Octagram Star Backgammon Set with Contour Outline

Octagram Star Backgammon Set with Contour Outline by Hrachya Ohanyan

The edge curves. Shoulders swell, corners curl, and at the centre sits one eight-pointed star cut in sharp facets. This is the 60 cm / 23.6″ wooden backgammon set made by Hrachya Ohanyan on his contour outline. Handmade in beech, it comes with 32 wooden checkers, dice cut from billiard balls and a branded carrying case.

This is the one you leave closed on the sideboard. The rim is part of the board itself — it swells at the shoulders, tucks in at the waist and curls at each corner — so even shut it has a silhouette. Inside that curve the star sits in a rope-and-bead ring, every ray carved as two flat faces meeting at a crest, bright on one side and dark on the other.

Open, the points alternate pale and dark, each tipped with a fleur-de-lys, with a wheel ornament in a scrolled ring at the heart of each half and an ornate bronze hinge on the bar. The same star as our classic square board, for the shelf where a square would look like a box.

Specifications

• Size open: 60 × 60 cm / 23.6″ × 23.6″
• Size folded: 60 × 30 cm / 23.6″ × 11.8″
• Material: beech wood, stained chestnut and varnished
• Carving: faceted eight-pointed octagram in a rope-and-bead ring on carved lattice; eternity whirl on the back
• Outline: Contour — scrolled edges with swelling shoulders and curled corners
• Hardware: cast-bronze hinges and clasps
• Craftsmanship: entirely handmade by Hrachya Ohanyan

What's Included

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

Why You'll Love It

• A silhouette, not a square: closed on a shelf the scrolled profile reads from across the room — the same star as our classic board, on the shape that makes it.
• Sixteen planes, one star: every ray is two flat faces meeting at a crest, so the star changes as the light crosses the room.
• 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 carving real? Yes — and so is the outline. The curved rim is shaped from the board's own beech, not added on; the star, its rope ring and the lattice are carved into the same wood before the chestnut stain and varnish. Nothing here is printed.

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.