If you throw too early, the roll does not count and you have to roll again. As long as he has a checker in his hand, or even still has his finger on it, you must wait. However, you must not roll the dice while the opponent is still making his move. You do not need to wait for your opponent to pick up the dice-you pick them up yourself while he is making his move. The first player to bear off all his checkers gets one point, or, if the winner bears off all his checkers before the loser has borne off any, he gets two points.After the first game, the winner of the previous game goes first.That player then rolls the dice again to begin his first turn. In the first game, each player rolls one die and the higher number goes first.Only one pair of dice is used, and they are shared between the players.The games of Tavli have the following rules in common: These games are played one after another, in matches of three, five, or seven points. Plakoto – a game where one checker can trap another checker at the same pointįevga –where one checker by itself can block a point Portes – most similar to Western backgammon Tavli means 'board' in Greek and there are three games of Tavli commonly played: Although it looks like the 'western' game of backgammon, there are different rules to Tavli, Greece’s longest running and favourite board game, which dates back to ancient times. In every kafeneio around Greece and many Greek run cafes worldwide you are guaranteed to find people playing the beloved game of 'Tavli'.

Tavli games