Gul bara
Encyclopedia
Gul Bara is a backgammon
variant. It is also called as ‘Rosespring Backgammon’ or ‘Crazy Narde’. The motive of the game is to move all of your checkers around the board and bear them off. The first player who bears off all his checkers wins the game. The game is popular in Azerbaijan
, Bulgaria
, Greece
, Turkey
and Macedonia
.
A checker can only move to an open point, which is not occupied by the opponent’s checker. The numbers on the two dice can be used by the player for either separate moves or he can add them together and use it for a single move. For example, if a player rolls 6 and 4, he may move one checker six spaces to an open point and another checker four spaces to an open point, or he may move the one checker a total of ten spaces to an open point, but only if the intermediate point (six or four spaces from the starting point) is also open.
A major difference between Gul Bara and other forms of backgammon
is that there is no hitting in Gul Bara. One checker placed at a point controls it, and a checker from the opponent cannot be placed at that particular point.
During the first three rolls of the game, doubles are played as in backgammon; each number is played twice. For example, a roll of 3-3 means you have four threes to use.The difference comes to the forefront when a player rolls doubles after the first three rolls. In this case the player not only plays the number he rolled four times, but he also plays each successive number four times. For example, if a player rolls 2-2, he can play four 2's, and then four 3's, and then four 4's, and then four 5's and then four 6’s. If at any point the player is unable to play all four numbers, he loses the remainder of his turn. It is not difficult to play consecutive doubles, when the game is still in its early stages. But according to Gul Bara rules it only takes one checker to block a point, so players block more points and as the game progresses playing all the doubles is often quite difficult.
Backgammon
Backgammon is one of the oldest board games for two players. The playing pieces are moved according to the roll of dice, and players win by removing all of their pieces from the board. There are many variants of backgammon, most of which share common traits...
variant. It is also called as ‘Rosespring Backgammon’ or ‘Crazy Narde’. The motive of the game is to move all of your checkers around the board and bear them off. The first player who bears off all his checkers wins the game. The game is popular in Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan , officially the Republic of Azerbaijan is the largest country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded by the Caspian Sea to the east, Russia to the north, Georgia to the northwest, Armenia to the west, and Iran to...
, Bulgaria
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
, Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
, Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
and Macedonia
Republic of Macedonia
Macedonia , officially the Republic of Macedonia , is a country located in the central Balkan peninsula in Southeast Europe. It is one of the successor states of the former Yugoslavia, from which it declared independence in 1991...
.
Playing Gul Bara
Both players roll one die and the higher number goes first. That player rolls the dice again to begin his turn. Every player starts with fifteen checkers on the rightmost point of the far side of the board, at diagonally opposite corners from each other. They both move in the same direction, counterclockwise, around the board.Gul Bara rules
The roll of the dice indicates how many points, or pips, the player can move his checkers. The following rules apply:A checker can only move to an open point, which is not occupied by the opponent’s checker. The numbers on the two dice can be used by the player for either separate moves or he can add them together and use it for a single move. For example, if a player rolls 6 and 4, he may move one checker six spaces to an open point and another checker four spaces to an open point, or he may move the one checker a total of ten spaces to an open point, but only if the intermediate point (six or four spaces from the starting point) is also open.
A major difference between Gul Bara and other forms of backgammon
Backgammon
Backgammon is one of the oldest board games for two players. The playing pieces are moved according to the roll of dice, and players win by removing all of their pieces from the board. There are many variants of backgammon, most of which share common traits...
is that there is no hitting in Gul Bara. One checker placed at a point controls it, and a checker from the opponent cannot be placed at that particular point.
Doubles
An exceptional feature of Gul Bara is that doubles are very powerful. In Gul Bara when you roll the doubles, you play your roll in the normal way and then you play every succeeding doubles roll up to and including 6-6.During the first three rolls of the game, doubles are played as in backgammon; each number is played twice. For example, a roll of 3-3 means you have four threes to use.The difference comes to the forefront when a player rolls doubles after the first three rolls. In this case the player not only plays the number he rolled four times, but he also plays each successive number four times. For example, if a player rolls 2-2, he can play four 2's, and then four 3's, and then four 4's, and then four 5's and then four 6’s. If at any point the player is unable to play all four numbers, he loses the remainder of his turn. It is not difficult to play consecutive doubles, when the game is still in its early stages. But according to Gul Bara rules it only takes one checker to block a point, so players block more points and as the game progresses playing all the doubles is often quite difficult.