for specific variation on backgammon…

Commissioner · Joined: 14 Jun 2007 Posts: 5

Hi everyone.
I used to be friends with a few guys that had spent some time in Greece. I remember that they played a version of backgammon that was made up of three or four games that were alternated. That’s about all I remember—I don’t remember the name or how to play any of the games involved. I was wondering if anyone had any information about this game as I have lost track of those old friends and have recently gotten into backgammon. I remembered how much fun they had with it and wanted to give it a try.

LippedCup · Joined: 14 Jun 2007 Posts: 9

I think that the game you are referring to is Tavli, which is a Greek version of the game of backgammon. Tavli is made up of three varieties of the game which are played in succession in a match. The individual games in Tavli are called Portes, Plakoto and Fevga.

Portes is similar to the backgammon you are probably used to and play now.

Plakoto is a version where you can trap an opposing checker with one of your checkers on the same points.

Fevga is a variety of backgammon with Turkish origins. In this game you can block a point with one checker.

The main rules of all of these games are similar to western backgammon, but not exactly the same. Players roll the dice to see who will go first. The games are played very quickly and one pair of dice are shared by both players. It isn’t unheard of for one opponent to pick up the dice the second after the other player has rolled and be ready to roll the dice himself before the other player has even finished making his move. The winner in the first round goes first in the next game. A player wins one point for bearing off all of his checkers first and two points if he finishes before his opponent has borne off any checkers. The Greek also do not use the doubling cube in this game.

It’s a really great game, and good that you are trying to get back in touch with it!

joliver · Joined: 14 Jun 2007 Posts: 25

To expand on the insight that was already given, here is a little bit more of an explanation of the Tavli games:

Portes – The only differences between this and traditional backgammon are that there is no backgammon win, the winner of the roll to determine who will go first rerolls the dice for his first turn and there is no doubling cube.

Plakoto – begins with fifteen checkers on the opposing 1-point. There is no hitting. If you land on a blot you pin the opposing checker until you move. If you pin the last opposing checker on the starting point (1-point) then the game is over and you have won two points, unless you still have checkers on your starting point. The last checker on the starting point is known as “the mother checker”.

Fevga – begins with fifteen checkers on the right, uppermost side of the board from you (your checkers are diagonal from your opponent). The first checker must pass your opponent’s start before you can move any other checkers. In this game one checker controls a point—you may not hit or land on a point with an opposing checker.

If you are looking for more in depth instructions on how to play the games of Tavli you can find them on the following websites:

Portes - http://www.bkgm.com/variants/Portes.html
Plakoto - http://www.bkgm.com/variants/Plakoto.html
Fevga - http://www.bkgm.com/variants/Fevga.html