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 called "Tavli", derived in Byzantine times from the Latin word "tabula". A game, almost identical to backgammon, called Tavli (Byzantine Greek: τάβλη) is described in an epigram of the Byzantine Emperor Zeno (AD 476–481). There are four games of Tavli commonly played: Portes: Set-up and rules the same as backgammon, except that backgammons count as gammons (2 points) and there is no doubling cube.<br> Plakoto: A game where one checker can trap another checker on the same point.<br> Fevga: A game where one checker by itself can block a point.<br> Asodio: Also known as Acey-deucey where all checkers are off