Games within the Tables
These games use the tables similar to what’s found in the English game of backgammon.
Backgammon
An early Renaissance English game. Described here are the rules as laid out by Francis Willughby.
Number of Players
The game is played with two players.
Set Up
- Standard tables board
- 15 “men” of one color, typically black
- 15 “men” of another color, typically white
- 2 six-sided dice per player
- 1 cup per player
Players determine who goes first using any sort of method. The “black” player places 5 men on points 6 and 13, 3 men on point 8, and 2 men on point 24. The “white” player places 5 men on points 10 and 12, 3 men on point 17, and 2 men on point 1.
Here is the starting layout:
Game Play
The “black” player will move men to their home table, which are points 1 (their home point) through 6, and the “white” player will move men to their home table, which are points 19 through 24 (their home point). The men are moved by the current player rolling their dice in their cup and rolling them out onto the table. Each die represents movement of one man or both dice totaled represent the movement of a single man, pausing on the divider between each panel of the board.
There are a number of ways players can move. First, they may move to any point that has no men on it or points that they currently occupy. They may move to a spot with one opposing man and may “hit” a “blot”. Blots are points with just a single man. When hit, a man is removed from the board and must re-enter upon the roll of a dice. No other man may move in the meantime.
At any time, movement may be “blocked” if any point has 2 or more opposing men occupying it. When this happens, movement for that man stops. If a man rolls an “ace” and is blocked on the home point, they may not move.
A move is not final until the player’s dice are removed from the board. Until then, a move may be undone.
Binding Up the Tables
There is a situation where the opposing player has 2 men on all their home table points and a player has men that were hit. In this situation, a player may not have men be able to re-enter the table. Instead, players roll dice and whichever player gets the highest determines which point is broken up. When a point is broken up, the men at that point are considered for all intents and purposes hit and must re-enter the table accordingly.
Doubling Cube
Optionally, a doubling cube may be used. The faces on it are 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, and 64. When used, it is placed with the number 64 and on the center of the board. This is called “centered on 1”. A player may propose to double the score. The opposing player may “take” it or “drop” the game, losing the game in the same fashion as described below. If the opposing player takes it and the cube is “centered on 1”, move the die to the 2 face. Every time a player proposes doubling and it is taken, the die is moved up to the next higher face. The effect of the doubling die is that it will double the final score received by the winning player.
Winning the Game
The player who, first, moves all their men on their respective home table and then “bears” them off the table, wins. To “bear off”, a player must get the exact number of moves to reach the side of the board. Outright winning the game this way is called “game” and grants the winning player 1 score. If the opposing player does not have a man that has borne off, this is called “gammon” and is worth 2 scores. If the opposing player has not yet removed any men from the board and the bar is empty and the winning player’s home table is empty, this is called a “backgammon” and worth 3 scores.
House Rule: Doubling Dice
One particular house rule is that you add one result in the case of doubles on the dice. For example, rolling two 1s, it’s now three 1s.
Irish
Irish or the Irish Game was the predecessor to backgammon and was played in Renaissance England. Described here are the rules as laid out by Francis Willughby.
Number of Players
The game is played with two players.
Set Up
- Standard tables board
- 15 “men” of one color, typically black
- 15 “men” of another color, typically white
- 2 six-sided dice per player
- 1 cup per player
Players determine who goes first using any sort of method. The “black” player places 5 men on points 6 and 13, 3 men on point 8, and 2 men on point 24. The “white” player places 5 men on points 10 and 12, 3 men on point 17, and 2 men on point 1.
Game Play
The “black” player will move men to their home table, which are points 1 (their home point) through 6, and the “white” player will move men to their home table, which are points 19 through 24 (their home point). The men are moved by the current player rolling their dice in their cup and rolling them out. Each die represents movement of one man or both dice totaled represent the movement of a single man, pausing on the divider between each panel of the board.
There are a number of ways players can move. First, they may move to any point that has no men on it or points that they currently occupy. They may move to a spot with one opposing man and may “hit” a “blot”. Blots are points with just a single man. When hit, a man is removed from the board and must re-enter upon the roll of a dice. No other man may move in the meantime.
At any time, movement may be “blocked” if any point has 2 or more opposing men occupying it. When this happens, movement for that man stops. If a man rolls an “ace” and is blocked on the home point, they may not move.
Binding Up the Tables
There is a situation where the opposing player has 2 men on all their home table points and a player has men that were hit. In this situation, a player may not have men be able to re-enter the table. Instead, players roll dice and whichever player gets the highest determines which point is broken up. When a point is broken up, the men at that point are considered for all intents and purposes hit and must re-enter the table accordingly.
Winning the Game
The player who, first, moves all their men on their respective home table and then “bears” them off the table, wins. To “bear off”, a player must get the exact number of moves to reach the side of the board.
Todas Tablas
This is a variation of Irish that has a different initial placement of men. The “black” player places 5 men on points 13 and 19, 2 men on point 24, and 3 men on point 17. The “white” player places 5 men on points 6 and 12, 2 men on point 1, and 3 men on point 8. It also varies with additional winning and losing conditions. A player may win if they hit all their opponent’s men. A tie occurs if no movement may take place.
Nard
A Persian game that is often considered the ancestor to backgammon.
Number of Players
The game is played with two players.
Set Up
- Standard tables board
- 15 “men” of one color, typically black
- 15 “men” of another color, typically white
- 2 six-sided dice per player
- 1 cup per player
Players determine who goes first using any sort of method. The “white” player places on their home side 3 men on points 6 and 8 and 2 men on points 3 and 7. On the “black” side, place 2 men on point 1 and 3 on point 12. The “black” player mirrors the “white” player. Roll a die to see who goes first.
Game Play
The “black” player will move men to their home table and the “white” player will move men to their home table. The men are moved by the current player rolling their dice in their cup and rolling them out onto the table. Each die represents movement of one man or both dice totaled represent the movement of a single man, pausing on the divider between each panel of the board.
There are a number of ways players can move. First, they may move to any point that has no men on it or points that they currently occupy. They may move to a spot with one opposing man and may “hit” the a singular man at a given point. When hit, a man is removed from the board and must re-enter upon the roll of a dice. No other man may move in the meantime.
At any time, movement may be “blocked” if any point has 2 or more opposing men occupying it. When this happens, movement for that man stops. If a man rolls an “ace” and is blocked on the home point, they may not move.
A move is not final until the player’s dice are removed from the board. Until then, a move may be undone.
Winning the Game
The player who, first, moves all their men on their respective home table and then “bears” them off the table, wins. A player may not bear off until all their men are in their home table. When bearing off, an exact die roll must be made to move the man into the pocket.
Scoring
For every man in the inner table the opponent has, earn 1 point. For every man in the outer table, earn 2 points. For every man in the 2nd quadrant, earn 3 points. Finally, for every man in the 1st quadrant, earn 4 points.
Tiles
These are tiles games, primarily dominoes.
Block Dominoes
The most basic game using dominoes.
Number of Players
The game is for 2 - 4 players.
Set Up
- Any dominoes set will do
Place all the dominoes face down and shuffle them. For 2 players, both players draw 7 dominoes from the shuffled dominoes. All other player counts, the players each draw 5 dominoes.
Turn order is then determined using any sort of method desired.
Game Play
The first player will play a domino on the table and is called the “set”. All subsequent players place a domino next to the appropriate side that matches one of the sides of the played domino. If a double sided domino (one that has the same amount of pips on both sides) is used, it is played at a different angle and no dominos may be played on the top or bottom of the double sided domino. However, they may be played on either side.
If a player cannot play a domino, they are blocked and must pass to the next player.
Winning the Game
The first player to play all their dominos down says “domino” and wins. If all players are blocked, reveal the hands and count the pips. The player with the lowest pip count wins.
In any case, their score is the total of the other hands.
Draw Dominoes
A more advanced version of Block Dominoes.
Number of Players
The game is for 2 - 4 players.
Set Up
- Any dominoes set will do
Place all the dominoes face down and shuffle them. For 2 players, both players draw 7 dominoes from the shuffled dominoes. All other player counts, the players each draw 5 dominoes. The remaining dominos are called the “boneyard”.
Turn order is then determined using any sort of method desired.
Game Play
The first player will play a domino on the table and is called the “set”. All subsequent players place a domino next to the appropriate side that matches one of the sides of the played domino. If a double sided domino (one that has the same amount of pips on both sides) is used, it is played at a different angle and no dominos may be played on the top or bottom of the double sided domino. However, they may be played on either side.
If a player cannot play a domino, they are blocked and must draw a domino from the boneyard until a play may be made. The exception is if the boneyard is exhausted. For 2-player games, this is when there are 2 dominos. For 3- and 4-player games, this is when there is 1 domino.
Winning the Game
The first player to play all their dominos down says “domino” and wins.
If the boneyard is exhausted, reveal the hands and count the pips. The player with the lowest pip count wins.
In any case, their score is the total of the other hands.
Muggins Dominoes
An advanced version of Block Dominoes.
Number of Players
The game is for 2 - 4 players, with forming teams as an option for 4 players.
Set Up
- Any dominoes set will do
Place all the dominoes face down and shuffle them. Each player draws 5 dominoes. The remaining dominos are called the “boneyard”.
Turn order is then determined using any sort of method desired.
Game Play
The first player will play a domino on the table and is called the “set”. All subsequent players place a domino next to the appropriate side that matches one of the sides of the played domino. If a double sided domino (one that has the same amount of pips on both sides) is used, it is played at a different angle and no dominos may be played on the top or bottom of the double sided domino. However, they may be played on either side.
If a player cannot play a domino, they are blocked and must draw from the boneyard until they can play a domino. The exception is if the boneyard is exhausted. For 2-player games, this is when there are 2 dominos. For 3- and 4-player games, this is when there is 1 domino.
Players score when the both ends of the domino line, with doubles counting both sides, are multiples of 5. For each multiple of 5, the player scores 1 point.
Winning the Game
The first player to play all their dominos down says “domino” and wins.
If the boneyard is exhausted, reveal the hands and count the pips. The player with the lowest pip count wins.
In any case, add to the winning player’s score the total of the other hands.