Games
Playing Greek backgammon, known as tavli, and various card games, is a time-honoured tradition amongst Greek men. In every Greek village and town, as well as in cities and suburbs, groups of men can be seen playing tavli and other games in the local kafenio or coffee shop. The tradition has continued in Australia. Mostly played for fun, tavli and card games afford an important social occasion for men, especially elderly men.
Greek Backgammon
Tavli means table or board. It refers to various games played on a backgammon board. Three popular ones are Portes, Plakoto and Fevga.
- Portes, meaning doors, is very similar to Western backgammon.
- Plakoto, meaning to ‘place on top of’, is a game where one checker can trap another at the same point.
- Fevga, meaning ‘run’ or ‘go’, is a very fast game where one checker by itself can block a point.
These games are played very quickly, one after another, in matches of three, five or seven points. You do not need to wait for your opponent before you can pick up the dice. While your opponent is making a move you can pick up the dice yourself, but can only roll it after he has finished his move.
The following rules are common to all three games of tavli.
- A pair of dice is used.
- Players roll a dice to establish who plays first.
- The winner of the game goes first in the following game.
- The first player to get rid of all his checkers gets one point. If the winner gets rid of all his checkers before the loser has got rid of any, he gets two points. There is no triple game.
- No doubling cube may be used.
Would you like more detailed information about the game of Tavli? You can purchase a tavli board from Greek specialty stores in Lonsdale Street Melbourne or the Greek shopping precinct in Oakleigh.
Greek Card Games
Greek men, especially elderly men, are often avid card players. The most common Greek card games are:
- Diloti, similar to the game Casino.
- Kolitsina, also known as Pastra.
- Kseri, similar to the Turkish game Pishti.
- Birib’, a two-deck rummy game, the aim being to make sets of at least seven cards of the same rank or seven cards in sequence in suit.
- Koum Kan or Kun Kan, a two-deck rummy game in which each player is dealt eleven cards.
- Thanassis, a rummy game variation.
- Prefa, very similar to the game five hundred.
- Ekstinaeksi, the Greek word for the number 66, a Greek version of the German game of 66.
- Agonia, meaning agony, the Greek version of Crazy Eights.
- Koupes, the Greek version of Hearts.
- Pilotta, played with 32 cards and similar to the French game Belote.
Playing cards with your elderly clients, or helping to establish a game amongst a group, is a great way to build relationships. If you would like to be one of the players you could ask a client to teach you the rules. Alternatively, go to Greek card games. Click on Country-based index of games and scroll down to Greece where you will see a list of games with detailed rules on how to play.
