Backgammon variants
Backgammon is one game in a large family. Across Greece, the Balkans, the Middle East and the wider world, the same board carries dozens of related games — some that hit, some that pin, some that forbid contact altogether. Pick one below to learn its rules and how it plays.
Every game here uses the same board of twenty-four points, fifteen checkers a side and two dice. What changes is the starting position and, more interestingly, what happens when you land on a lone enemy checker — hit it, pin it, or leave it be. Get that one idea and you understand most of the family at a glance.
Broadly, the family splits three ways. The hitting games — standard backgammon, Nackgammon, Acey-Deucey and the Greek Portes — send a lone checker to the bar to start again. The pinning games — Plakoto and the Bulgarian Tapa — trap it in place beneath your checker instead, with no bar at all. And the no-hit games — Fevga and Gul Bara — never touch it, but let a single checker block a point outright. Each demands a slightly different instinct, and that is what makes working through them so rewarding.
Which variant should you try first?
If you already play the standard game, Nackgammon is the natural next step — the same rules, but the four back checkers reward the patient, positional player. For something livelier, Acey-Deucey and its bonus rolls make for a swingy, sociable game. If you would rather trade hitting for a battle of leverage, the pinning games — Plakoto within Tavli, and the Bulgarian Tapa — ask for timing and restraint, while the no-hit race of Gul Bara is decided by pure blocking and pip-counting judgement.
All of them share a long lineage. Backgammon belongs to the ancient family of “tables” games played on a doubled row of points, and its cousins spread along the same trade routes: the Greek Tavli, the narde games of the Caucasus and Central Asia, and the tabla tradition of the Balkans are all branches of one tree. Learning several is the quickest way to see what is essential to the game and what is merely convention — and to appreciate why the standard rules settled where they did.
New to the game? Start with standard backgammon and the rules guide, then try a game on the playable board. Every term you meet along the way is in the glossary.
Common questions
What is the most popular backgammon variant?
Nackgammon is the best known among serious players, because it keeps the standard rules but starts with four back checkers for longer, more strategic games. Acey-Deucey is widely played casually, and the Greek Tavli and Bulgarian Tapa and Gul Bara are popular across their home regions.
What is the difference between hitting, pinning and blocking?
They are the three ways a lone checker can be dealt with. Standard backgammon and Portes hit it to the bar; Plakoto and Tapa pin it in place under your checker; Fevga and Gul Bara never touch it, but a single checker can block a point entirely.
Can I play these variants on ScotGammon?
The playable board offers the standard game in vs-computer or pass-and-play. The other variants are explained here, rule by rule, with their setups and the ideas that win them.