Interplay By Nada Debs
The Interplay Backgammon Board is a collaboration with Nada Debs that explores the meeting point between traditional craft and generative design, transforming one of the world’s oldest strategy games into a platform for experimentation.
Each board is handcrafted in Lebanon with marquetry by master artisan Nabil Haswani, whose practice spans more than five decades. Building on this material knowledge, creative coder Anna Lucia developed a custom algorithm that translates the logic of marquetry assembly into a generative system. Inspired by the geometry and layout of traditional backgammon boards, the algorithm produces evolving patterns that extend beyond conventional compositions.
Users can generate their own digital boards each a unique variation shaped by the rules of the algorithm. The project positions backgammon as a space where craft, code, and play intersect, opening new possibilities for how heritage techniques can engage with digital creation.
About Studio Nada Debs
Nada Debs is a designer working between Beirut, Dubai, and Osaka. Her multidisciplinary studio spans furniture, objects, interiors, fashion, and craft. Raised in Japan and trained at the Rhode Island School of Design, Debs is known for her “handmade and heartmade” philosophy—distilling traditional craftsmanship into contemporary forms that speak to emotional and cultural connection. Follow along at @studionadadebs.
About Anna Lucia
Anna Lucia is a Berlin-based artist from the Netherlands, whose practice spans generative systems, browser-based artworks, blockchain experiments, textiles, and tattoos. Formerly a civil engineer, she now explores the meeting point between traditional craft and algorithmic logic, creating poetic dialogues between human intuition and computational randomness.