Backgammon and Nardy Glossary

Short explanations of the words you'll hear at the board and read in the rules. Where nardy players use a different word, the Russian term is given in parentheses.

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The board and checkers

Point: One of the 24 narrow triangles on the board where checkers stand. (punkt)
Head: In long nardy, the point where all 15 of a player's checkers start. Only one checker may leave the head per turn, except with 6-6, 4-4 or 3-3 on the first turn. There's no backgammon equivalent. (golova)
Home board: The last quarter of the board on a player's path — six points. You can only bear off once all your checkers are in it. (dom)
Bar: The raised strip down the middle of the board. In backgammon, hit checkers are placed there. (bar)
Checkers: The playing pieces, 15 per player. Also called men, stones or pieces. (shashki, fishki)
Dice: Two six-sided dice that decide how far you move. Nardy players often call them zary.

Moves and positions

Doubles: A roll with the same number on both dice. It's played four times. (dubl)
Blot: A single checker alone on a point. In backgammon it can be hit. (blot)
Hit: Landing on a point with an opposing blot and sending that checker to the bar — backgammon only. (bit, vzyat)
Make a point: Put two or more checkers on a point. In backgammon your opponent can't land there; in long nardy they can't land even on a point with just one of your checkers. (zakryt punkt)
Prime: Several made points in a row that block your opponent's way. A full prime is six in a row. In long nardy a six-point block is illegal unless at least one opposing checker has already passed it. (blok)
Pip count: The total number of pips (points) all of a player's checkers still have to travel to bear off. It tells you who's ahead in the race. (schyot puti)
Bearing off: Taking checkers off the board from your home board at the end of the game. (vyvod, vybros)
Race: A position where the two sides have passed each other and no longer interact: speed decides. (gonka)

Results and scoring

Single game, single win: A win where the loser has borne off at least one checker. 1 point. (oyn)
Gammon: A win where the loser hasn't borne off a single checker. 2 points. Called mars in both long and short nardy. (mars)
Backgammon (the result): In backgammon: a gammon where the loser also still has a checker on the bar or in the winner's home board. 3 points. Long nardy has no equivalent. (koks, also "domashniy mars" — home mars)
Koks: The official Russian name for a backgammon (the 3-point win) in short nardy. In long nardy it is not part of the official rules; some players agree to count it when the loser still has checkers in their own starting quarter (the one with the head). NARDEON doesn't score it in long nardy.
Match: A series of games played to a set number of points: on NARDEON, 1, 3, 5 or 7. (match)
Doubling cube: A die marked 2–64 used in tournament backgammon to double the value of a game mid-play; the Crawford rule governs it near the end of a match. NARDEON doesn't have one: every game is worth a fixed 1, 2 or 3 points.

Game names

Long nardy: The no-hitting game where all checkers start on the head and both sides move the same way. Also written long backgammon, narde, nardi or nard. (dlinnye nardy)
Short nardy: The nardy name for backgammon. (korotkie nardy)

The full rules: long nardy and backgammon.