Nardi has a language of its own. Much of it comes from Persian, and part of it was born in Georgian courtyards. People who have played since childhood use these words without thinking, but to a beginner "du-beshi" or "koks" can sound strange. Below are the main terms with short explanations, as they are used on tamashebi.cc. Some words are pronounced a little differently in different towns and families, or replaced with a synonym; here we give the most common forms. The glossary is arranged by topic: first the equipment, then the names of the dice numbers, the parts of the board, moves, and finally scoring.
Nardi equipment: board, checkers and dice
- Board (dapa): the playing box or board with twenty-four points, twelve on each side. A traditional nardi board is made of wood and folds shut.
- Point (adgili, literally "place"): one of the long triangles drawn on the board, on which checkers stand. There is no limit to how many checkers a point can hold.
- Checkers (nardis kvebi, literally "stones"): round, flat pieces. Each player has fifteen, in two different colours, usually light and dark.
- Dice (kamateli, also called zari): six-sided cubes with one to six pips. The game uses two. On an ordinary die, opposite faces add up to seven.
- Bar: the strip in the middle of the board that divides it in two. A hit checker waits here until it comes back into play.
Nardi dice: the names of the numbers
- yaki: 1
- du: 2
- se: 3
- chari: 4
- panji: 5
- shashi: 6
The names of the doubles
A double (tsqvili, "pair") is a roll where both dice show the same number; it gives four moves. Each double has its own name: du-shashi is 6-6, du-beshi 5-5, dor-chari 4-4, du-se 3-3, du-bara 2-2 and yagani 1-1. Du-shashi is the most "precious" roll, twenty-four steps in one turn, and yagani the most modest, just four steps, although it is often very useful for closing points in your home. A double comes up six times in the 36 possible rolls, that is, on average every sixth turn.
Parts of the board
- Home (sakhli): your last quarter, six points, where you must bring all your checkers and from where you bear them off. On tamashebi.cc your home is the bottom-right quarter.
- Yard (ezo): the quarter next to the home. Your yard is the last stretch before your home; your opponent's yard is theirs.
- Opponent's home: where your two back checkers start the game, and where a checker enters from the bar.
- Back checkers: your two checkers that start on the furthest point of your opponent's home and have the longest way to go.
- Head (tavi): in long nardi, the point where all fifteen checkers stand at the start. The idea is not used in short nardi.
Moves and actions
- Roll (gagoreba): throwing the dice. On tamashebi.cc the server rolls the dice, and both players see the same result.
- Opening roll: one die each at the start of a game; the higher roller goes first and plays those two dice.
- Move (svla): moving a checker by the value of one die; also a player's whole turn.
- Blot (marto kva, also tsali kva): a checker standing alone on a point, which can be hit.
- Kari ("door", a closed point): a point where one player has two or more checkers. The opponent cannot land on it.
- Block: several closed points in a row. Six in a row cut off an opposing checker's path completely.
- Hitting (mokvla, "killing"): landing on an opponent's lone checker; the hit checker goes to the bar.
- Entering (gatsotskhleba, "bringing back to life", or shesvla, "going in"): returning a hit checker from the bar into your opponent's home according to the dice. While a checker is on the bar, no other move is allowed.
- Bearing off (gaqvana): taking a checker off the board from your home, once all your checkers are home.
- Passing the turn: when neither die can be played, the turn passes to your opponent.
- The maximum-use rule: if possible you must play both dice; if only one, the larger number has priority.
- Contact: the stage when the two players' checkers are still in each other's way and hitting is possible.
- Race: the last part of the game, when the checkers have passed each other and whoever bears off faster wins.
- The own-home hitting rule: the Georgian rule played on tamashebi.cc: a checker that hits in its own home stays on that point until the end of the move, unless there is no other way to play the die.
- Undo (↶): on the site you have two and a half seconds at the end of your move to take back your last step; ✓ confirms the move.
Scoring and the match
- Game (kheli, "hand"): one game from the start until someone bears off all fifteen checkers.
- Oini: an ordinary win, 1 point: the loser bore off at least one checker.
- Mars (marsi): a double win, 2 points: the loser bore off no checkers.
- Koks (koksi): a triple win, 3 points: the loser bore off no checkers and has a checker on the bar or in the winner's home.
- Match: a series of games to 1, 3, 5 or 7 points; whoever gets there first wins.
- Davi (doubling): a cube used in some games to double the value of a game. It is not used on tamashebi.cc.
Moves left (the pip count)
A pip is one step on the board, and the pip count is the distance all your checkers still have to travel before they leave the board. At the start both players have 167: two checkers 24 steps away, five 13, three 8 and five 6. A hit checker counts 25 steps from the bar. On the site this number appears on each player's panel as "moves left" (darchenili svlebi), and in a race it shows at a glance who is ahead. Each move reduces it by the total of the dice: after 5-3, 159 of the 167 remain, after du-shashi 143. When your checker is hit your count goes up, because it starts its journey again from the bar; that is why a hit gives a big advantage in the race too.
Frequently asked questions
- How many checkers are there in nardi?
- Thirty: fifteen for each player, in two different colours.
- How many dice does nardi need?
- Two. On the opening roll each player rolls only one, and after that two on every turn.
- What does du-shashi mean?
- Two sixes, 6-6. Like every double, it is played four times, giving twenty-four steps in all.
- What is the difference between mars and koks?
- In both, the loser has not borne off a single checker. Koks also needs one of their checkers to be on the bar or in the winner's home. Mars is 2 points, koks 3.
- What is a "kari" in nardi?
- It is the word for a closed point: a point where one player has two or more checkers. The opponent cannot land on it, and a hit checker cannot enter on it either.
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.