Ancient Origins
Backgammon's origins are believed to trace back to Mesopotamia - the region of present-day Iran, Iraq, and Syria. It is the oldest known recorded board game in history, typically played on surfaces such as wood, using stones as markers and dice made from bones, stones, wood, or pottery. Its lineage can be traced thousands of years to board games played by the Egyptians, Sumerians, Romans, and Persians.
Artifacts Revealed
Throughout history, backgammon has been associated with leaders and aristocracy, as shown by excavated relics and literary references from Persia, Greece, Rome, and the Far East.
Gaming boards with 3×10, 3×12, and 3×6 squares were found in Egypt and the game was known as Senat (the Game of Thirty Squares). These artifacts date back to 3000-1788 BC.
Wooden boards were found in the royal tomb of Ur al Chaldees, the center of Sumer, dated around 2600 BC, along with tetrahedral dice. These are known as The Royal Games of Ur. A set of rules was found on cuneiform tablets dated to approximately 177 BC.
Roman Backgammon
The Romans played a game called Ludus Duodecim Scriptorum ("The Game of 12 Lines") with leather boards and sets of 30 markers, 15 of ebony and 15 of ivory, dating back to around 600 AD. It is thought to derive from the Egyptian Senat.
In the 1st century AD, this was replaced by a variant with 2×12 lines instead of 3×12, moving closer to the modern version. The game came to Britain with the Roman conquest and was referred to as Tabula. Emperor Claudius was a notable enthusiast - he even had a playing board built into his imperial carriage.
By the 6th century, the game was called Alea("the art of gambling with dice"). It was likely the first direct precursor to contemporary backgammon.
Backgammon in Asia
In Asia, a game called Nard appeared before 800 AD in Persia. It was played similarly to Alea but used only two dice. Also known as Takhteh Nard("battle on wood"), an ancient text describes its symbolism:
The board represents a year; each side contains 12 points for months; the 24 points represent hours in a day; the 30 checkers represent days of the month; the sum of opposing sides of the die represents the 7 days of the week; the contrasting colors represent day and night.
The Chinese called it T'shu-p'u, and it arrived during the Wei dynasty (220-265 AD). The Japanese called it Sugoroku. Nard was introduced to Europe via Italy or Spain following the Arab occupation of Sicily in 902 AD.
Proliferation and Standardization
In 1025, the first mention in English print appeared in The Codex Exoniensis. The game, known as Tables, was played throughout the Middle Ages and popular in English taverns. Chess overtook Tables in popularity around the 15th century.
Backgammon enjoyed popularity across many countries under different names: Tavola Reale (Italy), Tables Reales (Spain), Tavli (Greece), Tavla (Turkey), Tric Trac (France), Puff (Germany), Vrhcaby (Czech), and Swan-liu (China).
The term "Backgammon" is believed to have originated in 1645, likely from the Saxon words baec (back) and gamen (game). In 1743, Edmond Hoyle codified the rules in his Treatise on Backgammon - the first official set of modern rules.
The Modern Era: 1920-1960
The doubling cube was introduced in New York in the 1920s by an unknown gambler, dramatically enhancing the skill element and marketability of the game. Backgammon was mostly limited to the upper class in private clubs, though several introductory publications appeared.
The rules were modified in 1931 in the United States to essentially what governs the game today. Popularity declined during the Great Depression, saw a brief resurgence in the 1940s, and decreased again during World War II.
The Golden Age: 1960-1990
Prince Alexis Obolensky ("Oby") organized and promoted tournaments, including the first official World Championshipsin the Bahamas - still backgammon's highest honor. His book Backgammon: The Action Game launched a publishing boom.
The 1970s were backgammon's heyday: tournament purses reached six figures, and the game moved from upper to middle class popularity. Landmark books appeared, including The Backgammon Book by Jacoby & Crawford, Backgammon: The Cruelest Gameby Cooke & Bradshaw, and Paul Magriel's classic Backgammon- widely called the "bible of backgammon."
The 1980s saw a decline among younger players, likely due to the rise of video games. But the remaining community deepened their study, aided by the invention of computer backgammon programs that could perform rollouts of positions - analyzing thousands of games from any position to determine the best plays.
The Computer Revolution: 1990-Present
Gerald Tesauro of IBM wrote TD-Gammon, software that taught itself to play world-class backgammon using neural networking.
In 1993, FIBS (First Internet Backgammon Server) was created by Andreas Schneider and hosted on a Swedish academic computer. Over 100 players could be found playing at any time, with match saving, spectating, and a rating system.
Frederic Dahl of Norway created Jellyfish, the first commercial neural-net backgammon software. Olivier Egger introduced Snowie, with a user-friendly interface and match analysis capabilities. GNU Backgammon, an open-source alternative, later appeared and continues to be developed.
Today, backgammon thrives with tournaments throughout the US and Europe, online servers with thousands of players, and a wealth of resources powered by neural network analysis. The game's blend of strategy, probability, and psychology ensures it will continue to captivate players for millennia to come.