Classic Walnut Backgammon Set with Plain Lid

Classic Walnut Backgammon Set with Plain Lid by Hrachya Ohanyan

Solid walnut and nothing on it: a lid where the grain does the decorating, dark streaks running edge to edge, with every ornament kept for the inside. This is the 60 cm / 23.6″ wooden backgammon set made by Hrachya Ohanyan, classic outline. Handmade in walnut, with 32 checkers, dice cut from billiard balls and a branded case.

This is the board for the office desk, the study with the leather chair, and the player who wants walnut and nothing else. The lid is a single face of the wood, varnished and left alone: pale gold grain with near-black streaks running through it, so every lid falls differently and the light moves across it the way it moves across a good tabletop. Straight edges, square corners, a cast clasp on the front — the whole thing reads as furniture until you open it.

Open it and the carving appears: cross-hatched points in line work with fleur-de-lys tips, a petal wheel in a scrolled ring on each half, a brass hinge stamped with the maker's mark on the bar, every cut in the walnut's own colour. For the first proper board, the office, and the player who wants to play rather than display.

Specifications

• Size open: 60 × 60 cm / 23.6″ × 23.6″
• Size folded: 60 × 30 cm / 23.6″ × 11.8″
• Material: walnut wood, natural colour, varnished
• Carving: none on the lid; inside, a petal wheel in a scrolled ring on each half and cross-hatched points with fleur-de-lys tips, all in line work
• Outline: Classic — straight edges and square corners
• Hardware: brass hinge stamped with the maker's mark, cast-bronze clasps
• Craftsmanship: entirely handmade by Hrachya Ohanyan

What's Included

• Solid walnut backgammon board, carved inside
• 32 beech and walnut checkers with velvet bases
• Dice set cut from billiard balls
• Branded carrying case

Why You'll Love It

• Walnut, plain and honest: no stain and no carving on the lid — the grain is the design, and it deepens with the years.
• Carving where it counts: the points and the wheels inside are cut into the wood, so the playing side is as finished as any board in the range while the lid stays quiet.
• Make it theirs: add a name or a date at checkout to mark a birthday, a retirement or years of games together.

Good to Know Before You Buy

Is the lid really plain? Yes — one face of solid walnut, varnished, with nothing carved or applied to it, so the grain is the whole picture and every board's streaks fall differently. The carving is all inside: the points in line work with a cross-hatched fill, the petal wheels in their scrolled rings. If you want a name or a date on it, a plain lid takes one well.

What about shipping and returns? Shipping is free to the US, Canada and Europe, always tracked; other countries pay a flat $100 (Brazil, Chile and New Zealand $200). Every set is covered by our 30-day returns policy.

How do I look after it? Keep it out of direct sunlight and away from radiators. Wipe with a dry, soft cloth and store it closed in its carrying case.

About the Artist - Hrachya Ohanyan

National Master Hrachya Ohanyan began his fine woodcraft in 1985 and founded his workshop in Yerevan in 2010. This board belongs to his collection of wooden backgammon sets, each one made by hand by the craftspeople of that workshop. Read Hrachya Ohanyan's story or explore the full backgammon collection.

Also known as nardi (нарды), nardy, tavla or shesh besh.