Tawla Rules

Overview

Tawla (طاولة) is the Arabic name for Backgammon, one of the oldest board games in the world. It is a 2-player game where each player has 15 checkers that must be moved around the board and borne off. The first player to bear off all 15 checkers wins.

The Board

The Tawla board has 24 narrow triangles called points, arranged in four quadrants of 6 points each. The points are numbered 1 to 24. Points 1-6 are your home board, points 7-12 are your outer board, points 13-18 are the opponent's outer board, and points 19-24 are the opponent's home board. A bar divides the board in the center.

Starting Position

Each player places their 15 checkers in the standard starting position:

2 on point 24 | 5 on point 13 | 3 on point 8 | 5 on point 6

Rolling Dice

Each turn, the player rolls two dice. Each die represents a separate move — you can move one checker by both values, or two different checkers by one die value each. If you roll doubles (e.g., 4-4), you get four moves of that value instead of two.

Moving Checkers

Checkers always move in one direction — toward your home board (points 1-6). A checker may land on a point that is:

1. Empty — any checker can land here.
2. Occupied by your own checkers — you can stack as many as you want.
3. Occupied by exactly ONE opponent checker (a blot) — you hit it and send it to the bar.
4. You CANNOT land on a point occupied by 2 or more opponent checkers — it is blocked.

Doubles

When you roll doubles (both dice show the same number), you get to make four moves of that value instead of two. For example, rolling double 3s gives you four moves of 3 each.

Hitting

When you land on a point with exactly one opponent checker (a blot), that checker is hit and placed on the bar. The opponent must re-enter that checker before making any other moves.

Re-Entering from the Bar

A checker on the bar must re-enter on the opponent's home board (points 19-24 from their perspective) using a die value. For example, rolling a 3 lets you enter on point 22. If all entry points are blocked by 2+ opponent checkers, you lose your entire turn.

Bearing Off

Once ALL 15 of your checkers are in your home board (points 1-6), you can begin bearing off:

1. Use an exact die value to remove a checker from the corresponding point (e.g., roll a 4 to bear off from point 4).
2. If no checker sits on the exact point, you may bear off from the highest occupied point if the die value is higher.
3. You must use all dice if possible — if you can move instead of bearing off, you must move.

Scoring

Tawla games can be scored based on how decisively you win:

Winning

The first player to bear off all 15 checkers wins the game. In match play, games are played to a target score (e.g., 3, 5, or 7 points). Normal wins are worth 1 point, gammons 2, and backgammons 3.