Tapa (game)

Tapa (Тапа) is a version of Backgammon played in Bulgaria and North Macedonia. It is also played in Greece, where it is known as Plakoto. The word tapa means bottle cap.

Tapa is usually played as the third game in a Tabla match, the first two being Tabla (similar to the common backgammon) and Gjul Bara. These 3 games are played consecutively in a match of 5. All 3 games are played on a standard Backgammon board. (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 where it's known as Mahbousseh ( Arabic: محبوسة ).

Rules

Each player starts with all fifteen checkers on the 24-point. It is usual, but not necessary, to place only 2 checkers at the start and add the others as the game develops. Since Tapa is not played as a single game, the user that won the previous game (Gjul Bara) in the match has the first turn.

Goal
Starting position

The checkers move around in opposite directions. The goal is to bring all checkers to the home board (point 1 to point 6) and then bear them off. The one who bears off all checkers first wins the game.

Movement

After rolling the dice a player must, if possible, move checkers 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 checker 5 points and another 6 points, but they can also move a single checker 11 points (5+6), given thatthey have a free point (not blocked by the opponent) to land on in between, after moving the checker for 5 or 6 points.

If a player rolls two of the same number (doubles) he must play each die twice. For example, upon rolling a 5 and a 5, he must play four checkers forward five spaces each. As before, a checker may be moved multiple times as long as the moves are distinct.

Pinning

Unlike Backgammon, there is no hitting in Tapa. Instead, if a player lands on a point occupied by a single opponent's checker, he places the checker on top of the opponent's checker and traps it. A trapped (pinned) checker can't be moved. Pinning a checker already used for pinning is not allowed. Two of your checkers on a point, or one of your checkers used for pinning an opponent's checker, create an anchor, a blocked point on which the opponent cannot land or touch down.

A possible situation where the green is in trouble.

Pinning an opponent's checker in a player's home board gives them a great advantage. Most likely they won't release it until they begin bearing off. The smaller the point where a player pinned the opponent's checker is, the higher their advantage. If a player pin an opponent's checker on the 1-point and don't have any of their checkers on the 24-point, they automatically win the game and get 2 match points (mars).

Bearing off

After a player moves all of their 15 checkers to their home board, they can begin bearing off by taking the checkers outside the board. A player can bear off checkers from points that correspond to the numbers on the rolled dice. If a player don't have checkers on these points but have ones on higher points, then they must play the move. If a player don't have checkers on the points indicated by the dice and don't have checkers on higher points, then they bear off from the highest point that has a checker.

If a player have a pinned checker in your home board, they can't bear it off until it is freed. If a player don't have checkers on the rolled points and have a pinned checker on a higher point that they can't move, they pass and do nothing.

Scoring

The player that manages to bear off all checkers first wins and scores 1 point in the match. If the opponent hasn't borne off any checkers, then the player scores 2 match points; this is called mars and corresponds to gammon. There is no backgammon and doubling cubes in Tapa, so a player can't win more than 2 match points with a single game.

Basic strategies

Generally, there are two basic strategies.

Defensive strategy

This includes building anchors near the starting points and carefully progressing toward your home board, not allowing to be pinned. At the same time, a player should wait for a good opportunity to pin the opponent's checkers as close to your home board as possible.

Offensive strategy

At the very start, a player move checkers as far as possible, even leaving single checkers in the area of 10-point to 15-point. With this, a player open up a possibility to pin the opponent's checkers in their home board or very near it, before the opponent gets a chance to build anchors. This strategy involves a certain amount of risk since the opponent gets higher chances to pin a player's checkers and make faster progress in building anchors closer to his home board.

Some players prefer one strategy over the other, but this is viewed as a mistake by some people: What strategy a player use should be determined by the first few rolls. If a player roll smaller numbers at the start, then they should use a defensive strategy. On the contrary, if a player roll high numbers, they should try placing a checker around the middle-points. In the next few rolls, they should try to either pin an opponent's checker or make an anchor with a second checker.

The match

Tapa is seldom played as a stand-alone game. Together with two other games, Tabla and Gjul Bara it is played in a match of 5 or as long as one of the players gain seven points. A common name in North Macedonia and Bulgaria for all three games within a match is Tabla, the same as the first game. The first game is referred to as права (straight [Tabla]) when a need for disambiguation arises.

When starting the match, each player rolls one die, to determine who will start. If it's a tie, the players roll again. But, unlike the regular backgammon, the already-rolled dice are disregarded and the player that won the first turn rolls both dice to begin. In the next game in the match, the player that won the previous has the first turn.

See also


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