Backgammon in its early form is the oldest board game in the world surpassing even the game of chess. It is an ancient game with a very long history. Its origin comes from a version of this board game which was first played in Mesopotamia about 5000 years ago. Because of the simple rules and the exciting ongoing of the game it quickly spread and managed to survive to the test of time. The game was spread by the Roman legions to all the corners of Europe and the traders took it from the middle-east to the far-east.
The backgammon game was usually played on surfaces such as wood. As markers were used stones and the dice was made from bones, wood or pottery. The first backgammon boards were divided into 3×10, 3×12, and 3×6 squares. The clear evidence that the game was very popular even back in the ancient time, are the artifacts discovered nowadays by the archaeologists in the Middle-East, Egypt, Greece and Italy. In the middle ages backgammon was very popular but its position was at times threatened by another trendy game of those times: chess. Even today the two games are still disputing their supremacy in the board games area. Compared with chess, backgammon has a smaller learning curve. But because of its gambling nature there were times when the game was banned. In the modern era of backgammon a few changes have been made but the basic structure of the game has been kept. In Europe in the early seventeenth century due to the modifications of the rules, the game swept across the continent under a variety of different names. Most of them remained the same until today. In England it is known as the classic Backgammon. In Scotland it is called Gammon and in France Tric-Trac. Here is a list with some of the names that the game of backgammon has received across the European continent: Germany – Puff, Spain – Tablas Reales, Italy – Tavole Reale, Czech – Vrhcáby.
Backgammon has suffered some changes before the first World War. During the middle of the twentieth century has registered a decline but slowly the game become again very popular and stayed on that path until today. Here is a list with some of the variants of backgammon: Chouette, Partnership backgammon, Sixey-Acey, Dutch Backgammon, Turkish Backgammon, Greek Backgammon, European Acey Deucey, Icelandic Backgammon, Russian Backgammon.
Nowadays, backgammon, despite being a very old game, continues to hold its spell over all lovers of gaming. It’s a game that is easier to learn than Chess yet takes more attention than Checkers.
Backgammon is a game of luck and skill. It is played by two persons and each one has a total of 15 checkers on a board consisting of 24 spaces or points. The playing pieces are moved according to the roll of the dice. The main objective is to remove all of one’s own checkers from the board before one’s opponent can manage to do the same thing. The thrill of the game comes form hitting and blocking your opponent’s checkers in order to block their progress.
Because of the fact that backgammon is played with a dice many people think of it as a gambling game. There are many times when it’s played for money but it is undoubtedly not a game of luck. Yes, backgammon is a game of odds and patterns, but it also involves calculation and vision. Although luck has an important role there is a large scope for strategy. Every time a player rolls the dice he has to select from several options for moving their checkers and anticipate the opponent’s possible counter moves. Strategy plays an important role in determining the final result of the game and the first opening moves are very important in obtaining the winning advantage.
Although backgammon during the years has seen many notable evolutions one of the most important is online backgammon. In its online version backgammon has become even more popular around the world. Today on the online market there are many downloadable backgammon softwares. They have included multiplayer backgammon games and tournaments.
Without a doubt online backgammon is the most evolved development of the game that has been seen for about 5000 years. On the Internet there are houndreds of sites dedicated exclusively to backgammon. With just a click of a button you can find complete tutorials and guides for backgammon. Beside that there are a dozens of sites where you have the possibility to play backgammon for real money.
The Internet backgammon is almost the same with the real version of the game. The difference is that you play with a 3D simulation of backgammon board. Online backgammon games and tournaments are played according to the official rules which are used in the international backgammon championships. Due to the advanced computer graphics and digital sounds the experience of playing online backgammon comes very close to the real one. Backgammon online has an advantage over the traditional one: it is much more accessible and easy to use. Also online backgammon can be played 24/7 against players from all over the world. The real life backgammon club organizes a tournament once a week while the backgammon websites hosts daily tourneys. Although online backgammon is great there are some disadvantages such as: there is the air of anonymity which can lead to bad behaviors, the online backgammon players have to tollerate droppings, disconnections more often than the offline backgammon players.
Backgammon either played online or offline is a terrific game. It’s fast-actioned and fun to play on a real board or over the Internet. Backgammon is an exciting game, sometimes a gambling game, which involves a high level of strategy and tactics. In its true nature backgammon is a private contest between friends. It is this high level of intimacy and competitive quality of the game that explains its widespread appeal. Backgammon is alluring because of its simplicity and the extraordinary history associated with it. The rules can be learned in less than ten minutes but the intriguing part is that the metods to play the game well are very difficult to master. Even in our times with very fast computers the experts are undecided which is the best method to approach the game. Because of this fact Backgammon is more attractive than Chess, as an example, where intense computer work is able to resolve problems completely.
