The Chronicles of Backgammon
Games such as backgammon are not only fun to play but have interesting stories as well. There is a long tale of its beginnings and there are people we have to say thank you for making up such an entertaining game.
The history of backgammon started even before our great grandfathers. It is enjoyed by almost everyone in our family tree because it was discovered to have been first played two thousand six hundred years before Christ (2600 BC). An archaeological site in Ur indicates that it was popular among the Sumerians, ancient Greece, Rome, Persia, and the Far East. However, the rules and the pieces used before were very much different than what we have now. At that point in time, there were no established rules of game that provide for standardization. Also, it does not have one popular name that everyone could use to call it.
In the Middle Ages, termed as "tabula," backgammon was already being played in Britain that was reportedly to have been brought through the Roman conquest. Evidences show that it in the 17th century, the game looks very much like it is now. It was not until 1645 that it was called backgammon and had the tables reintroduced into the game. A significant person in the name of Edward Hoyle, and English writer on games, systematized the game by bringing in the formal rules in 1743.
In 1925, the rule of doubling was introduced and gave the game a little more jolt of excitement. The rules of the game still varies until now maybe because of the fact that it was already being played differently in various countries without the formal rules of the game until 1743. For example, some countries consider a gammon and backgammon to be worth two points but in the United States, a gammon is worth two points and a backgammon is worth three points. There are also different modifications of the game such as tavola reale in Italy, tablas reales in Spain, trictrac in France, plakato in Greece, gioul, tavla, and moultezim in Turkey, and tavla in the Middle East.
You see, the history of backgammon is indeed long and colorful. Different additions to the game through time have made it into one of the most exciting things to play today. Also, just like wine, time has made the game ripe and ready for the players today and for the future.