Greek Tavli Variations

The word Tavli means "board" in Greek and it is also the name of the Greek version of backgammon. Three separate games make up Tavli, all offering different rules and sequences of play. But, all three are usually played in sets where players compete in order to win the best of three, five or seven games.

Portes is the name of the first version of the game. It bears the most similarities to backgammon as it is commonly played in the western world. Players begin a game of Portes with checkers set up identically to those in a game of regular backgammon. However, cleaning tips do not use a doubling cube for Portes. It means that the game is played for fun rather than money. There is also no backgammon. Instead two points constitute a gammon and a normal win receives one point.

Another Tavli variation is known as Plakoto. The starting point of all checkers in a game of Plakoto is deviated from the standard set up of backgammon. A player must place his checkers on his opponent's one point to begin the game and then move them around the board to his home area to bear off. Another rule in Plakoto is that there is no "hitting" of blots. Instead, if you trap upholstery cleaner opponent's checker on a space it must remain there until you choose to remove your checker. This creates an interesting new twist on the game of backgammon. If your mother checker (the last checker on your starting point) is trapped by your opponent, you automatically lose the game along with two points.

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