5000 Years of Backgammon History

Backgammon history began around 3000 BC in Persia. Since then, the backgammon game has traveled to every corner of the world and many backgammon variants are being played today. Portes, plakoto, fevga, acey-deucey, hypergammon, nackgammon, tapa, narde, cubeless "backgammon", gul bara, "Russian" backgammon, trictrac, longgammon, duodecagammon, jacquet and feuga are all backgammon variants. In a narrow sense they are different games because they have different rules and require different strategies. But, in a broader sense, they can be called backgammon variants because they are played with two dice, thirty checkers and a twenty-four point stem.

Backgammon history can be traced from Persia to India to China on the eastern side and to Egypt, Greece and Rome on the western side. The Roman backgammon variant spread throughout the Roman Empire. A backgammon variation called Nard originated in the Middle East and spread from both east and west with the Moslem conquests. Though the backgammon game was popular in England from 1025AD, the word "backgammon" was first used only in 1645.

The American contribution to backgammon history is the doubling cube, which was introduced in 1920. It added a new dimension to the backgammon game. It is incorrectly believed that the introduction of the backgammon doubling cube was responsible for its popularity as a gambling game. Many backgammon players from all over the world play the backgammon game for fun, for socializing and as a game of skill.

The latest chapter in backgammon history is the online backgammon game. Many of the backgammon variants can be played online. The advantages of the online backgammon game are that it can be played from home, it does not require physical accessories and that players from all over the world can connect through the internet.