Play tavla online

Tavla is the Turkish name for backgammon, and the way most of Turkey plays it. On TavlArena you can play tavla with the traditional Turkish rules for free, against the computer or a person, with no ads and no account.

What tavla is

Tavla uses the same board, the same 15 checkers a side and the same starting position as backgammon. You roll two dice, move your checkers round the board, hit single checkers to send them back, and win by bearing all 15 off first. Turkish players have their own words for all of it: a checker is a pul, a made point a kapıand a 6-6 a düşeş.

How tavla differs from backgammon

• The opening roll is rolled again. The player who wins the opening roll picks up both dice and rolls them, so the first move can be a double.
• The last winner starts the next game of a match.
• A mars (gammon) is worth 2 points and there is no triple win.
• No doubling cube.
• Matches go to a number of points, usually 5, with no Crawford rule.

The full explanation, with the Turkish variants, is in Tavla: the Turkish rules. Prefer the international game? Switch to Backgammon on the home page, or choose the Modern rules for tavla with the cube.

Three ways to play

Against the computer

Seven bot levels, from Beginner to Expert, all clearly labelled as bots. Bot games are untimed, and once the page has loaded they also work offline.How the bots work.

With a friend

Create a room and send the link, or let your friend scan the QR code. No account for either of you. Play live with a clock, or turn-based with a day or three per move. How friend games work.

Quick match

We pair you with another player who wants the same game, match length and pace. Rated games need a verified account; everything else works as a guest.

Fair dice

The dice for every game are sealed before it starts. Nobody, not even us, can change them, and after the game you can check every roll. See how fair dice work.

By TavlArena. Updated: 26 October 2026