Грекиялық тақта ойындары: Тавли, Портес, Плакото және Февга

Greek tables game

Tavli (Greek: Τάβλι), sometimes called Greek backgammon in English, is the most popular way of playing tables games in Greece and Cyprus and is their national board game. Tavli is a compendium game for two players which comprises three different variants played in succession: Portes, Plakoto and Fevga. These are played in a cycle until one player reaches the target score usually five or seven points.

Tables games are an ancient family of race games, the best known modern example of which is backgammon. However, in Greece the most popular form of tables is Tavli, a word which is the equivalent of "tables games". Hence, this is not a single game, but a trio of tables games played to different rules and tactics. These are Portes, Plakoto and Fevga and they are played in that order until a player reaches the agreed target score. The aim in each game is to be the first player to bear off all 15 men or pieces. The starting layout and rules are as for backgammon except that:
The player who leads re rolls both dice to start the game. Thus a doublet is possible on the first move. The game may either be won singly, or won double if the loser has yet to bear off a man. There is no equivalent of a backgammon and therefore no triple win. There is no doubling cube.

Plakoto is the second game in the sequence. It is a pinning game in which hitting is not permitted. Players may pin a single opposing man in place by covering it with one of their own men, preventing the pinned piece from moving until the covering man is released. Two or more pieces of the same side or a piece pinning an opposing man creates a block for the opponent. Players start with all 15 men on point 24. The last piece left on the starting point is the mother. If she is pinned before moving off, the game is over and the pinning player wins double. There is no doubling cube.