Tired though he was, he played well.

Bassam, The standard word order for this sentence is--Though he was tired, he played well. With the conjunction "though" (meaning-- in spite of the fact that) the sentence order can be changed for the sake of style without losing the basic meaning. All three of the following sentences have the meaning of---Although he was tired, he played well. a) Though tired he was, he played well. b) Tired though he was, he played well.* d) Although tired he was, he played well....with the same meaning as "though" in this sentence. The conjunction "as" has several definitions. The meaning is dependent on word order . -As tired he was, he played well....means....because he was tired ....non-standard word order -As he was tired, he played well......means ........because he was tired.....standard word order -Tired as he was, he played well....means......Although he was tired.....see above*

what's the difference betweet a and d?I just don't understand. Aren't they the same meanings?

a is correct.