Nard (game)

Nard

Buzurgmihr demonstrates the game of nard to the Indian rajas
Other name(s)	Nardshir
Genre(s)	Board game Dice game
Players	2

Nard (or nardshir, or narde, Persian ) is a tables-style board game for two players in which the playing pieces are moved according to rolls of dice. It is similar to backgammon in that it uses the same board, but it has different initial positions and rules.

The game has been historically popular in Persia, Muslim countries, and among Babylonian Jews.

A common legend associates the game with the founder of the Sassanian Dynasty, Ardashir. Indeed, the Persian name نرد nard is a shortening of the older name نردشیر nardašir, from Middle Persian nēw-ardaxšīr "brave Ardashir". 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. Another early reference is to be found in the Middle Persian romance Chatrang-namak (written between the 7th and 9th centuries) which attributes the invention of the game to Bozorgmehr.