Tavla

About the game

Tavla is backgammon the way it is played in Turkish coffeehouses: fifteen checkers each, two dice and a race around a wooden board. Move your checkers toward your home board, then bear them all off before your opponent does. Doubles let you move four times, and a lone checker on a point is a blot that can be hit and sent back to the bar.

Two checkers on a point make it a closed point that your opponent cannot land on, and several closed points in a row build a wall that traps the checkers behind it. A hit checker must come back in through the opponent's home board before anything else moves. Win normally for 1 point, or by mars for 2 when your opponent has not borne off a single checker. The first player to 3 points takes the match.

Tap a checker to see where it can go, then tap the destination or drag it there. Pip counts are shown for both sides, and you can undo your moves until you press Done. Play the computer on easy, medium or hard, or pass one phone back and forth with a friend.

How to play

1. Roll the dice and race your checkers around the board to your home. Doubles move four times.
2. Land on a lone enemy checker to hit it. A hit checker must re-enter before anything else moves.
3. You must use both dice if you can. Two or more checkers make a closed point.
4. With all 15 checkers home, bear them off. A win is 1 point, mars is 2. First to 3 wins.

Controls

Computer

Click a checker, then click a highlighted point (or drag it). Space rolls and confirms, Backspace undoes.

Phone & tablet

Tap a checker, then tap a glowing point, or drag the checker there. Use the buttons to roll, undo and confirm.

Questions