Glossary of tables game terms

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 range of tables games.

A

 * ace
 * 1) A die roll of one.
 * 2) The face of a die with one pip. (Historically, 2=deuce, 3=trey, 4=quater, 5=cinc, 6=sice; though these terms are now obsolete.  )


 * ace point
 * The player's first point on the board. Also home point or one point.

B

 * backgammon
 * A game in which the loser has not only failed to bear any pieces off, but has pieces in the opponent's home table or on the bar. It is worth triple.


 * bar
 * The central strip separating the left and right halves of the board, usually formed by the raised edges or rails of each half board. The raised partition of the board.


 * bear off
 * To remove one's men from the board in the final stages of a game. The first to do so usually wins the game; however, in Trictrac, it scores points but the game continues. Also throw off or take off.


 * bearing table
 * The table in which men are borne off.


 * block
 * Any point on the board where two or more men rest. An opponent may not land on such a point.


 * blockade
 * A succession of blocked points i.e. points held by at least two men. Also prime.


 * blot
 * A single man on a point. In many tables games, this is a vulnerable situation as the man is liable to be hit by an opposing man.


 * board
 * 1) The whole playing area, traditionally a hinged, wooden tray.
 * 2) Same as quadrant. Thus there are four boards. In Backgammon and similar games, there is a home board and outer board on each player's side.


 * break a point
 * To remove one of two men on a point, thus leaving a blot. Also clear a point.


 * builder
 * Once two men have been placed on a point, any extra men are builders.

C

 * cast
 * 1) The number rolled on a die or dice.
 * 2) To throw or roll the die or dice.


 * checker
 * US backgammon term for any of the pieces used for playing the game. Also counter, man or stone.


 * cinque
 * 1) A die roll of five
 * 2) The face of a die with five pips.


 * closed point, closed space
 * 1) Usually, a point or space that is occupied by two or more opposing men.
 * 2) In some games, a point or space that is occupied by exactly two opposing men. See Nard.


 * cocked die
 * A die that comes to rest tilted and not flat. May be automatically invalid in some games.


 * come in, come on
 * To bring a man back into play, after it has been hit or knocked off.


 * contrary movement
 * A game of contrary movement is one in which the players move their pieces in opposing directions. Examples: Backgammon, Trictrac.


 * corner rattler, hornaskella
 * A player's last pieces in the Icelandic game Chasing the girls (Að Elta Stelpur).


 * counter
 * Any one of the pieces used for playing the game. Also checker (US), man or stone.


 * cover a blot
 * To place a second man on an isolated piece thus making a point.


 * cup
 * The container used to throw the dice or die. Should have a small lip on the inside to prevent fixing the dice. Also dice cup.

D

 * dice cup
 * A cup used to shake and roll the dice.


 * die, dice
 * A die is one of usually two or three six-sided cubes used in playing a tables game. Each face of the cube is marked with a number of pips from 1 to 6 that is used in moving men or scoring. Plural: dice.


 * division
 * Same as quadrant.


 * doubles
 * See doublet.


 * doublet
 * Two dice each with the same pip count. In some tables games, the player plays each die twice. Also doubles.
 * In French tables games, there were individual names for the doublets as follows:


 * doublet of Aces: bezas (diminutive of ambesas), bezet;
 * doublet of 2: double two (doublet de deux);
 * doublet of 3: ternes;
 * doublet of 4: carmes;
 * doublet of 5: quines;
 * doublet of 6: sonnez ("ring the bells").


 * doubling cube, doubling die
 * An extra and slightly larger die used especially in modern Backgammon to raise the game value or stakes on the game. Marked with the numerals 2, 4, 8, 16, 32 and 64.

E

 * enter
 * To play a piece onto the tables or board.


 * expose a blot, expose a point
 * See uncover a blot.


 * exposed
 * Said of a man that sits alone on a point. In most games he is vulnerable to being hit by an opposing man.

G

 * gammon
 * A game in which the loser has failed to bear off any pieces. It is worth double.

H

 * hit
 * 1) In hitting games, to force an isolated opposing piece (or blot) off the board by moving a piece to the point concerned e.g. as in Backgammon. Also 'knock off'.
 * 2) To score points by being in a position to move a piece to a point on which an isolated opposing piece is located e.g. as in Trictrac.


 * hit and run, hit-and-run
 * Move in which a player uses one throw to hit an opposing blot and a second throw to move the hitting piece to a point occupied by a friendly piece.


 * hitting game
 * A game in which hitting a blot is permitted. Examples: Backgammon and Portes.


 * home
 * 1) noun. The first point on a player's side.
 * 2) noun. The starting or finishing point.
 * 3) adverb. To the player's first six points.
 * 4) To play at home. To play one's pieces in one's first twelve points.


 * home board, home table
 * That quadrant of the board containing a player's points 1 to 6. Also inner board or inner table. Sometimes also called the finishing quadrant or bearing table.


 * home point
 * See ace point.


 * homewards
 * Towards the player's first point.

I

 * inner board, inner table
 * See home board.

K

 * knock off
 * See hit.

M

 * march
 * The route of one or more men around the board.


 * man, men
 * Any of the counters used to play a tables game. Formerly table-man. Man is the traditional English term, but it is also called a checker (US), counter, piece or stone.


 * move
 * The action of advancing a man in accordance with the roll of a die. If a man is advanced by the total score on two dice, it is a double move.

O

 * off the board
 * Placed anywhere that is not on the playing surface. Where a man is sent when hit.


 * open point, open space
 * 1) Usually, a point or space that is not occupied by two or more opposing men.
 * 2) In some games, point or space that is not occupied by exactly two men. See Nard.


 * opening roll
 * The first dice throw of a game which decides who will go first


 * outer board, outer table
 * The penultimate quadrant of the board, preceding the player's home table or inner table.

P

 * parallel movement
 * A game of parallel movement is one in which the players move their pieces in the same direction around the board. Examples: Fevga, Jacquet, Narde, Moultezim.


 * piece
 * Any of the counters used in tables games. Also checker, man or stone. Man is the traditional term.


 * pile
 * 1) A stack of two or more men on a point.
 * 2) To place men one on top of another.


 * pin, pinning, pinning a blot
 * In pinning games, to move a piece onto a point containing a single enemy man thus preventing it from further movement.


 * pinning game
 * A game in which pinning a blot is permitted. Example: Plakoto.


 * pip, pips
 * The spots on the dice.


 * play
 * To move a man based on the roll of a die or dice.


 * point, make a point, make the point
 * 1) Any one of the triangular spaces on a tables board.
 * 2) To make a point is to establish two or more men on it such that it cannot be captured.


 * prime
 * 1) A succession of blocked points, normally points held by at least two opposing men. Also blockade.
 * 2) A succession of six points so occupied. Also side prime.

Q

 * quadrant
 * One of the four sections of a tables board. Also board, division, quarter or table.


 * quarter
 * Same as quadrant.

R

 * rail
 * Same as off the board. The rail is the raised edge of the board.


 * re-enter
 * To play a man to the board after it has been removed, typically after being hit.


 * rest
 * A man is said to 'rest' when he pauses on an intermediate point in moving the total of two or more dice.


 * roll the die, roll the dice
 * To project or throw the die or dice onto the board. Also cast or throw.


 * running game
 * A game in which there is no hitting or pinning and players 'race' around the board in the same direction. Example: Fevga. See also games of parallel movement.

S

 * setting the men
 * To place the men in position at the start of a game.


 * side prime
 * A blockade of six consecutive points. See also prime.


 * singleton
 * A single man on a point; also called a blot.


 * space
 * One of usually 24 rectangular sections of a tables board, especially an historical one, one which men may be placed during play. Equivalent of point q.v.


 * stack
 * 1) To place men one on top of one another. Also pile.
 * 2) A heap of men so placed. Also pile.


 * stone
 * See man.

T

 * table
 * 1) Same as quadrant. One of the four divisions of the board.
 * 2) Sometimes used to describe each half of the board (left and right).


 * tableman, tablemen, table-man, table-men
 * Original name for the pieces or men, q.v.


 * Tables board
 * The playing surface of a tables game.


 * Tables game
 * A game played using a tables board.


 * talon
 * Point no. 1 in French tables games such as Trictrac and Jacquet.


 * throw
 * 1) Same as roll when referring to dice.
 * 2) Throw off. Same as bear off.


 * trictrac, Trictrac board
 * Type of board used for Trictrac and other French tables games. Similar to a backgammon board, but with high side rails and holes in the rails for scoring purposes.


 * triplet
 * Three dice each with the same pip count.

U

 * uncover a blot, uncover a point
 * To remove a man or men from a point leaving only one man behind, who is thus exposed.

Literature

 * Bell, R. C. (1979). Board and Table Games from Many Civilizations. NY: Dover. ISBN 0486238555
 * Clay, Robin A. (1992). Backgammon. London: Hodder.
 * Crane, Michael (2006). Backgammon. London: Teach Yourself.
 * Forgeng, Jeff, Dorothy Johnston and David Cram (2003). Francis Willughby's Book of Games. Ashgate Press. ISBN 1 85928 460 4.
 * Halliwell-Phillips, James Orchard (1852). A Dictionary of Archaic & Provincial Words, Obsolete Phrases, Proverbs and Ancient Customs, Volume 2 (J–Z). London: John Russell Smith.
 * Jacoby, Oswald and John R. Crawford (1970). The Backgammon Book. NY: Vikong.
 * Longacre, John (1980). Backgammon of Today. NY: Bell.
 * Murray, H. J. R. (1941). "“The Mediaeval Games of Tables" in Medium Aevum, Vol. 10, ed. by Charles Talbot Onions. Society for the Study of Mediæval Languages and Literature. pp. 57-69.
 * Obolensky, Prince Alexis and Ted James (1974). Backgammon. London: Star. [Originally publ. as Backgammon: The Action Game, NY: Collier (1969) and London: Allen (1971).]
 * Singman, Jeffrey L. (1999). Daily Life in Medieval Europe. Westport: Greenwood.
 * Singman, Jeffrey L. (1999). Daily Life in Medieval Europe. Westport: Greenwood.
 * Singman, Jeffrey L. (1999). Daily Life in Medieval Europe. Westport: Greenwood.