Backgammon
is believed to have originated at
around 3,000 B.C. in Mesopotamia in
the Persian Empire which is the
present day Iran, Iraq, and Syria. It
is the oldest known recorded game in
history, even older than Chess. The
game was typically played on surfaces
such as wood, using stones as markers,
and dice made from bones, stones, wood
or pottery and it can be traced back
thousands of years BC to board games
played by the Egyptians, Sumerians,
Romans, and Persians. Archaeological
digs continue to turn up board games
very similar to today’s fast paced
and challenging game of backgammon.
The game continued to grow in
popularity in across Europe, and found
its way to Persia where it was known
as "Takhteh Nard" which,
roughly translated, means "Battle
on Wood". At this point the three
dice were reduced to two by the
Persian players. The concept of the
game then became part of the Anglo
Saxon culture by the early 7th century
and, during the medieval Crusades, the
game was popular as a gaming activity
for soldiers and traders under the
name "Tables" or "Tabula".
The Church attempted to outlaw the
game a few times but was always
unsuccessful as a board could easily
be scratched out in dirt or sand and
played with small stones.
History tells us that a pair of
dice could also be hastily carved or
painted and then abandoned. The last
attempt to outlaw what we now know as
backgammon came in the early part of
the 16th century from Cardinal Woolsey.
The cardinal ordered all boards burnt
and declared the game "the
devil's folly" but English
craftsman quickly came up with the
idea to fold the boards in half in a
book-type arrangement to creatively
disguise the board. This folded design
is the standard way in which
backgammon sets are made to this day
proving, once again, that necessity is
the mother of invention.
Known to medieval culture as "Bac
gamen" or "back game",
the name backgammon which is used
today finally found its way into the
English language in the 1600's. The
actual term "backgammon" is
actually from the Welsh and translates
as "wee battle". Edmund
Hoyle, the famous writer and gamesman,
published a work on backgammon in the
mid 1700's in which he outlined the
rules of Backgammon. As backgammon
found its way to America with the new
settlers, it became a solid fixture in
American homes alongside the game of
Chess and other popular board games of
the day. While backgammon fell from
popularity during the Victorian age,
it returned with a vengeance in
America in the early part of the 20th
century and this is when the doubling
cube finally appeared.
The doubling cube was believed to
be introduced in New York in the
1920's by some unknown gambler which
enhanced the element of skill in the
game increasing its marketability, and
insuring its place as a popular
pastime. The game was mostly limited
to the upper class in private clubs
although several introductory
backgammon publications burst onto the
scene. The rules were modified in 1931
in the U.S. to what generally governs
the game today.
From there, tournament play was
organized among backgammon players and
strategy was enhanced and studied.
The popularity of backgammon
increased during the 1960's with the
efforts of Prince Alexis Obelensky who
organized and promoted tournaments and
the first Official Backgammon World
Championships in the Bahamas the
winning of which became backgammon's
highest honour which still holds true
today.
The 1970's have been frequently
described as backgammon's
"Heyday" as it saw huge
increases in popularity, publicity,
tournaments and backgammon literature
including books, magazines, and
newspaper columns. It moved from the
upper to middle classes and was
popular among the younger generation
as well. Tournament purses soared into
6 digit sums and its popularity was
widespread throughout the US and
Europe.
The 1980's however saw a decline in
popularity again mostly among the
younger generation likely due to the
advent of video games and the
excitement to young minds that they
can provide. Interest in learning the
intricacies of the game was as strong
as ever for the players that remained
and was bolstered by the invention of
computer backgammon which could not
only provide a decent opponent but
more importantly they could save hours
of time by performing rollouts of
positions giving players a deeper
understanding of the game.
The computer revolution continued
in full force as Gerald Tesauro of IBM
wrote software which could teach
itself how to play backgammon using
Neural Networking creating a world
class player in TD-Gammon. FIBS (First
Internet Backgammon Server) was
created in 1993 by Andreas Schneider
and hosted on an academic computer in
Sweden for free. Over 100 players with
internet connections could be found
playing at any one time with the
ability to save matches, watch matches
and compare playing strengths via a
rating system.
Today the internet has progressed
even further allowing players from all
over the world to play each other
through the click of a mouse. It is
hoped that this will provide the
stimulus for a new golden age for
backgammon and see more people than
ever before playing the game.