Most important, it's terrific fun, even exciting to play. At the start of the game each player has a stack of four pieces in the start square and four stacks of two pieces each placed on the corresponding tivits. The black and white paths intersect alternately. Similar to backgammon, these places of intersection are vulnerable points where pieces may be attacked and returned to start. Hence there are no safe zones in the game.
Pieces are vulnerable either by replacement capture or by chebache.
The chebache formation is an ingenious device and the heart of the game's originality. Movement is fueled by the roll of two dice. As in backgammon, the roll can be either one or two pieces. Additionally, pieces on tivits may move backward or forward. Each player has a king, a double piece that may move backward or forward.