tables game
Tables games are a class of board game that includes backgammon and which are played on a tables board, typically with two rows of 12 vertical markings called points. Players roll dice to determine the movement of pieces. Tables games are among ...
played in
Bulgaria
Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...
and
North Macedonia
North Macedonia, ; sq, Maqedonia e Veriut, (Macedonia before February 2019), officially the Republic of North Macedonia,, is a country in Southeast Europe. It gained independence in 1991 as one of the successor states of Socialist Feder ...
. It is also played in
Greece
Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...
, where it is known as
Plakoto
Plakoto (Πλακωτό) is a tables game for two players that is popular in Greece. The object is for the player to bring all 15 pieces around to his or her own home board and then bear them off. The player who bears off all 15 pieces first ...
. The word ''tapa'' means ''bottle cap''.''Tapa'' at Backgammon Galore. Retrieved 28 September 2022.
Tapa is usually played as the third game in a
Tabla
A tabla, bn, তবলা, prs, طبلا, gu, તબલા, hi, तबला, kn, ತಬಲಾ, ml, തബല, mr, तबला, ne, तबला, or, ତବଲା, ps, طبله, pa, ਤਬਲਾ, ta, தபலா, te, తబల ...
match, the first two being ''Tabla'' (similar to common
backgammon
Backgammon is a two-player board game played with counters and dice on tables boards. It is the most widespread Western member of the large family of tables games, whose ancestors date back nearly 5,000 years to the regions of Mesopotamia and Pe ...
) and '' Gjul Bara''. These 3 games are played consecutively in a match of 5. All 3 games are played on a standard
tables board
Tables games are a class of board game that includes backgammon and which are played on a tables board, typically with two rows of 12 vertical markings called points. Players roll dice to determine the movement of pieces. Tables games are among ...
. (Note that there might be slight differences in the match rules and scoring; the ones described here are common for North Macedonia).
Tapa is also played in
Syria
Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...
where it's known as ''Mahbousseh'' ( Arabic: ''محبوسة'' ).
Rules
Each player starts with all fifteen
piece
Piece or Pieces (not to be confused with peace) may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Games
* Piece (chess), pieces deployed on a chessboard for playing the game of chess
* ''Pieces'' (video game), a 1994 puzzle game for the Super NES
* P ...
pieces (or 'men') on the 24-
point
Point or points may refer to:
Places
* Point, Lewis, a peninsula in the Outer Hebrides, Scotland
* Point, Texas, a city in Rains County, Texas, United States
* Point, the NE tip and a ferry terminal of Lismore, Inner Hebrides, Scotland
* Point ...
. It is usual, but not necessary, to place only 2 pieces at the start and add the others as the game develops. Since Tapa is not played as a single game, the winner of the previous game (Gjul Bara) in the match has the first turn.
Goal
It is a game of
contrary movement
The following is a glossary of terms used in tables games, essentially games played on a Backgammon-type board. Terms in this glossary should not be game-specific (e.g. specific to a single game like Backgammon or Acey-deucey), but applicable to ...
i.e. the pieces move around in opposing directions. The goal is to bring all pieces to the
home board
The following is a glossary of terms used in tables games, essentially games played on a Backgammon-type board. Terms in this glossary should not be game-specific (e.g. specific to a single game like Backgammon or Acey-deucey), but applicable to a ...
(points 1 to 6) and then
bear them off
The following is a glossary of terms used in tables games, essentially games played on a Backgammon-type board. Terms in this glossary should not be game-specific (e.g. specific to a single game like Backgammon or Acey-deucey), but applicable to ...
. The one who bears off all 15 pieces first wins the game.
Movement
After rolling the
dice
Dice (singular die or dice) are small, throwable objects with marked sides that can rest in multiple positions. They are used for generating random values, commonly as part of tabletop games, including dice games, board games, role-playing g ...
a player must, if possible, move pieces the number of points showing on each die. The number on each die constitutes a separate move. For example, if a player roll 5 and 6, they can move one piece 5 points and another 6 points, but they can also move a single piece 11 points (5+6), given that they have a
free point
Oilfield terminology refers to the jargon used by those working in fields within and related to the upstream segment of the petroleum industry. It includes words and phrases describing professions, equipment, and procedures specific to the indust ...
(not blocked by the opponent) to land on in between, after moving the piece for 5 or 6 points.
If a player rolls two of the same number (a
doublet
Doublet is a word derived from the Latin ''duplus'', "twofold, twice as much",
{{tables games
Tables games