|
Backgammon Articles
|
Tawula - Turkish Backgammon Variant
Tawula, or Turkish Backgammon, is a backgammon variation commonly played in Turkey and Egypt. Similar to other Eastern backgammon variations, such as Turkish Tavla and Greek Tavli games, the game is played without the doubling cube. Another important difference between Tawula and standard backgammon is the board setup – Tawula begins with only 2 checkers on the board (on the player's 24-point and the opponent's 12-point), while the rest of the checkers are off the board.
Tawula Board Setup
The Tawula board is designed exactly like regular backgammon board: divided into four quarters and includes 24 points. Yet the starting position and the movement of the checkers are entirely different:
On the opening position, the players' two checkers are placed on diagonal opposite corners from each other. The checkers move around the board, striving to reach the opposite side of the board (opposite of the opening position), and then to bear them off the board.
Tawula Rules
The two checkers placed on the board at the start of the game remain motionless until the rest of the checkers have been entered to the game. To start the game, both players roll a single die, and the highest roll makes the first move (using the dice rolled by the two players). So, if they rolled 2-5 for example, the first player may move one checker to 2-point or 5-point (providing it is an open point), and use the second number to either enter a second checker or move forward the entered checker. Doubles are played the same as in backgammon – i.e. the rolled number is played 4 times.
Note that the points are numbered different than in backgammon: 1-6 from left to right on the side of the board and 1-6 from right to left on the opening side of the board, with the bar dividing between the two players' parts of the board.
Hitting and entering from the bar are played according to standard backgammon rules. Unlike standard backgammon, in Tawula there are special rules limiting the number of checkers allowed to reside on a single point. Generally, a player cannot place more than one checker on a point at the opponent side of the board, except on the point opposite to the point on which the two checkers were placed on the opening position.
|
|
|
|
