Nardi

Nardi is the most popular board game in Georgia: two players, fifteen checkers each, two dice and a board of twenty-four points. The nardi played here is the one played at Georgian tables — with hitting, the bar, mars and koks.

The board and the starting position

• The board has twenty-four points in four quarters: your home, your yard, your opponent’s yard and your opponent’s home.
• Each player has fifteen checkers: two on the last point of the opponent’s home, five in the opponent’s yard, three in their own yard and five in their own home.
• The checkers move towards each other: every checker heads for its own home.
• On screen, your home is always the bottom right quarter.

How the game goes

1. A game starts with each player rolling one die. Whoever rolls higher starts and plays exactly those two dice. On a tie, both roll again.
2. After that, the players take turns rolling two dice. Each die is one move: one checker can move with both, or two checkers with one each.
3. On a double — when both dice show the same number — four moves are played.
4. A checker may land on an empty point, on your own checkers, or where the opponent has only one checker. A point held by two or more checkers is closed.
5. If both dice can be played, both must be played. If only one can, the higher number is played. If neither can, the turn passes.

Hitting and the bar

A checker standing alone is unprotected. If your opponent lands on it, the checker is “killed” and goes to the bar — the strip in the middle of the board. While you have a checker on the bar you cannot move any other: first you must “revive” it, that is, bring it into your opponent’s home on the point the die shows. If that point is closed, the checker cannot come in; if all of them are closed, the turn passes.

Bearing off

Once all fifteen checkers are in your own home, bearing off begins. A die’s number bears off a checker from the point it matches. If there is no checker on that point, you must play from a point further away; and if you have nothing further away, the checker standing furthest out is borne off. If one of your checkers is hit while you are bearing off, you must first revive it and bring it back home.

Points: oini, mars and koks

• Oini (a single win) — one point: the loser has borne off at least one checker.
• Mars (a double win) — two points: the loser has not borne off a single checker.
• Koks (a triple win) — three points: the loser has not borne off a single checker and still has at least one checker killed or left in the winner’s home.

When you create a table you choose how many points you will play to: 1, 3, 5 or 7. A one-point game is a single game; in a longer one, mars and koks change the score quickly.

How to play on screen

• On your turn, tap the dice — the server rolls them and both players see the same thing.
• Tap a checker: every point it can reach this turn lights up. Tap a point and the checker moves there.
• Tapping the same checker a second time plays it with the higher die, and the next checker plays the one that is left.
• Each turn is timed. If time runs out, the server finishes that turn for you.
• Leaving the game or resigning is a loss.

Terms

• Checker (kva) — a playing piece; each player has fifteen.
• Die (kamateli) — also called zari. The numbers are named: yaki, du, se, chari, panji, shashi.
• Double — the same number on both dice: du-shashi, du-beshi, dor-chari, du-se, du-bara, yagani.
• Home — the last quarter, from which checkers are borne off.
• Bar — the strip in the middle of the board where a hit checker stands.
• Hitting (killing) — landing on a checker that stands alone.
• Reviving — bringing a hit checker back onto the board.

Frequently asked questions

Is it free?

Yes. There are free tables and Domino Coin tables — the coin is virtual and cannot be exchanged for money.

Which nardi is it — short or long?

Short nardi, with hitting and the bar — what we usually just call nardi. Long nardi will be added later.

Who rolls the dice?

The server. The numbers are random and shown to both players at the same time; the browser cannot affect them.

Is there doubling (the doubling cube)?

Not yet. The game follows the classic Georgian rules — without doubling.

What happens if my connection drops?

You have time to come back, and you carry on from where the game stopped. If you cannot come back, the game counts as lost.

• Domino — play online
• Joker — play online
• All games