Plakoto (also known as Tapa in Bulgaria) is one of three backgammon games popular in Greece (the other ones are Portes and Fevga). The three games together are called Tavli and are usually played one after the other in matches of three, five, or seven points.
The game is played on a standard backgammon board. The next section describes all differences between Backgammon and Plakoto:
Each player starts with fifteen checkers on the opponent's one-point (see the picture).
There is no hitting in this game. Instead, if you land on a point occupied by a single opposing checker, the opponent's checker is trapped until you remove your checker. Two of your checkers on a point, or one of your checkers pinning the opponent's checker creates a block which the opponent cannot land or touch down on.
The last checker on your starting point ("1" for white or "24" for black) is called the mother checker. If this checker gets pinned by the opponent before it has left the start, the game is over and the player loses the game. The only exception is if the opponent still has checkers on his starting point, since in this case his own mother checker is still threatened. A game in which both mothers are pinned is a draw.