What Does "Nardy" Mean?
Nardy (нарды) is the Russian word for backgammon, and narde or nardi are other spellings of the same name. Here's the nardy meaning in English, where the word comes from, and what people mean by long nardy and short nardy.
Play for freeNo sign-up, no download — right in your browser
Nardy meaning in one sentence
Nardy is the name for backgammon in Russian (нарды) and across much of the former Soviet Union — from Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia to Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. When someone from Moscow, Baku or Yerevan says "let's play nardy", they mean a backgammon board, two dice and 15 checkers each.
Nardy, narde, nardi — one word, many spellings
| Spelling | Where you'll see it |
|---|---|
| nardy | Russian нарды transliterated |
| nardi | Armenian and Georgian; also common in English texts |
| narde | A frequent spelling in Western texts |
| nərd | Azerbaijani |
| nard, takhteh nard | Persian — the original form |
| nerd | Old Ottoman Turkish (modern Turkish says tavla) |
So if you see "narde meaning" or "nardi game" — it's the same thing. Not to be confused with unrelated brands that happen to share the spelling.
Where the word comes from
The word is Persian. The Middle Persian name of the game was nēw-ardashir, "brave Ardashir", after the founder of the Sasanian dynasty; over time it shrank to nard. The famous legend tells how the sage Bozorgmehr invented nard in answer to an Indian king who had sent chess as a riddle — a story retold in Ferdowsi's Shahnameh. Historians treat it as a legend: race games with dice are much older than that. The word traveled with the game through the Caucasus to Russia, which is why Russian still uses it today. The longer story is on the history of backgammon page.
Long nardy and short nardy
"Nardy" covers two main games, and players always say which one they mean:
- Long nardy (длинные нарды) — sometimes called long backgammon. No hitting at all; each player's 15 checkers start on one point, the head, and both players move the same way round the board. You win by building blocks and racing. This is the default "nardy" in the Caucasus and Central Asia. See long nardy and its rules.
- Short nardy (короткие нарды) — exactly the game the English-speaking world calls backgammon: hitting, the bar, gammons.
The differences in detail: long nardy vs backgammon.
Nardy words you'll hear at the table
| Nardy term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| golova (head) | The starting point in long nardy, where all 15 checkers stand |
| mars | A gammon — the loser hasn't borne off any checkers |
| koks | A backgammon in short nardy — worth 3 |
| shesh-besh | The roll 6-5; also a name for the game |
| du-shesh | The roll 6-6 |
More in the backgammon and nardy glossary.
Play nardy online
NARDEON takes its name from nardy. Both games are here — long and short — against real people, a friend by link, on one screen or against the computer. The interface is available in 21 languages, including English and Russian, and you don't need to sign up or download anything.
Play for freeNo sign-up, no download — right in your browser
FAQ
What is nardy in English?
Backgammon. Nardy (нарды) is the Russian name for the family of backgammon games. In English, "short nardy" is plain backgammon, and "long nardy" is usually left untranslated or called long backgammon.
Is it nardy, nardi or narde?
All three are spellings of the same word. Nardy follows Russian нарды; nardi is the Armenian and Georgian form and is common in English texts; narde is another frequent Western spelling. Azerbaijani says nərd, Persian nard.
What does the word nard come from?
From the Middle Persian name of the game, nēw-ardashir — "brave Ardashir", after the founder of the Sasanian dynasty — later shortened to nard. A well-known legend credits its invention to the sage Bozorgmehr.
What is long nardy?
A version of backgammon with no hitting: all 15 checkers start on one point, both players move the same way round the board, and you win by blocking. It's the main nardy game in Russia, the Caucasus and Central Asia.
How do you pronounce nardy?
NAR-dee, with the stress on the first syllable. In Russian it's a plural noun, like "cards".
Updated: October 24, 2026