, but the confirmed supported games are Long Nard, Tavla Classic and Tavla Modern. Learn about other historical and regional games in the variants guide.

Summary

A good glossary names a move without changing the rules behind it. Read head and six-point block in Long Nard context; read bar, blot and hit in Tavla context. Translate dice-roll nicknames with their numbers attached. Keep mars distinct from doubles and from the doubling cube. The point of learning these terms is not to sound scholarly, but to recognize exactly what you can do with a real roll on a real board.