Backgammon supposedly holds the illustrious title as “the oldest game in history,” with an earlier version being played as far back as 5,000 years ago in the times of the Sumerian Culture and Mesopotamia.
An amazing discovery was uncovered between 1922 and 1934 by British archaeologist Sir Leonard Woolley. He unearthed "an inlaid gaming board", when searching through an old Sumerian Tomb, thought to be the oldest Backgammon board in history.
The game has swept through some of the most illustrious cultures in history, including the Egyptian, Roman, Greek and the British Empire in more recent times. The current name of the game is derived from the Saxon words “bac” (back) and "gamen" (game). The standard Backgammon rules were written in 1745 and updated in 1931.
I wonder if the Sumerians had this in mind 5,000 years ago!
Rules of Backgammon
Backgammon is a two player game, with a board of 24 positions/points and each player owning 15 checkers. Removing your checkers from the board before your opponent is the object of the game. To achieve this you must guide your checkers from your opponent’s side of the board safely to your home territory before removing them from the board.
There are six points on your home side of the board, labeled 1 to 6 from right to left, and each player starts with their 15 checkers set up on their opponent’s side of the board. Your opponent’s pieces are set up directly opposite, on your side of the board.
Each player alternately throws 2 dice and moves their checkers across the points of the board towards “home”, corresponding with the numbers thrown on the dice, while trying to prevent their opponent from doing the same.
The key point to remember is you cannot land your checkers on a point of the board where your opponent already has 2 or more checkers positioned. If your opponent has only one checker on your intended position, you can momentarily eliminate that checker from the game, until your opponent throws a number to enter the checker back into the game.
Once all your checkers are in your 6 home positions, you remove them from the board by throwing the corresponding numbers for the points where your checkers are placed.
