Free online games are everywhere, but "free" often comes with conditions: download this first, then register, then discover that the interesting part costs money. tamashebi.cc is built differently. Georgian board and card games — Nardi, domino, Joker, Japanese Joker and Bura — run in your browser, against live opponents, by Georgian rules and with no money involved. You will not find an invented "top ten sites" ranking here; we do not rate other platforms. What follows is what you can play here, how the games differ, and which checks are worth running on any free games site before you give it your time.
What "free" means in an online game
A free game comes in three kinds. Truly free: everything in the game is open to everyone on equal terms. Free to start: entry costs nothing, but you then buy extra lives, faster progress or an edge. And not free at all: the site offers play for money, and "free" is just an advertising word. Before you start, it pays to know which kind you are looking at.
tamashebi.cc is the first kind. There is no payment form anywhere on the site — not by card, not by any other route. The only "currency" is Domino Coin, a virtual coin that cannot be bought, cannot be exchanged for money and cannot be passed to another player. It comes from playing, daily challenges, achievements and inviting friends, and it is needed only at coin tables and some tournaments. Every game can be played at a free table with no coin at all. The full story of the coin is in a separate article, "Free online games — with a virtual coin".
Georgian board and card games
Four games are open now and two are on the way. Each grew up around the Georgian table and is played by Georgian rules — not as a translation of a foreign variant. Here is a short note on each: who it suits, how many players it needs and why it is worth your evening.
Nardi
Nardi is Georgian backgammon for two: fifteen checkers each, two dice and a board of twenty-four points. The site plays short nardi, with hitting and the bar; a game is scored as an oini (a single win), a mars (double) or a koks (triple), and a match runs to 1, 3, 5 or 7 points. It suits anyone who likes luck mixed with calculation: the dice decide a single game, but over a long match better decisions win. The server rolls the dice and both players see the same numbers. On a phone the board lies sideways so the checkers stay large.
Domino
Domino is the easiest way in: 28 tiles, seven each, the rest in the bazari (the boneyard). Georgian domino has a single stavka (the opening double that opens on four sides), points count only in multiples of five, and a blocked board is a riba. Matches go to 75, 175, 255 or 355 points. You can practise alone against a bot at three levels, and an interactive tutorial walks you through the main rules in a few minutes. If you do not know where to begin, begin here.
Joker
Joker is the classic Georgian card game: four players, a 36-card deck with two jokers and a bid every hand — how many tricks you will take. You play the standard 24 hands or the nines; khishti (taking none of the tricks you bid), premia and moshla all count, and the server keeps the score sheet, so nobody argues about the arithmetic. It is a game for four friends and a long evening. If there are only two of you, Japanese Joker uses the same deck with no bidding, five columns on the table and a match to 21.
Bura and Seka
Bura is open at /bura in three versions — three-card and five-card for two players, and five-card in pairs for four — with matches to 1, 3, 7 or 11 points; the rules are on the Bura page and in the Bura rules article. Seka cannot be played yet, and we say so plainly: it is in preparation and has its page too. Both are free, and coin tables use only virtual Domino Coin — never real money.
Picking a game — a quick guide
- Two of you, ten minutes — Nardi to 1 point or domino to 75.
- On your own and still learning — domino against the bot, then a quick game with a live opponent.
- Four of you with a whole evening — Joker, 24 hands.
- Two of you, but you prefer cards — Japanese Joker.
- You want luck and calculation in one — Nardi to 5 or 7.
- You love counting — domino: every move is a hunt for a multiple of five.
Playing with friends and live opponents
Company is the heart of a Georgian game, and it stays that way online. To play a friend, create a table in the game you want, copy the link and send it through any messenger — with a password if you want to keep strangers out. Your friend opens the link and sits down, even as a guest. Nardi and domino need one friend, Joker three, Japanese Joker one. If nobody is free, quick play finds an opponent automatically, and the list of open tables shows who is waiting for a partner.
Fair play, scoring and rating
A free game is only worth playing if it is honest. Everything that affects the result is done by the server: it shuffles the tiles and cards, rolls the Nardi dice, checks every move and counts the points. Each player receives only their own hand, so there is no trick by which anyone could see an opponent's cards. Competitive players use an account for ranked matches, a place on the leaderboard and tournaments — the prizes are virtual coin only. Everyone else plays at an ordinary table without the pressure.
Why the browser and not an app
Every game runs in the browser — on a computer, on Android and on iPhone. No store, no download, no clearing space, no waiting for updates: you open a link and play, and a new version reaches everyone at once. If you want an app-like icon, add the site to your home screen and it opens in its own window without the browser bar. One honest limit: the games are live and run on the server, so you need an internet connection — there is no offline mode. More on this in the article on why people play in the browser.
The boards and cards are drawn for small screens. Nardi lies sideways and can go full screen on Android; domino and Joker work either way up. The site is available in Georgian, English, Russian and Turkish, so you can explain to a friend abroad what you are playing.
Playing without registration
You do not need an account. The "Play now" window asks only for a name and an avatar — no email, no password. As a guest you can play at ordinary tables, join a friend's table by link and practise domino against the bot. An account becomes useful later: for ranked matches, a friends list, tournaments and coin tables. If you create one after playing as a guest, the same profile is kept — your matches and stats are not lost.
What to check when choosing a platform
- Payment: does the site ask for a card, a "top-up" or play for money? If so, it is a different kind of site.
- Cash-out: can winnings be exchanged for money? On a free entertainment site that must be impossible — it is exactly what separates a game from gambling.
- Fairness: who shuffles and rolls — the server or the player's device? Here it is the server, and your opponent's hand never reaches your browser.
- Rules: does the game match what you play at the table? Georgian Nardi, domino and Joker are not their foreign cousins.
- Opponents: real people or only bots, and can you invite a friend by link?
- Dropped connections: what happens if your internet blinks? Here the game state stays on the server and you carry on from the same position.
- Language: the site works in Georgian, English, Russian and Turkish. The language follows the address — on a first visit by country, then by whatever you choose at the foot of the page.
Example: your first game in five minutes
Say you are on your phone and want a game of domino. You open the domino page and tap "Play now". The window offers a name — keep it or type your own — you pick an avatar and tap "Start playing". Quick play finds an opponent; to play a friend, you create a table and send the link. After the first hand you will know what the stavka is and why 15 points beat 13 (only multiples of five score). No download, no email, no card.
Frequently asked questions
- Is it really completely free?
- Yes. There is no way to pay on the site. Domino Coin is virtual: it cannot be bought, cannot be exchanged for money and is earned only by playing.
- Which games can I play now?
- Nardi, domino, Joker, Japanese Joker and Bura. Seka is in preparation — its page carries the rules for now.
- Do I need to download anything?
- No. Everything runs in the browser. You can add the site to your home screen if you like, but you do not have to.
- Which game should a complete beginner start with?
- Domino: the rules are short, and the interactive tutorial and the bot help. Then try Nardi, and if there are four of you, Joker.
- Home page
- All games
- Online games without registration
- Why people play in the browser
- Free online games — with a virtual coin
- Bura rules
- Play Nardi online
- Play domino online
- Play Joker online
- Play Japanese Joker online
Every game on tamashebi.cc is free. Domino Coin is a virtual in-game coin: it is never money, cannot be bought, transferred or cashed out, and means nothing outside the site. There are no real-money stakes, top-ups or payments of any kind.
The games on Tamashebi.cc are played in a Georgian-language interface. They are free and use a virtual coin, never real money.