Backgammon History

Backgammon is a really fun game and almost every player in the world has heard of it at some time in their life. But just how back does this game go? Lets find out!

As with every board game, backgammon too has a convoluted and interesting history. Gaming boards that have the same arrangement as that of the backgammon board have been found in Ancient Egyptian Tombs as a part of the funereal treasures. Wall murals painted in the tombs also show emperors and their consorts playing board game that’s really similar to modern backgammon. The earliest confirmed date that the game has been established as being played is Senet 3000 BC. One of the best boards made in ancient times was found in Shahr-e-Sukhteh, an ancient Persian city, made of agate, turquoise, and ebony. The game was again found in late Egyptian, Greek, and Roman times where a game called the Ludus Duodecim Scriptorum where the board was same as the Egyptian board. Unfortunately even though boards have been found, no one has found the rules on how to play the game! The game again resurfaced in Persia and then China in 379 AD and then again in Japan.

No matter where the game was played, it became really popular and from there the game spread to England.

Modern backgammon is an extremely important game where rules are clear-cut and well established. British fan, Edmund Hoyle then created one of the best treatises on the games and rules of the game and the board. These rules then became the official and unofficial rules of the game and spread over to the US. In the US, the game was modified with an addition of double cubes that increased the probability of the chances in the game. But no one is really sure who introduced the chance factor of double cubes that increased the chances in the game. Later on, the game became increasingly popular and was well established in the 60s and the 70s in almost all strata of society.

The greatest popularity in the game when the game went online! Thousands of people started using the game and playing it. Websites started admitting novice players and then training them with free online classes. Novice players could now use the internet to find new players and competitors that increased their understanding of the game. Computer programs like the Snowie and the Jellyfish are now used to train and provide competition to novice players.