What You Don't Know About Backgammon

Everyone knows that backgammon is a type of game, but not everyone bothers to know more about its history or how long it has been around. For those who just stumbled upon this article, the game of backgammon has been around for over 5000 years. That's not just five hundred, but five thousand.

Backgammon is one of the oldest existing games today. The oldest backgammon board that has been found dates back to 3000 B.C. in Ur of the Chaldees in Iraq.

The game has been known and enjoyed in different countries and civilizations. If it has been played in Iraq some 3000 years ago, it has also been played in Egypt hundreds of years ago. Proofs of this are the backgammon boards that had been discovered in the tomb of King Tut. There have also been paintings discovered in numerous Egyptian tombs that showed the ancient Egyptians playing backgammon. These proofs show that the game was played by Pharaohs and common people alike.

Existence of backgammon is also found in Greece. Well-known writers and philosophers such as Homer and Plato also brought up the game of backgammon in their writings.

Not only was the game played in Iraq, Egypt, and Greece, but it was also enjoyed by many Romans, from common people, to patricians, and even by the emperor.

Those who discovered and studied the ruins of Pompeii unearthed a backgammon table in every courtyard of every dwelling. Different versions of this game were well-known in Britain even during The Crusades. In the United States, the game has been enjoyed since the 1600s.

The latest form of this game is considered to have evolved in the year 900s, but the doubling cube has only recently been introduced in the early 1900s. Sadly, the one who invented it is unknown.

The inclusion of the doubling cube improved the quality of the game and made it even more enjoyable and popular in the United States. There was an increase of its popularity during the '70s, but its popularity decreased ever since the development of electronic games, such as video and PC games.

Backgammon can be an addictive game, especially when you play it with the right people who have a knack for strategy games.

It's a very old but interesting game, but it's in danger of being replaced by video and PC games. Let's hope that it will still live on despite the technologically advanced competition that it has, for not only is it a game, but a great part of our world's history.