Backgammon glossary
The words players use, each in a sentence or two, with the Turkish tavla term next to it. Jump to a term below.
- Anchor
- Back checkers
- Backgammon (win)
- Bar
- Bear off
- Blot
- Builder
- Closed board
- Crawford rule
- Dance
- Doubles
- Doubling cube
- Drop (pass)
- Enter
- Gammon
- Hit
- Home board
- Mid-point
- Outer board
- Pip
- Point
- Made point
- Prime
- Race
- Slot
- Take
Key terms on the board
A to Z
- Anchor (no fixed Turkish term)
- A point you hold with two or more checkers in your opponent's home board. It gives your back checkers a safe landing spot.
- Back checkers (geride kalan pullar)
- Your two checkers that start on your 24-point, the furthest from home.
- Backgammon (win) (katmerli mars)
- A win where the loser has borne off no checkers and still has one on the bar or in the winner's home board. Worth 3 points; not used in Turkish-style tavla.
- Bar (köprü, bar)
- The strip down the middle of the board. Hit checkers wait here until they enter again.
- Bear off (pul toplamak)
- Take a checker off the board once all 15 of yours are in your home board.
- Blot (açık)
- A single checker alone on a point. It can be hit.
- Builder (no fixed Turkish term)
- A checker placed a few points in front of where you want to make a point, ready to help make it next turn.
- Closed board (tatil)
- All six points of a home board made. A checker on the bar can't enter against it.
- Crawford rule (Crawford eli)
- In a match with the cube, the game after a player first reaches one point short of winning is played without the cube.
- Dance (gele)
- Fail to enter from the bar because every number you rolled lands on a closed point. You lose the turn.
- Doubles (çift)
- Both dice showing the same number. You play the number four times.
- Doubling cube (vido küpü, küp)
- A die marked 2, 4, 8, 16, 32 and 64 used to double the stakes during a game.
- Drop (pass) (pas)
- Decline a double and lose the game at the current stake.
- Enter (kırık girmek)
- Bring a hit checker back from the bar into the opponent's home board.
- Gammon (mars)
- A win before the loser has borne off any checker. Worth 2 points.
- Hit (kırmak, vurmak)
- Land on an opposing blot and send it to the bar.
- Home board (kale, iç saha)
- Your points 1 to 6, where you bear off.
- Mid-point (13. hane)
- Your 13-point, where five of your checkers start.
- Outer board (dış saha)
- Points 7 to 12, between your home board and the far side.
- Pip (pip)
- One step on the board. Your pip count is the total distance all your checkers still have to travel; 167 at the start.
- Point (hane)
- One of the 24 triangles. Making a point means putting two or more of your checkers on it.
- Made point (kapı)
- A point with two or more of your checkers. Your opponent can't land on it.
- Prime (üst üste kapılar (no standard term))
- Several made points in a row. A full prime is six in a row: nothing can jump it.
- Race (yarış)
- A position where the two sides have passed each other, so no more hitting is possible. Whoever is ahead in pips is usually the favourite.
- Slot (no fixed Turkish term)
- Put a single checker on a point you want to make, hoping to cover it next turn.
- Take (kabul)
- Accept a double. The game goes on at twice the stake and you own the cube.
Turkish players also name every roll of the dice, such as düşeş for 6-6 and şeşbeş for 6-5. The full list is on the Turkish glossary page .