Etchmiadzin Churches Armenian Backgammon Set for Three Players, 30 cm

Etchmiadzin Churches Armenian Backgammon Set for Three Players, 30 cm by Hrachya Ohanyan

Three players, three sides, three churches: Etchmiadzin Cathedral, St Hripsime and St Gayane drawn in line on pale discs, one on each leaf of a three-sided board. This is the 30 cm / 11.8″ Armenian wooden backgammon set for three players made by Hrachya Ohanyan. Plywood and beech, 48 checkers in three colours, dice and a carrying bag.

This is the board for the family of three, the flat where the third player watches, and the Etchmiadzin family that wants all three churches on one board. Each leaf is a full field — twelve points and a petal wheel — and the three leaves hinge together and open into a three-pointed star meeting at the centre, so three people race their own colour round it. The churches are line work on bare discs, each with its name in Armenian beneath, and pale acanthus scrolls fill the corners.

Closed, the three leaves fold into a chevron with brass clasps, and the bag is cut to the same shape. The rules are the Armenian ones: three-player backgammon was devised in Armenia in 2007 by Nerses Nersesyan — fifteen pieces each, one colour per player, first to bear off wins. For the mountain hut, the school club, and the three friends who never had a game for three.

Specifications

• Size open: three leaves of about 30 × 15 cm / 11.8″ × 5.9″ meeting at the centre in a three-pointed star
• Size folded: 30 × 30 × 3 cm / 11.8″ × 11.8″ × 1.2″ — a chevron, three leaves stacked
• Material: plywood and beech, stained walnut brown and varnished, the church discs, scrolls and pale points left bare
• Decoration: the three churches of Etchmiadzin — the Cathedral, St Hripsime and St Gayane — in line work on bare discs with their names in Armenian on plaques beneath, one church to each leaf; pale acanthus scrolls in line work in the corners; pale drop-tipped points and a petal wheel in line work on each of the three fields inside
• Outline: Triad — three leaves hinged in a chain, opening to a three-pointed star and folding to a chevron
• Hardware: brass hinges, cast clasps
• Craftsmanship: entirely handmade by Hrachya Ohanyan

What's Included

• Three-sided backgammon board with the three churches in line work
• 48 beech and walnut checkers in three colours — natural, dark and red — with velvet bases
• Dice set cut from billiard balls
• Black carrying bag cut to the board's shape

Why You'll Love It

• A real game for three: not a two-player board with a spare seat — three fields, three colours of checkers, forty-eight pieces, and a bar at the centre where all three meet.
• Etchmiadzin, all three: the Cathedral, St Hripsime and St Gayane each get a leaf, named in Armenian — the three churches you visit in one afternoon, on one board.
• 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

How does backgammon for three work? Each player takes fifteen checkers of one colour — natural, dark or red — and races them round the three-sided field to their own home; the first to bear off every piece wins. The board opens into three leaves joined at the centre and folds back into a chevron; the churches, the scrolls, the petal wheels and the points are cut in line work into the pale-and-stained wood, and the board is varnished. Nothing is printed or applied.

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 bag.

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.