The word “backgammon” may have been derived from “baec” – “gamen” or “back game” in Saxon or the variant “bac/bach” – “gammon/cammaun”, which means “little battle” in Welsh. But this is 1645, and we get ahead of ourselves, for the game had already been popular by then for thousands of years under a multitude of different names and cultures. Tracing the history of this interesting game requires travelling back in time and space, coming to grips with its many variants, names and formats. Its evolution is also in a way the evolution of cultural attitudes, an insightful look into what both peasant and king found entertaining and how it remained relevant to this very day.

Origins

The first ever record we have of the game dates back 5,000 years to Mesopotamia, or modern day Iran, Iraq and Syria. Artefacts such as dice made of human bones were found in the area but the game seems to have swiftly travelled south, though little is known about how this happened. Boards in different sizes were found in Egypt with little to distinguish them from other similar boards found between 3000 – 1788 BC. Back in Sumer, Mesopotamia, boards made of wood were found in the royal tomb of Ur al Chaldees dated around 2600 BC. These were known as The Royal Games of Ur and despite also finding dice in the area, no rules for the game as it was played then were ever found. It was only on a cuneiform tablet dated about 177BC, that a set of rules was finally found.

A Roman Legacy

When Rome adopted the game, it helped its spread throughout its vast empire. The first recorded evidence we have of the game was one called Ludus Duodecim Scriptorum, or The Game of 12 Lines. This format was very similar to that found in Egypt, later replaced by a slightly different variant with 2×12 lines instead of 3×12 lines, morphing it into something which we can more easily recognise and associate with today’s backgammon. It acquired the name “Tabula”, a generic name that made reference to the board it was played on. Tabula quickly became a favourite with the aristocracy and Emperor Claudius himself favoured it, proving its namesake as The King of Games. Claudius even wrote a history of the game but unfortunately this never surfaced. With Rome’s conquest into British territory, so the game spread to Britannia. By the 6^th century, despite making it illegal to play except on Saturnalia, the game became known as Alea, “the art of gambling with dice”, a game which swept the whole of Rome into a gambling stupor.

Backgammon in Asia

To speak of Backgammon (or Tabula or Alea or any other name you wish to call it by) and its spread only in the Old Continent would be halving the extent of it popularity. In Asia, Backgammon was known as Nard (wood) or Takhteh Nard (battle on wood) and it was spread through the continent by the Arabs. This version was played with 2 dice as opposed to the three dice played with in the older version of Tabula. Later on, the two-dice version also caught on in central Europe. In Asia, Nard appeared at around 800AD and had different names in every country, though there are doubts as to the provenance or their relation to Nard in the first place. The Chinese called it T’shu-p’u while in Japan the name cited was Sugoroku and it enjoyed popularity up until 1000AD. Nard was also introduced to Europe through the Arab’s conquest of Sicily. A fusion of Tabula and Nard may have occurred at this stage, bringing together two variants of the same game finally under one roof.

Medieval & Renaissance Backgammon

At this point in time, the game was firmly played with 2 dice and it was very popular amongst soldiers and crusaders. So much so in fact, that the church tried to outlaw it – with very little success. The game has the tenacity of a strong hook as it was repeatedly banned or made illegal, only to survive thanks to the ingenuity of man’s ideas. The last time this happened was under the order of Cardinal Woolsey who described the game as “the devil’s folly” and ordered it to be burnt. Naturally, the common folk devised a plan to outwit the cardinal, having the board fold in half and making it look like the spine of a book when put away. This arrangement is how we still find the backgammon board today.

Modern History & Today

In the last century, Backgammon saw spikes and dips in popularity mainly due to the wars and the consequent depressions in different countries. In the 1920s, the doubling cube was introduced by an unknown individual, enhancing the element of skill in the game. The rules of the game were also changed and finalised in 1931, but this was followed by a decrease in popularity which lasted until the 1960s when tournaments were promoted to bring the game back to life. With the advent of poker and the video game, backgammon was once again pushed to the dusty back shelf, untouched until the recent revival of classics in all their forms. The computer as an opponent bolstered the understanding of the intricacies of the game, which is perhaps why the game is still relevant to this day and age.

Despite being one of the games with the most history, Backgammon hasn’t had the popularity we all know it deserves. For many years Backgammon fans were spread around the world with few gaming opportunities that didn’t involve converting their friends also in Backgammon fans. However, in recent years we could see a fast-growing popularity of this game worldwide mainly due to the online features that allowed fans to connect, play and compete between each other, driving to a very interesting phenomenon; the incursion of Backgammon at online casinos.

At first, online platforms allowed to spread the word and to captivate new users by sharing information, rules and game strategies which helped the popularity of the game increase rapidly. As a second step, users were able to play on internet in real time with players from all around the world through online platforms and as the competitions started getting more intense, players started betting with real money, this is the moment when online casinos saw the potential of adding Backgammon to their games offer.

There are three basic types of Backgammon available in online casinos; simple match, multiple match and tournaments, all these types include direct interaction with other users in real time. Simple matches, as the name explains, are individual matches between two users; the bet is established at the beginning of the match with the possibility to increase depending on the match. For some users one match isn’t enough to prove who’s better at Backgammon and this is where the multiple match type enters; this gambling type let users bet on a number of matches that must be won to establish the winner of the bet, a very interesting option for more experienced gamblers. Tournaments are by far the most exciting and popular gambling type of Backgammon at online casinos, there are several platforms that offer elimination tournaments where you can prove your skills and win very attractive prize pools.

Even when gambling with Backgammon is rapidly increasing in popularity, now at days it isn’t still included in all the online casino listings. There are several reasons for this, first of all Backgammon is usually compared to Chess as a strategy game, and even with the hazard factor of using dices making it a more suitable game for online casinos, for many users Backgammon remains a non gambling game. Another factor that has impacted the incursion of Backgammon at online casinos is the house edge, it is common that the house edge of this game is higher than other table games at online casinos a fact that has encourage users to keep playing it, even for real money, through gaming sites or Backgammon online communities. As Backgammon hasn’t finished to position itself as a permanent online casino game, you’ll require to do a quick research to find the perfect online casino to start playing this game, bear in mind several online betting platforms only offer Backgammon seasonally so it’s important that you keep informed on the latest news of the casino industry.

Playing Backgammon at online casinos have several advantages; firstly, you have access to games 24/7 since you play on internet, you can compete with people from all the world, it doesn’t matter the hour you’ll find a match. Another very interesting advantage of online casinos is the possibility of customizing your game, most of the online casinos will allow you to select some features like betting limits, speed and even some game rules so you can play exactly how you want, of course you must take in consideration that you’ll be playing with other individuals so the more restricted the features you select the more difficult will be to find an opponent. The final advantage that offer some casinos online are the free matches and learning features to improve your game, if you’re not an experienced gamer you can have access to tutorials and practice games inside some casino platforms.

We highly recommend you practice your game strategies before gambling with real money, even if you don’t find tutorials at online casinos; Backgammon is well established at online gaming platforms and there are plenty of Backgammon communities where you can practice for free and once you’re fully confident of your skills you can jump to online casinos to bet with real money, don’t forget to prepare for the special tournaments that usually offer very attractive prizes.