In Georgia nardi is played in two ways. One is called short nardi (mokle nardi), the other long nardi (grdzeli nardi). Both need the same board, fifteen checkers each and two dice, and in both you bring your checkers home and bear them off. But the starting setup, the direction of travel and, above all, how the checkers interact are completely different, so a good player of one game may feel like a beginner at the other.
Short nardi: what people simply call nardi
At a Georgian table the word "nardi" usually means short nardi. It is a close relative of international backgammon: the checkers are spread across the board from the start, the players move towards each other, and a checker standing alone can be hit. The game is fast and changeable; one good roll can turn a whole game around. In short nardi two battles often run at once: one to get your back checkers out of your opponent's home, the other to close your own home so that a hit checker cannot get back in. The Georgian scoring system (oini, mars, koks) adds another dimension: a lot is still decided in a game you are losing.
- The checkers are spread over four points: two at the far end of your opponent's home, five in their yard, three in your own yard, five in your own home.
- The players move in opposite directions.
- Two checkers close a point; a checker standing alone can be hit and sent to the bar.
- From the bar a checker enters into your opponent's home, and no other move is allowed until it does.
- A win is oini, mars or koks: 1, 2 or 3 points.
Long nardi: the rules in brief
Long nardi is a calmer, positional game. There is no hitting at all: the fight is for space, over who takes more points and who gets in the other's way. The game develops more slowly: the checkers come down gradually from one point, the head, the board slowly fills up, and every occupied point becomes an obstacle for the opponent. Because even a single checker holds a point, the board in long nardi narrows quickly, and sometimes a player cannot play the number they rolled at all. Below are the basic rules of long nardi, the version most often met at Georgian and Russian-speaking tables.
- At the start all fifteen checkers stand on one point, called the head (tavi). The two players' heads are in opposite corners of the board, on the diagonal.
- Both players move in the same direction, and each travels round the whole board to their own home.
- There is no hitting. You cannot take a point where even one opposing checker stands.
- Only one checker may be taken off the head per turn. The exception is the first move: with du-shashi (6-6), dor-chari (4-4) or du-se (3-3), two checkers may come off the head.
- Building six occupied points in a row (a block that cannot be passed) is forbidden unless at least one opposing checker already stands in front of it.
- Bearing off works as usual, once all your checkers are home. If the loser has not borne off a single checker, that is mars; local versions differ in the details of scoring, so it is best to agree beforehand.
Short and long nardi side by side
- Starting setup: in short nardi the checkers are spread over four points (2, 5, 3, 5); in long nardi all fifteen stand on one point, the head.
- Direction: in short nardi the players move towards each other; in long nardi both move the same way.
- Hitting: in short nardi a lone checker is hit and goes to the bar; long nardi has no hitting and no bar.
- Holding a point: in short nardi two checkers close a point; in long nardi one is enough.
- The head rule: none in short nardi; in long nardi only one checker comes off the head per turn (with the first-move exception).
- Blocks: in short nardi six closed points in a row are a strong, legal weapon; in long nardi such a block is allowed only if an opposing checker stands in front of it.
- Pace: short nardi is faster and more dramatic, long nardi slower and more calculated.
- Scoring: short nardi uses oini, mars and koks; long nardi mostly a plain win and mars, with local variations.
Which one is harder?
There is no single answer. Short nardi has more tactics: when to hit, when to stay safe, how to bring a checker in from the bar. Long nardi has more strategy: where to take your points, how to hem in your opponent without breaking the six-point block rule. Many Georgian players play both, and sometimes switch between them in the same evening. People often say that short nardi tests your temper and long nardi your patience, and both are partly right.
Which nardi tamashebi.cc plays
tamashebi.cc plays short nardi by Georgian rules: on the first move each player rolls one die and the higher roller plays those two dice, a checker that hits in its own home stays on that point until the end of the move, and a win is oini, mars or koks. Long nardi is not on the site yet; it will be added later. Russian-speaking players call the two games "короткие нарды" (short nardi) and "длинные нарды" (long nardi); we play the first, short one.
Which one to start with
If you are just learning nardi, start with short nardi: its rules are more intuitive, games finish quickly, and you see the result of a mistake straight away. Once the logic of hitting, the bar and bearing off has become habit, moving on to long nardi is easier too, since the geometry of the board and the bearing-off rules are similar there. One more tip: do not mix the two games up. In short nardi leaving a lone checker is a risk, while in long nardi even one checker holds a point; in short nardi the checkers start from several points, while in long nardi everything stands on the head. Remind yourself which one you are playing before you start, and you will make fewer mistakes.
Frequently asked questions
- Can I play long nardi here?
- Not yet. For now the site has only short nardi, by Georgian rules. Long nardi will be added later.
- Is short nardi the same as backgammon?
- Very close: the board, setup, hitting and bearing off are the same. The difference is in the scoring: Georgian nardi uses oini, mars and koks, and no doubling cube.
- Why can you not take six points in a row in long nardi?
- Such a block shuts your opponent's checkers in completely, and without hitting there is no way to break it. So it is allowed only when at least one opposing checker is already in front of it.
- What do "короткие нарды" and "длинные нарды" mean?
- "Короткие нарды" is Russian for short nardi, which is exactly what tamashebi.cc plays. "Длинные нарды" is long nardi.
- Are doubles also played four times in long nardi?
- Yes, in both games a double gives four moves. In long nardi the head rule simply limits how many checkers can come off the head.
Nardi on tamashebi.cc is free to play. Some tables use Domino Coin, a virtual in-game coin: it is never money, cannot be bought or cashed out, and means nothing outside the site. The game is for fun and for skill. The site is available in Georgian, English, Russian and Turkish.
The games on Tamashebi.cc are played in a Georgian-language interface. They are free and use a virtual coin, never real money.