Backgammon Variant: No Hitting on Narde

Narde is a backgammon variant that's usually played in Europe. What's unique about this version is that there's no hitting involved. The reason behind this is that a point with just a minimum of one piece is already called a made point. And aside from the no-hitting feature, there are more narde-versus-backgammon differences to point out.

In terms of starting positions in narde, a player's 15 pieces are all stacked on the 24-point as opposed to the board distribution in backgammon. Also, players bear off counterclockwise here while in the conventional game, players may agree to move either counterclockwise or clockwise if they wish.

How one uses the roll to move a piece is similar to the conventional game. But there are fewer restrictions since the definition of a made point is significantly altered. One of these restrictions is that we can only advance one piece from the 24-point per turn (with the exception of first moves, of course).

In terms of opening rolls, if in backgammon the first play corresponds to each player's individual roll to see who makes the opening play, narde calls for an extra roll. In other words, after determining who kicks off the game, the starting player re-rolls the dice for the opening play.

Another restriction on this backgammon variant pertains to making a prime (six straight made points) on the board. The rule here is that you are prohibited from building a prime until there's an opposing piece ahead of it.

Bearing off in narde is similar to how you would bear off in backgammon. You have to get all your pieces on your inner board before you can commence taking them off. What's more, doubling's not common in this backgammon variant. However, if you do get to bear off your entire pieces before your opponent can take off a piece, you'll win two points in the game. Otherwise, a completed game only counts as a one-point win.

As a backgammon variant, narde provides an interesting set-up because its simple rules allow more possibilities on the board. All pieces start off on the 24-point and that makes the board a free-for-all. Also, securing a board point only requires you to have a piece on it in stead of two pieces in backgammon. What's more, you can only advance two pieces from the 24-point initially so a game can take a while to finish. And lastly, you can only build a prime when your opponent has a piece in front of it.