Nard (game)

Nard (, also narde or nardshir; from ''nēw-ardaxšīr'') is a historical Persian tables game for two players that is sometimes considered ancestral to backgammon. It is still played today, albeit in a different form. As in other tables games, the playing pieces are moved around a board according to rolls of dice. It uses a standard tables board, but has a different opening layout and rules of play from that of backgammon.

History

The game has been historically popular in Persia, Muslim countries, and among Babylonian Jews. A common legend associates the game with the founder of the Sassanian Dynasty, Ardashir. Indeed, the Persian name is a shortening of the older name , from Middle Persian ''nēw-ardaxšīr'' "brave Ardashir". The oldest known reference to the game is thought to be a passage in the Talmud, although some claim it refers to the Greek game Kubeia. Another early reference is to be found in the Middle Persian romance ''Chatrang-namak'' (written between the 7th and 9th centuries) which attributes the invention of the game to Bozorgmehr. The ''Shahnameh'' (written around the year 1000) also attributes the invention to Bozorgmehr.''Shahnameh: The Persian Book of Kings'' by Abolqasem Ferdowsi, translated by Dick Davis, London: Penguin Books, 2007, Pp. 701-704. Parlett refers to Nard as "proto-Backgammon".Parlett (2018), p. 123.

By the 17th century the game was played in Georgia under the name of ''nardi'', and by the 19th century it was being played by the Kalmyks, who called it ''narr''. During most part of the 20th century both Georgia and Kalmykia were parts of USSR, so now the game is played in Russia and other ex-USSR countries under the name of Nardy (нарды).

Rules

Common rules

The following rules apply to all the variants below:

* Players: the game is played by two players
* Equipment: Tables board of 24 points or spaces; 2 dice; 30 pieces or men of 2 different designs (15 per player)
* First play: both players throw a die to decide who plays first; the one with the higher die leads off
* Game turns: players takes turns at rolling both dice simultaneously
* Movement: players must always move their pieces forwards; which direction that is depends on the variant
* Moves:
** Two men may be moved forward on each turn, the first by the score on one die and the second by the score of the other die
** Alternatively one man may be moved forward based on the total dice score; but must rest on an intermediate point corresponding to the score on one of the dice
** Points or spaces may be open or closed. A man may only be moved to an open one, the definition of which depends on the variant
* Bearing off:
** Begins once all 15 pieces or men are in the final, or home, quadrant
** One man is removed from the point corresponding to the roll of each die i.e. if a man is on the 3rd point from the end, a 3 must be rolled to bear it off
** If there are no men on the point corresponding to a die roll, the player must make a legal move with a man further away
** If that is not possible, a man is borne off from the furthest point that is occupied.

Nardshir

The earliest description of the rules for Nard, known then as Nardshir, dates to a 6th century AD booklet by the Persian author, Bozorgmehr. These rules have been reconstructed as follows.''Nard - The Original Backgammon''
at ancientgames.org. Retrieved 9 March 2022.

Players begin by setting up the board as shown. White is at the top and places on the home side, 3 men on the 6 and 8 points and 2 on the 3 and 7 points; on the opposing side he places 2 men on the Ace point and 3 on the 12 point. Black mirrors White's layout. Players move in ''opposite directions''; White moves clockwise and Black, anticlockwise.

In turn, each player throws the dice and moves men as described above. A man may not rest or move onto a closed point i.e. one occupied by two or more opposing men; however, a single enemy man may be hit and removed from the board. Men so removed, must be re-entered before any men already on the board are played. They are re-entered into the first quadrant (points 1 to 6). Players must move their men if they can; if unable to make a legal move with one of the dice, however, they forfeit that die roll. If unable to use either die, they forfeit both and miss a go.

Once all 15 men have reached the 4th, or home, quadrant, the player may begin to bear them off the board and the first to do so is the winner.

Todas Tablas

In Alfonso X's 13th century book of games, ''El Libro de los Juegos'', is a game called Todas Tablas, which many scholars equate to modern Backgammon although the description and opening layout are not the same. Some also equate it to Nard, thus assuming that Nard and Backgammon are the same game, a proposition challenged by Robet and others.Robet (2011), p. 4.

Nard

A modern version of Nard as played in the Near East is described by Botermans. Robet suggests that this version could be closer to the original game than Todas Tablas.Botermans (2008) as described and cited in Robet (2011), pp. 4–11. The following is an overview of the rules:

The board comprises 24 'spaces' in four quadrants or tables. Each player stacks 15 men on the space at the top right in the opponent's home table and rolls a die to decide who will start.

Players move their men in ''opposite'' directions. Rolling a doublet