Georgian games online are as ordinary today as nardi in the courtyard once was. Nardi (Georgian backgammon), Joker and domino were played around the table for generations — now they have moved to the phone screen, into the browser, against a live opponent. The move is not just technical: who we play with, how we keep score and how we argue about rules have all changed. On tamashebi.cc five games are available today — nardi, Joker, Japanese Joker, domino and Bura. Seka is still being prepared and cannot be played on the site yet; its page already describes the rules. Below is what the move online has changed — and what deserves to be kept.
Why games moved online
The reason is simple: the company scattered. The four friends who used to play Joker in one kitchen often live in different cities today, sometimes in different countries. Courtyards have changed, time is shorter, and the phone is always in your pocket. Playing online sits those people back down at one table — with a single link, without downloading anything.
The second reason is the bond between generations. Grandparents know nardi and domino; grandchildren know phones. When a game opens on a phone without registration or an app, those two worlds meet: the grandchild sends a link, and the grandfather plays by the same rules he has played by all his life. Sometimes that is exactly how nardi’s words — du-shashi (a two and a six), oini, mars — reach a young person who has never seen a nardi board in a courtyard.
- Distance is no obstacle: someone in Tbilisi and someone in Batumi, or a brother living abroad, play the same match.
- There is always an opponent: if your friends are busy, there is an open table in the lobby.
- No app is needed: the site opens in the browser, on a phone or a computer.
- Learning is easier: you can practise domino against the bot, and the rules and an interactive tutorial are always to hand.
What is lost and what is gained
Not everything makes the trip. On a screen you will not hear checkers clatter on a wooden board, you will not see your opponent’s face when they roll du-shashi, and you will not share tea and talk between games. House rules are lost too: around the table every group had its own little exception, while online there is one rule for everyone.
- Lost: live conversation, the physical board and tiles, reading faces, “our” family rules.
- Gained: no arguments over counting — the server keeps the score.
- Gained: the deal and the dice are random and nobody controls them — not the player, not the site.
- Gained: ratings and tournaments — anyone who enjoys competing can see their own progress.
- Gained: nobody keeps the Joker scoresheet in pencil any more — it is always on screen.
Keeping Georgian rules
The biggest risk in taking a Georgian game online is that it turns into a translation of some foreign variant. On tamashebi.cc the rules are the ones most widely played around Georgian tables, and the terms stay Georgian.
- Domino: one stavka (the first double, which opens four ways) per hand, points in multiples of five, the last two tiles of the bazari (the boneyard) protected, a blocked board called a riba, and matches to 75, 175, 255 or 355.
- Joker: bidding, khishti, the premia bonus and moshla, the standard 24 hands or the nines; the Joker played high or low.
- Nardi: oini scores 1 point, mars 2, koks 3; matches to 1, 3, 5 or 7; and the Georgian courtyard rule that a point where you hit a checker in your own home stays held for that turn.
- Language: the whole site, games included, opens in Georgian, English, Russian and Turkish — and the terms stay Georgian everywhere, with an explanation.
Example: where two families had different rules
In one family an opening 6-4 in domino scored ten points; in another it scored nothing. Online there is no argument: on the site, as in the most common Georgian rule, only 5-5 scores as an opening tile — ten points. Some people find that strange, but the rule is the same for everyone and it is written on the rules page. That is how a game culture shifts: family variants fade and a shared Georgian rule takes hold.
The words are part of that heritage. In the English and Russian versions we do not translate the Georgian terms away: riba, stavka, khishti, oini, mars and koks stay Georgian, with a short explanation alongside. A foreigner learning Georgian Joker learns a Georgian word along the way — and the game keeps its name.
What is still a challenge
- Seka is not playable yet. Its rules differ between regions and groups, and before it opens it has to be settled which variant goes online.
- Etiquette: you cannot see the opponent behind the screen, and rudeness comes more easily. That is why Joker and nardi tables have only short reactions, and free text exists only in the domino chat.
- The internet: a live game never has dropped connections. The site keeps the game on the server and gives you time to return, but nobody wants to wait forever.
- Small screens: on a phone nardi is played in landscape only, so the whole board fits.
- Teaching newcomers: at the table an elder explained the rules; online that job falls to the rules page, the interactive tutorial and articles — but they cannot fully replace a live teacher.
Another challenge is motivation. In the courtyard nardi was played for points, but the real point was being together. Online it is easy for play to turn into an endless queue of matches. That is why money has no place on the site, the coin is virtual and cannot be bought, and the chat is limited: the game should stay what it was — rest and time with friends, not a hunt for winnings. That principle matters more than any technology, and we are not changing it.
The future
The future of Georgian games online does not mean the end of the table. Quite the opposite: someone who learned Joker bidding or bearing off in nardi on a phone will sit down at a real table with more confidence. The next step is bura and seka — their rules are already described on their pages, and a play button will appear there when the game opens. We are not promising a date: a game opens when it is ready and follows Georgian rules exactly. Every game will stay free, and money will never touch it.
Frequently asked questions
- Which Georgian games can I play online?
- Right now nardi, Joker, Japanese Joker, domino and Bura. Seka is being prepared; its page already describes the rules.
- Are the rules the same as at the table?
- The site uses the rules most common around Georgian tables: one stavka and multiples of five in domino, khishti and the premia bonus in Joker, oini, mars and koks in nardi. Family exceptions may differ.
- Is online play for money?
- No. Every game is free. Some tables use the virtual Domino Coin, which cannot be bought and is never exchanged for money.
Every game on tamashebi.cc is free to play. Domino Coin is a virtual in-game coin: it is never money, cannot be bought or cashed out, and means nothing outside the site. 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.