Backgammon

Backgammon, a board game for two players, originated approximately 5000 years ago. The original game, which was not even called "Backgammon", had some differences than the game we know today - it only used one dice. Historically, backgammon has been a Mediterranean game. Played by the ancient Romans and Greeks, backgammon hasn't left its roots and is still dominant in Central Europe. In the Middle East, backgammon is a very popular leisure activity with player's ages ranging from 5-80. With the invention of the internet, backgammon has become feasible for players worldwide, even in remote areas where the game is not very popular. In the 1990's a strong resurgence was marked as internet users worldwide played backgammon and competed in internet backgammon competitions.

Backgammon games can range from 5 minutes up to 30 minutes considering the level of the players. To be a successful backgammon player, one must possess skills of strategy, probability and must also be experienced. It takes a lot of playing experience to fully know all of the right moves considering the numbers drawn in the toss. Backgammon is a game with the object of moving all of a player's checkers into his turf of the board. The game becomes tricky when a player only has one checker on an open point (triangle) – the opposing player can hit the single checker and relocate it onto the bar. A checker can only be returned from the bar to the board when the numbers drawn in the toss correspond with an open spot on the board. Once a player locates all 15 of his checkers on his side of the board, he can begin to remove them from the board. The numbers drawn in the toss determine the checkers which can be removed from the board. For example, if the numbers 5 and 2 are drawn then a player can remove checkers located on the 5th and 2nd spot (triangle) on the board. If there are no checkers to be drawn because they are located on other spots, then the player will have to advance other checkers based on the numbers drawn in the toss. The first player to eliminate all of their checkers wins the game.


Backgammon is derived from "back" and Middle English "gamen", meaning "game" or "play". The earliest use documented by the Oxford English Dictionary was in 1650 . The word "backgammon" has different meanings in different languages.

- In Greek, backgammon is referred to as "Portes" and is played as one of the three games in a tavli (board) match
- In Arabic, backgammon is called "Ifranjiah".
- In Hebrew, backgammon is called "Shesh Besh", meaning the Hebrew numbers six and five.
- In Persian, backgammon is called "Takhte Nard", meaning "battle on a wooden board".

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