A bit of backgammon history

admin · Site Admin Joined: 15 May 2007 Posts: 862

Like chess, backgammon is a game with a long history. Opinions differ on exactly how long it has been around, but records of this game of skill date back thousands of years. Experts believe backgammon originated in the Middle East, where it is still popular today, and can be seen being played in sidewalk cafes and parks.

According to scholars of backgammon history, early variants of the game were played in ancient Egypt and Greece. Artifacts have been found of the Egyptian game 'senet', which has many similarities with backgammon, and the Persian version - 'nard', with patterned boards, stone counters and bone dice discovered. Backgammon history shows an illustrious past, once being the game of the aristocracy. The Romans also enjoyed a similar game, and brought this game with them to Britain in the first century.

Backgammon belongs to the family of 'Tables' games, which came to Europe in the middle ages. There are many versions, all involving a board with 24 points.

The game in its modern form dates to the seventeenth century. It was for a time banned in Elizabethan England, due to its association with gambling.

The doubling cube was not introduced until the 1920s. It increased backgammon's popularity by giving it a new edge.

Today backgammon is still a very widespread game, played all over the world. In recent years, online backgammon has taken off and has proved very popular with players. You can find more backgammon history on many games websites.