Post by yenilira on Nov 4, 2011 1:42:13 GMT 1
One of the most familiar sounds on the streets of Turkey is the roll of dice followed by the quick tap of pieces as they are moved.
This is the sound of Tavla.
Tavla is the Turkish version of Backgammon (albeit with different rules in several respects).
Despite Backgammon being better known by name, the number of Tavla players in Turkey probably exceeds the number of Backgammon players in any other country you care to choose. Tavla is played here literally everywhere – in shops, cafes, lokantas, hotels or just on the pavement on a plastic table. It is played mostly by men, although there are ample women who know how to play too.
Tavla is a board game for two players. The board comprises 24 triangles, with the four quadrants of the board having six triangles each. One of the two quadrants on your side (depending on the direction of play) will be your home base. Each player starts with 15 pieces, set out over the four quadrants of the board in the prescribed manner. The aim of Tavla is short and sweet: the one who removes all their pieces from the board first, wins. To do this, however, you first need to get them all back to your home base, and that requires strategy.
Strategy is not something you can pick up after a couple of games. You’ll be far too busy counting and trying to remember what numbers you just threw, because no sooner have the two dice been rolled and you’ve just had enough time to read the numbers, then they’ll be snatched away from under your nose.
Forget what you threw? Then you should play a bit more quickly and start thinking.
When you watch two practised Tavla players in action you will be amazed how fast the pieces are moved. Sneeze and you will have missed two turns! If you play Tavla more frequently there will come a point when you recognise the number combinations thrown on the dice and are able to play more quickly.
The idea is to prevent your opponent from getting to his home base, while getting to your own home base as quickly as possible. One of the most fundamental strategies is to create lines of two pieces on top of each other that restrict the opponent's moves, basically because you are not allowed to land on a triangle where there are already two of the opponent's pieces.
A single piece, however, is vulnerable as it may be hit, most likely with a loud thud and a triumphant stare from your opponent. The piece that has been hit is removed from the board. It then has to start over in the opponent's quadrant and begin the long, treacherous journey back to its own home base once more. Some Tavla players clearly revel in throwing exactly the right numbers to kick you off the board. It makes no odds to them that they could have won hands down if they hadn’t chosen that move.... they just delight in seeing you getting more and more frustrated. This is because when any of your pieces are off the board you are unable to play your normal game. You can only continue when you throw a number corresponding to a vacant triangle in your opponent’s home base. That’s where those lines of two pieces I mentioned earlier come back into play - if your opponent has got his home base (positions 1 to 6) well covered it makes it more difficult for you to get back on the board.
Are you keeping up with me?
The dice used in Tavla are extremely small. A beaker is not used to shake them, as is often the case in Backgammon. Turks don’t like that, they just shake the dice in their hand. Better still (and you’ll see lots of experienced players do this) pick up the dice between your thumb, index and middle fingers and then throw. Don’t ask me how, but the dice can be manipulated in the fingers of experienced players, but you’ll never be able to prove that someone ‘cheated’ like this.
A game of Tavla is a serious pastime where no ends of means are used to embarrass your opponent. It’s all part of the game. It ranges from comments about your ‘abysmal speed’ and ‘childlike’ ability to count, to plying you with alcohol and provocative discussions aimed at ensuring your defeat.
Tavla is usually played as the best of five, but you should never become complacent. In Tavla, pride will have a fall as it is incredible how ‘they’ suddenly start performing, right at a crucial moment, by throwing double sixes!
Of course, this is not enough to teach you about the rules of Tavla or for that matter how to play.
It would take up far too much space to try and summarise every detail of the game here. And besides, such a summary does not make good reading. If you really are interested in learning about Tavla, look it up on ‘Google’ and visit a couple of websites for the rules of play.
After that you should track down a patient Turk (hmmm, sounds a bit contradictory, I know) who can explain the rules over a game on a plastic table in front of his dükkan.
One thing is for sure – once you’ve mastered it there will always be someone, wherever you go in Turkey, who will be happy to give you a game.
YL.
This is the sound of Tavla.
Tavla is the Turkish version of Backgammon (albeit with different rules in several respects).
Despite Backgammon being better known by name, the number of Tavla players in Turkey probably exceeds the number of Backgammon players in any other country you care to choose. Tavla is played here literally everywhere – in shops, cafes, lokantas, hotels or just on the pavement on a plastic table. It is played mostly by men, although there are ample women who know how to play too.
Tavla is a board game for two players. The board comprises 24 triangles, with the four quadrants of the board having six triangles each. One of the two quadrants on your side (depending on the direction of play) will be your home base. Each player starts with 15 pieces, set out over the four quadrants of the board in the prescribed manner. The aim of Tavla is short and sweet: the one who removes all their pieces from the board first, wins. To do this, however, you first need to get them all back to your home base, and that requires strategy.
Strategy is not something you can pick up after a couple of games. You’ll be far too busy counting and trying to remember what numbers you just threw, because no sooner have the two dice been rolled and you’ve just had enough time to read the numbers, then they’ll be snatched away from under your nose.
Forget what you threw? Then you should play a bit more quickly and start thinking.
When you watch two practised Tavla players in action you will be amazed how fast the pieces are moved. Sneeze and you will have missed two turns! If you play Tavla more frequently there will come a point when you recognise the number combinations thrown on the dice and are able to play more quickly.
The idea is to prevent your opponent from getting to his home base, while getting to your own home base as quickly as possible. One of the most fundamental strategies is to create lines of two pieces on top of each other that restrict the opponent's moves, basically because you are not allowed to land on a triangle where there are already two of the opponent's pieces.
A single piece, however, is vulnerable as it may be hit, most likely with a loud thud and a triumphant stare from your opponent. The piece that has been hit is removed from the board. It then has to start over in the opponent's quadrant and begin the long, treacherous journey back to its own home base once more. Some Tavla players clearly revel in throwing exactly the right numbers to kick you off the board. It makes no odds to them that they could have won hands down if they hadn’t chosen that move.... they just delight in seeing you getting more and more frustrated. This is because when any of your pieces are off the board you are unable to play your normal game. You can only continue when you throw a number corresponding to a vacant triangle in your opponent’s home base. That’s where those lines of two pieces I mentioned earlier come back into play - if your opponent has got his home base (positions 1 to 6) well covered it makes it more difficult for you to get back on the board.
Are you keeping up with me?
The dice used in Tavla are extremely small. A beaker is not used to shake them, as is often the case in Backgammon. Turks don’t like that, they just shake the dice in their hand. Better still (and you’ll see lots of experienced players do this) pick up the dice between your thumb, index and middle fingers and then throw. Don’t ask me how, but the dice can be manipulated in the fingers of experienced players, but you’ll never be able to prove that someone ‘cheated’ like this.
A game of Tavla is a serious pastime where no ends of means are used to embarrass your opponent. It’s all part of the game. It ranges from comments about your ‘abysmal speed’ and ‘childlike’ ability to count, to plying you with alcohol and provocative discussions aimed at ensuring your defeat.
Tavla is usually played as the best of five, but you should never become complacent. In Tavla, pride will have a fall as it is incredible how ‘they’ suddenly start performing, right at a crucial moment, by throwing double sixes!
Of course, this is not enough to teach you about the rules of Tavla or for that matter how to play.
It would take up far too much space to try and summarise every detail of the game here. And besides, such a summary does not make good reading. If you really are interested in learning about Tavla, look it up on ‘Google’ and visit a couple of websites for the rules of play.
After that you should track down a patient Turk (hmmm, sounds a bit contradictory, I know) who can explain the rules over a game on a plastic table in front of his dükkan.
One thing is for sure – once you’ve mastered it there will always be someone, wherever you go in Turkey, who will be happy to give you a game.
YL.