Fayles

Coming from Spain and England from the thirteenth to the seventeenth century, Fayles is often spelled Falis, but both are the same game. This game uses three dice, no doubles and a restriction on hitting your opponent that makes this game very different from many of the backgammon variants out there.

In Fayles the board is set up with each player putting two checkers on the opponent's one-point and thirteen checkers on his own six-point. The game starts with a single die roll, with the highest result going first - that player rolls three dice and then begins the game.

Each round three possible moves can happen, as three dice are used. Like in regular backgammon a player can combine all the dice into one move, or use two for one checker and one for a second, or move three different checkers. As three dice are used, there are no doubles - or triples, for that matter.

When you hit, the checker is moved not to the bar, but to your 1 point, automatically starting a trip around the board. Here is where the hitting restriction comes in - if you have a checker on your 1 point, you can not hit. This requires strategy about hitting your 1 point too early in the game.

In Fayles the game ends when a player bears off all his checkers, just like normal backgammon. There is, however, one way you can lose the game early, thereby granting your opponent the win - if you ever roll a number you can not play, you lose the game.