Long Nardy Rules

The board and checkers

A nardy board is split into two halves of 12 points each — narrow triangles — 24 points in all. Each player has 15 checkers of one color; the two dice are shared (on NARDEON the server rolls them).

Setup

All 15 of each player's checkers start on a single point, the head. The two heads sit diagonally opposite each other: White's in the top right corner and Black's in the bottom left, as seen from White's side.

Who goes first

Each player rolls one die. The higher number starts and rolls both dice again for the first move. On a tie, both roll again. After that, players take turns.

How checkers move

• Both players move in the same direction — counterclockwise — all the way around the board, from the head to their home board.
• The two dice are two separate moves. With 5-3 you can move one checker 5 and another 3, or one checker 8 as long as the point in between is open.
• Doubles (say 4-4) are played four times: four moves of 4.
• You may land on an empty point or on a point with your own checkers — never on a point holding even one of your opponent's checkers.
• There is no hitting in long nardy.

The head rule

You may take only one checker off the head per turn. This forces both players to bring their checkers into play gradually and is what makes long nardy a slow, positional game.

The exception is each player's first turn of the game. With 6-6, 4-4 or 3-3 you may take two checkers off the head: one checker can't play these doubles in full because the opponent's head is in the way. With any other roll — including other doubles — only one checker leaves the head on the first turn.

No six-point block

You may not hold six points in a row (a full prime) unless at least one of your opponent's checkers is already in front of it. Such a block would lock your opponent in completely. Once an opposing checker has got past that stretch of the board, the block is allowed.

You must play your roll

• If both dice can be played, you must play both.
• If only one can be played, you play that one. If either die could be played but not both, you must play the higher number.
• If nothing can be played, the turn passes to your opponent.

On NARDEON the game enforces all of this: an illegal move simply can't be made, and highlights show where you can go.

Home board and bearing off

Your home board is the last quarter of the board on your path — six points. You can start bearing checkers off only once all 15 are in your home board.

• A checker is borne off when the number on the die matches its point, counting from the edge of the board (1–6).
• If there is no checker on the point matching the die, you must use that die to move inside your home board.
• If there are no checkers on higher points either, a higher number bears off a checker from your highest occupied point.

Winning, mars and matches

• The first player to bear off all 15 checkers wins the game: 1 point.
• Mars — the loser hasn't borne off a single checker: 2 points. It's the long nardy equivalent of a gammon.
• A match is played to a set number of points. On NARDEON — 1, 3, 5 or 7.

The official rules have no "koks" in long nardy; some house rules count one when the loser still has checkers in their own starting quarter (the one with the head). NARDEON doesn't score it. There is no doubling cube in long nardy.

How backgammon (short nardy) differs

In backgammon, also called short nardy, the starting position is different, the players move toward each other and single checkers can be hit. There's also a triple win, the backgammon, worth 3 points. Details are in the backgammon rules.

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Updated: October 24, 2026