Tables is a general name given to a class of board games similar to backgammon played on a board with two rows ofvertical markings called points. Players roll dice to determine the movement of pieces. Tables games are among the oldest known board games and many variants are played throughout the world.The ancient Egyptians played a game called Senet which was similar to modern tables games with moves controlled by the roll of dice. The Royal Game of Ur played in ancient Mesopotamia is a more likely ancestor. Recent excavations at the Burnt City in Iran showed that a similar game existed there aroundBC. The artifacts include two dice andpieces. The set is believed to betoyears older than the sets found in Ur. The ancient Romans played a number of games in this family. Ludus duodecim scriptorum game of twelve lines used a board with three rows ofpoints each and the pieces were moved across all three rows according to the roll of dice. Not much specific text about the gameplay has survived. Tabula meaning table or board was similar to modern backgammon in that a board withpoints was used and the object of the game was to be the first to bear off all of ones checkers. Three dice were used instead of two and opposing checkers moved in opposite directions.
Furniture
Furniture during the Middle Ages is not as wellknown as that of earlier or later periods and most sources show the types used by the nobility. In the Eastern Roman Empire tables were made of metal or wood usually with four feet and frequently linked by xshaped stretchers. Tables for eating were large and often round or semicircular. A combination of a small round table and a lectern seemed very popular as a writing table In western Europe the invasions and intestine wars caused most of the knowledge inherited from the classical era to be lost. As a result of the necessary movability most tables were simple trestle tables although small round tables made from joinery reappeared during the th century and onward. In the Gothic era the chest furniture became widespread and was often used as a table.Refectory tables first appeared at least as early as the th century as an evolution of the trestle table these tables were typically quite long and capable of supporting a sizeable banquet in the great hall or other reception room of a castle.
Persian poet
In the th century Shahnameh the Persian poet Ferdowsi credits Burzoe with the invention of nard in the th century. He describes an encounter between Burzoe and a Raja visiting from India. The Raja introduces the game of chess and Burzoe demonstrates nard played with dice made from ivory and teak. The jeux de tables first appeared in France during the th century and became a frequent pastime for gamblers. InLouis IX issued a decree prohibiting his court officials and subjects from playing the games. While it is mostly known for its extensive discussion of chess the Alfonso X manuscript Libro de los juegos completed indescribes rules for a number of dice and tables games.In English the word tables is derived from Latin tabula. Its first use referring to board games documented by the Oxford English Dictionary was circa ADDuring the th century the name tables was sometimes also used to describe chess.
In the Middle East and Central Asia
The game known in the West as backgammon is played widely in the Middle East and Central Asia. It is known as ifranjiah in Arabic meaning Frankish and is referred to as takhte nard in Iran. In Israel and the Middle East as well it is known as shesh besh meaning six and five.The name nardshir comes from the Persian nard Wooden block and shir lion referring to the two type of pieces used in play. A common legend associates the game with the founder of the Sassanian dynasty Ardshir. The oldest known reference to the game is thought to be a passage in the Talmud although some claim it refers to the Greek game Kubeia. Many of the early Arabic texts which refer to the game comment on the debate regarding the legality and morality of playing the game. This debate was settled by the eighth century when all four Muslim schools of jurispudence declared the game to be Haraam however this did nothing to stop the growth in popularity of the game in the Muslim world and the game is still played today in many Arab countries.
Mahbusa
Mahbusa means imprisoned. Each player begins withcheckers on his opponents point. If a checker is hit it is not placed on the bar but instead the hitting piece is placed on top and the point is then controlled by the hitting player. The checker which has been hit is imprisoned and cannot be moved until the opponent removes his piece. Sometimes a rule is used that requires a player to bring his first checker around to his home board before moving any others. In any case a rapid advance to ones own home board is desirable as imprisoning the opponents checkers there is highly advantageous. Mahbusa is similar to tapa.An interesting feature of tables play in some Arab countries is that Persian or Kurdish numbers rather than Arabic ones are called out by a player announcing his dice rolls.
Narde
People in the Iranian plateau and Caucasus region especially in Iran Armenia Azerbaijan and Georgia are very fond of playing narde. A version known as short narde is a simplified form of ifranjiah. In Georgia ifranjiah is played as elsewhere but called nardi. In Georgia Armenia Azerbaijan many experienced players also play long narde which some see as requiring deeper strategy. As in mahbusa allof a players checkers are initially positioned on his own point but there is a major difference. One is forbidden to put his checker at a point occupied by ones opponents checker so there is no hitting or imprisonment in the long narde game. The main strategy is to secure playing big pairs by ones own checkers and prevent as much as possible doing the same by the opponent.Gul bara sometimes referred to as rosespring backgammon or crazy narde is a variant popular in some Arab countries. An unusual feature is that there is no hitting.
