backgammon names around the world
If you have ever asked for backgammon in Istanbul, Thessaloniki, Tehran, Tel Aviv, or São Paulo and received a gentle correction, you already know the oldest table on Earth travels under many passports. Backgammon names around the world are not just translations. They are doors into local rule sets, scoring habits, and ways of sitting with the board. This article maps the major names: tavla, tavli, nard, gamão, and shesh besh. Then it gives you a short runbook for reading a table when the name changes but the dice do not. Orion Backgammon takes the same view: one five-thousand-year-old game, twelve handcrafted worlds, and a voyage across the Mediterranean and beyond.
What are the backgammon names around the world?
The same game appears as Tavla in Türkiye, Tavli in Greece and Cyprus, Nard in Iran and much of Western Asia, Gamão in Brazil and Portugal, Shesh Besh in Israel and many Arabic-speaking rooms, and Backgammon in most English-speaking countries. Each name carries a small set of local rules, but the board, the twenty-four points, and the fifteen checkers per side stay constant. Here are the major names in detail.
Tavla in Türkiye
Tavla is the everyday Turkish word for backgammon, and it is played in tea houses, homes, and on street corners from Ankara to Antalya. Turkish tavla usually drops the doubling cube. A normal win counts one point, a gammon is called mars, and a backgammon is called katmer. The checker rules are otherwise close to standard international backgammon.
Tavli in Greece and Cyprus
Greek players use the name tavli for a family of three games played in rotation: Portes, Plakoto, and Fevga. Only Portes closely resembles the global form of backgammon. Plakoto introduces a pinning rule, and Fevga turns the table into a pure race. A player who asks for tavli is usually asking for the full three-game cycle, not a single match.
Nard in Iran and Western Asia
Nard is the Persian name for backgammon, and it is common from Iran through Armenia, Azerbaijan, and parts of Central Asia. The core board and movement system are the same as international backgammon. Many nard tables play without the doubling cube, and regional scoring layers often replace the standard gammon and backgammon names.
Shesh Besh in Israel
Shesh besh is the standard Hebrew name for backgammon, and it is widely used across Israel. Tournament play there generally follows international rules with the doubling cube. The name itself comes from the Persian numbers for six and five, a small reminder of how old this game's travel really is.
Gamão in Brazil and Portugal
Gamão is the Portuguese word for backgammon, spelled gamao in some English contexts. Brazilian players use the same board, the same starting position, and the same international rules as a North American or European club. If you sit down in São Paulo, you can expect the doubling cube and standard bear-off.
Is tavla the same game as backgammon?
Yes and no. Tavla shares the board, the twenty-four points, the fifteen checkers per side, and the goal of bearing off first, but Turkish tavla typically removes the doubling cube and renames the scoring layers. The checker movement, hitting, and bear-off rules remain close to international backgammon.
The practical difference is the match contract. In standard backgammon with a cube, every position carries two questions: what is the checker play, and what is the cube decision. In Turkish tavla without a cube, the cube question disappears. You simply play the checkers. A normal win is one point, a mars is two, and a katmer is three. That makes the game more purely positional and less about volatility management.
This is a real trade-off. With the cube, a player can press an advantage or escape a losing game. Without the cube, the score moves more slowly, and the game rewards clean checker play over risk control. Neither is better. They are simply different contracts, and good players adapt to the contract in front of them.
How do Greek Tavli and Turkish Tavla differ?
Greek Tavli is not one game but a set of three games played in rotation: Portes, Plakoto, and Fevga. Turkish Tavla, by contrast, most often means a single game close to international backgammon minus the cube. The key difference is therefore the number of rule sets in a session.
Here is the Greek sequence:
- Portes is the closest cousin to global backgammon. Hitting is allowed, and the scoring layers for gammon and backgammon exist.
- Plakoto changes the starting layout and adds a pinning rule. A checker can be trapped beneath an opponent's checker, which changes the flow of a game.
- Fevga turns the board into a race. Both sides move in the same direction around the board, and the usual hit-and-send-back is removed.
Turkish tavla, on the other hand, keeps the standard hitting rules and the standard opening position. The main adaptation is the absence of the cube and the local names for mars and katmer. If you only know one local backgammon variant, Portes is the safest bridge to Greek tavli.
What is Nard, and where is it played?
Nard is the Persian name for backgammon, used across Iran, Armenia, Azerbaijan, and parts of Central Asia, and it denotes the same board and movement system with regional scoring differences. The word itself is old enough to appear in Persian literature, and the game has been part of Iranian social life for centuries.
In many Iranian nard games, the doubling cube is absent. A gammon equivalent is often called mars, and a backgammon equivalent may have a distinct local name. Some regional forms of nard, especially in the Caucasus, change the starting layout, so it is always worth confirming the setup before you play. The core logic, prime versus blot, anchor versus race, remains identical to any other backgammon table.
Why does Brazil call it Gamao?
Gamao is simply the Brazilian Portuguese spelling of gamão, the standard Portuguese word for backgammon. The game in Brazil follows the same international rules you would find in a European or North American club. You can expect the doubling cube, the standard starting position, and the same bear-off logic.
Portuguese-language backgammon has a strong club and online presence. If you travel to Brazil and ask for gamao, you will be directed to exactly the game you already know. There is no hidden local variant to decode before you sit down.
Runbook: What should you check before playing across these names?
Before you make your first move on a table called tavla, tavli, nard, or gamão, confirm five small contract points: cube in play, local scoring names, starting layout, movement direction, and bear-off rule. A two-minute check prevents a long argument later.
- Cube in play? Ask if the doubling cube is used. Turkish tavla and many nard tables say no. Standard gamão and Israeli shesh besh say yes.
- Local scoring names? Confirm what a gammon and backgammon are called locally. In Turkish tavla they are mars and katmer. In Greek Tavli, the terms may shift by game.
- Starting layout? Some regional nard forms and Greek Plakoto change where the checkers begin. Check before the first roll.
- Movement direction? In Fevga, both sides run the same way around the board. In Portes and standard backgammon, they run in opposite directions.
- Bear-off rule? Most forms use the standard bear-off, but a few regional games add restrictions. Confirm whether you must use exact dice to bear off or if you can bear off with a higher number.
Here is a small worked example. You sit down in Istanbul and open with 3-1. In international backgammon, the strong play is 8/5 6/5, making the five point. In Turkish tavla with no cube, the same play is still correct because the checkers do not know the scoring name. The difference is not in that move but in what happens when the game ends: a normal win pays one, a mars pays two, a katmer pays three. If you carry cube habits into a cube-less tavla table, you may overthink gammon risks. Without a cube there is no redouble pressure, so you simply play the checker position.
What are the honest trade-offs between these local versions and standard backgammon?
The main trade-off is the doubling cube. Where the cube is absent, the game loses a layer of volatility strategy but becomes more purely about checker play. That is not a small difference. A backgammon player who is strong with the cube may feel under-equipped in Turkish tavla because the score cannot accelerate. A tavla player who moves to standard backgammon may need time to learn cube timing and take points.
The second trade-off is complexity. Greek Tavli asks you to hold three different rule sets in your head and switch between them. That is a wonderful mental exercise, but it is a different muscle from a single long match with a cube. Standard international backgammon has the simplest single-game contract, which makes it the best foundation for the ranked ladder Orion is building.
There is no correct local version. The honest view is that the game's many names are the product of geography, not quality. Each table has kept one part of the game and relaxed another. Understanding those choices makes you a better player on any table.
FAQ: Backgammon names around the world and Orion
Does Orion Backgammon use these regional names in its worlds?
Orion is built as twelve handcrafted worlds, and the voyage passes through rooms that echo the Mediterranean and beyond, including Tangier Café and the Celestial. The game itself uses the standard international backgammon rules with the doubling cube. Regional names are honored in the world design, not by changing the core rules.
Can I play Tavla or Nard rules in Orion?
At launch, Orion plays the standard international form of backgammon with the doubling cube. Local rule sets like Turkish tavla without the cube or Greek Plakoto are not separate modes. This is a deliberate choice. One fair ranked ladder requires one consistent rules contract.
When will Orion be available?
Orion is pre-launch. The App Store listing is not live yet, and the game is not downloadable today. The Founding 1000 list is filling up. When it fills, Season 1 begins. The first thousand players keep the Season 1 premium pass free, a Founder badge, and a board skin that is never sold again.
What should I learn first if I want to play across these names?
The best preparation is to learn standard international backgammon first: the board, the starting position, hitting, bearing off, and the doubling cube. Once you know that, the local names are mostly small rule changes you can confirm in two minutes at the table.
The point of all these names is not to divide the game. It is evidence of how far it has traveled. When you play Orion, you will not need to choose between tavla and backgammon. You will move through twelve worlds, from a Tangier café to the celestial table, with provably fair dice, no ads, no third-party tracking, and a real ranked ladder from Driftwood to Orion. If you want to be among the Founding 1000, you can join that list now. Season 1 starts when the thousandth name is written.