Backgammon to bear off all of one's checkers, was also the same. Hitting a blot, reentering a piece from the bar, and bearing off, all followed the modern rules. The only differences with modern backgammon were the use of an extra die (three rather than two) and the starting of all pieces off the board (with them entering in the same way that pieces on the bar enter in modern backgammon). The name τάβλη is still used for backgammon in Greece, where it is frequently played in town plateias and cafes. The epigram of Zeno describes a particularly bad dice roll
Backgammon first written mention of early precursors of backgammon—writes: In the 11th century "Shahnameh", the Persian poet Ferdowsi credits Burzoe with the invention of the tables game "nard" in the 6th 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. Today, Nard is the name for the Persian version of backgammon, which has different initial positions and objectives. H. J. R. Murray details many versions of backgammon; modern Nard is noted there as being the same as backgammon