Play Tavla (Turkish Backgammon) Online
Tavla is the Turkish name for backgammon, and this page plays both: Turkish tavla, or backgammon with the doubling cube. Play against the computer or at a free online table with no account and nothing to download, or create a private room and send its code to a friend.
Play Tavla
3+A clean, world-standard board with real rules and genuinely strong bots. Plays instantly against the computer, or open an online room to play a friend.
This game is for players 18 and older. All the other games stay open. Age ratings
Pick a table type — you are matched with players right away.
Private room
Free — play friends with a room code.
Opens in a focused full-screen view. Vs-computer plays offline instantly; online rooms are server-authoritative with hidden cards/tiles kept secret per seat.
Tavla is backgammon as it is played in Turkey: two players race 15 checkers each around 24 points with two dice. In Turkish tavla the player who wins the opening roll rolls again, there is no doubling cube, and a game is worth at most 2 points; choose Backgammon (cube) for the western game. Play against the computer at four levels or at a free online table with no account, in a private room by code (an account to create one, none to join), or at the credit tables (an account, 18+, no money value).
How a game of tavla goes
Each player has 15 checkers on a board of 24 points, and two dice decide every move: one checker moves by each die, or one checker by both, and a double is played four times. You race your checkers round the board into your home board, then bear them off, and the first to bear off all 15 wins the game. On the way a blot can be hit and sent to the bar. The tavla rules explain each step: the starting position, hitting and the bar, bearing off and the mars. Both rule sets this page plays, Tavla (Turkish) and Backgammon (cube), share this race; Tavla and backgammon below sets out what differs.
Tavla and backgammon
Turkish tavla is played on the same board as backgammon, from the same starting position, with the same moves. The game panel offers both under Variant, Tavla (Turkish) and Backgammon (cube), against the computer, at the online tables and in private rooms. What differs:
| Tavla (Turkish) | Backgammon (cube) | |
|---|---|---|
| The opening roll | The winner rolls both dice again, so the first roll can be a double | The winner plays the two opening dice |
| Doubling cube | None | Its value doubles each time a double is taken, up to 64 |
| Biggest win | A mars (gammon), 2 points | A backgammon (katmerli mars), 3 points, times the cube |
| Crawford rule | None | One game without the cube, once a match |
| A hit checker against a closed home board | No roll: the turn passes | You roll, and the turn passes if it cannot come in |
Hitting a blot is allowed everywhere, your own home board included. Hit-and-run (vur kaç: hitting, then moving the same checker on with the other die) is also allowed in your own home board here, though some traditional descriptions forbid it inside the home board.
In backgammon you may press Double before you roll, and the other side takes or passes; the backgammon section of the rules works through the cube with examples. Every roll of the dice has a Turkish name too, from hep yek (double one) to düşeş (double six): see Turkish backgammon numbers.
How to play
- In the game panel, choose Vs Computer, or the button beside it for the online tables.
- Under Variant, choose Tavla (Turkish) or Backgammon (cube). Under Match length, choose Single game, 2, 3 or 5; 5 is chosen to begin with.
- Each player rolls one die, and the higher number starts. In Turkish tavla the starter then rolls both dice again; in backgammon the starter plays the two opening dice.
- On your turn, press Roll. Tap a checker and then a marked point, or drag the checker. Doubles are played four times, and you must play both dice whenever you can.
- Land on a blot, a lone checker of the other side's, and you hit it. A hit checker (kırık pul) must come back in through the opponent's home board before its owner moves anything else.
- Undo takes a move back and Confirm ends your turn. Once all fifteen of your checkers are in your home board, you start bearing them off.
- The first to bear off every checker wins the game, and if the loser has borne off none it is a mars (a gammon). The first to reach the match length you chose wins the match.
Game modes
Vs the computer
Pick Easy, Medium, Hard or Expert (Medium to begin with), choose the variant and match length and press New Game. Easy plays for the race, for hits and for safety; Medium and Hard weigh each position, Hard counting primes too; Expert is a neural network trained by self-play that looks at all 21 rolls the opponent can throw next. No account, no clock.
Free online table
Choose the button beside Vs Computer, then the Free table type: you sit at a two-seat table with your variant and match length, and the game starts when it is full. You can play as a guest, with no account. Each decision has 30 seconds, plus a 90-second reserve for the match, and a dropped connection keeps your seat for 60 seconds. Online games count towards your tavla rating; games against the computer do not.
Private room
Press Create Room in the Private room section under the online table types. Creating a room needs an account: if you are not signed in, Create Room opens the sign-in page first. Send your friend the room code shown at the table: they type it under Room code and press Join, with no account needed. The game starts when you are both seated, with the creator's variant and match length. Private rooms are free, and an empty room closes after 5 hours.
Credit tables
The Rookie, Amateur, Master and Elite tables take an entry of 100, 500, 2,000 and 10,000 credits, the site's game points. They are online only, never in a private room, and need an account, at least 3 days old for Master and Elite. Credits have no money value: they cannot be bought, sold or exchanged for money. Credit tables are 18+.
The rules in short
| Players | 2 players, each with 15 checkers, and two dice |
|---|---|
| Starting position | Counted from your side: 2 checkers on your 24-point, 5 on the 13-point, 3 on the 8-point and 5 on the 6-point; the opponent's mirror them |
| Who starts | Each player rolls one die (equal dice are rolled again) and the higher number starts. Turkish tavla: the starter rolls both dice again, so the first roll can be a double · Backgammon: the starter plays the opening dice |
| Using the dice | Doubles are played four times. Play both dice when you can; if not both, the larger (and if it cannot move, the smaller). With no move to make, the turn passes. |
| Hitting | A blot (a lone checker) can be hit anywhere, your own home board included. A point with two or more of the opponent's checkers is closed to you; your own you may stack freely. A hit checker comes back in through the opponent's home board before anything else moves. |
| When a hit checker cannot come in | Turkish tavla: if all six points of the opponent's home board are closed, the turn passes without a roll · Backgammon: you roll, and the turn passes if the checker cannot come in |
| Bearing off | Once all 15 checkers are home and none is on the bar. A checker comes off with the exact number; a die higher than your farthest checker bears that one off, but with a checker on a point higher than the die, the die is played inside your home board. |
| Scoring in Turkish tavla | A game is 1 point; a mars, when the loser has borne off nothing, is 2. There is no katmerli mars and no doubling cube. |
| Match length | A single game, or 2, 3 or 5 points (5 to begin with); the first to reach it wins the match. |
| Conceding | Concede offers the game or the match; if the opponent declines, play goes on and you cannot offer again that turn. Turkish tavla: a game conceded before you have borne off a checker counts as a mars (2 points), otherwise 1 point. |
| Backgammon: scoring | A game is 1 point, a gammon 2, a backgammon 3 (the loser has borne off nothing and has a checker on the bar or in the winner's home board), each times the cube. |
| Backgammon: the doubling cube | Before you roll you may press Double: either player while the cube is in the middle, then only its holder. Take doubles the cube and hands it over; Pass loses the game at the value before the double. The cube goes up to 64. |
| Backgammon: the Crawford rule | Once a player is 1 point from winning the match, the next game has no cube (once a match); a single-game match has none. |
| Computer levels | Easy, Medium, Hard and Expert; Medium to begin with. Expert is a neural network (80 hidden units) trained by self-play that looks at the opponent's 21 possible rolls. |
| Online clock | 30 seconds per decision and a 90-second reserve for the match; a dropped connection keeps your seat for 60 seconds. No clock against the computer. |
| Private room | Free. Creating one needs an account, joining by code does not. The game starts when two players are seated, and an empty room closes after 5 hours. |
| Credit tables | Rookie 100, Amateur 500, Master 2,000, Elite 10,000 credits; online tables only, with an account; Master and Elite need an account at least 3 days old; 18+. Credits cannot be bought or exchanged for money. |
Frequently asked questions
Can I play tavla online without an account?
Yes. Games against the computer and the free online tables need no account, and nothing is downloaded: the board opens in your browser. You need an account only to create a private room or to sit at a credit table.
How do I play tavla with a friend online?
Sign in, choose the button beside Vs Computer and press Create Room under Private room, then send your friend the room code shown at the table. They type it under Room code and press Join, with no account needed.
Who starts a game of tavla here?
Each player rolls one die and the higher number starts; equal dice are rolled again. In Turkish tavla the starter then rolls both dice, so the first move can be a double; in backgammon the starter plays the opening dice. The opening roll has the details.
How many points does a tavla match go to?
You choose: a single game, or 2, 3 or 5 points, with 5 chosen to begin with. In Turkish tavla a game is worth 1 point, or 2 for a mars. The scoring section follows a 5-point match game by game.
How many computer levels are there?
Four levels: Easy, Medium, Hard and Expert, with Medium to begin with. Games against the computer have no clock and do not count towards your rating.
Is there a time limit at an online tavla table?
Yes: 30 seconds for each decision (rolling, moving, answering a double), plus a 90-second reserve for the whole match that runs once a decision's 30 seconds are used up. A dropped connection keeps your seat for 60 seconds.
Is there a doubling cube in tavla?
Not in Turkish tavla. Choose Backgammon (cube) under Variant for the doubling cube, the backgammon (3 points) and the Crawford rule. Against the computer, Easy never doubles; Medium, Hard and Expert may, and every level answers your double with Take or Pass.
What is the difference between tavla and backgammon?
The board, the starting position and the moves are the same. Turkish tavla has no doubling cube, the winner of the opening roll rolls again, and a game is worth at most 2 points; backgammon adds the cube, the Crawford rule and the backgammon, worth 3. Tavla and backgammon compares them.
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