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Backgammon History - The Begining Backgammon is one of the oldest games ever invented. It probably originated in Mesopotamia, one of the first civilizations in recorded history, which was located in what is now Iraq and Saudi Arabia. Archaeologists have uncovered evidence that it was also popular in the ancient cultures of Greece, Rome, Persia…no Iran…and even in the Far East. The Romans called it Tabula, indicating the board on which it is played. The Romans took the game with them to Ancient Britain, when they conquered it in the first century AD. The British called it Tables. By the Middle Ages it was very popular throughout the former Roman Empire among the upper classes. The Spanish called it Tablas Reales, the Italians Tavola Reale and in France it was knows as Trictrac, probably in reference to the sounds that dice make when they are shaken. By the early sixteen hundreds, the game had been refined in England to be quite close to its modern form, with the exception of the addition of a doubling cube, which allows the players to alternately double the stakes. This modification, introduced in the nineteen twenties, added a very interesting complication to the game. It really enhanced its value as a gambling game. Many backgammon clubs sprang up in the United States as its popularity spread. By the 1970’s, big money backgammon tournaments had been introduced, which attracted scores of players. The English term for the name of the game, Backgammon, was coined in the mid seventeenth century. This probably derived from a combination of Middle English terms “bac”…which meant back and “gammen”...which translates to game. The famous British gamer, Edmond Hoyle, put the backgammon rules of the game into print in the mid nineteenth century. Backgammon rules were modified in the United States in 1931 and the resulting set of rules generally governs the way it is played today.
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