A History of Backgammon By Mark Driver

From Genesis to Revelation:
The Evolution of Backgammon and the Factors Influencing Its Popularity and Longevity.

Abstract: Backgammon, a Global Cultural Phenomenon

The ancient game of backgammon is an inveterate recreational pursuit for millions of people throughout the Four Corners of the globe. The fundamental format of the game, is essentially a contest between two opponents who each race 15 checkers around a prescribed track of twenty-four pips, framed within a rectangular board. The first contestant to remove all their pieces from the board secures victory. The movement of the checkers is governed by chance engendered by the numbers generated by a roll of two die.

The game enjoys no political or linguistic boundaries: from the deserts of Arabia to the rainforests of the Amazon the game's popularity encompasses every continent. Indeed, it is not uncommon to find scientists based in Antarctica ensconced in a backgammon battle against geographically distant opponents thanks to the advent of the Internet game servers. This article attempts to provide a concise overview of the evolution of the game from its nebulous origins in the Middle East to the virtual gaming arenas of the 3rd millennium A.D. In addition, the piece will attempt to assess the historic socio-dramatic factors, which have influenced the popularity of this fascinating game.

"We go out in the world and take our chances
Fate is just the weight of circumstances
That's the way that lady luck dances
Roll the bones" ¹

The Genesis of Backgammon

Recreational board-games employing skill and/or chance are an almost universal feature throughout the panoply of global civilization. The existence of such games can be traced back thousands of millennia B.C. to the ancient cultures of the Middle East and Asia. However, the specific origins and the dates of their invention remains shrouded in the mists of time. The answer to the question 'why were board games originally invented?' has proven to be an even more elusive 'Grail' quest for many historians.

Various commentators² have suggested that the concept of board-games was originally derived from other games of chance, which in turn had their origins in the divinatory use of the arrow head. Other historians perceive their origin to lie in the realm of the occult.³ In general, commentators attribute the origins of backgammon to the ancient board-games played by the Egyptians, Sumerians, Romans and Persians.

A number of wall-paintings discovered within various Egyptian temples and tombs contain illustrations of persons playing board-games. The illustrations have been typically dated at around 2500 B.C. One such game with similarities to the modern physical format of backgammon is the game of Sen't or Senat. Actual game-boards and assorted gaming paraphernalia were discovered in a number of Egyptian tombs dating from the First Dynasty to the Twelfth Dynasty (3000-1788 B.C.).⁴

Though the physical design of the games varied, they invariably fell into the classification of race board-games. The format of the boards typically comprised of a matrix of square cells, some of which bore distinctive insignia. Relics of playing pieces accompanied some boards though the number of pieces comprising a full set is unknown. The original rules of Senet remain a mystery as no documentary record of authentic rules has been discovered to date. Despite the impossibility of reconstructing the games from incomplete relics and two-dimensional images from tomb walls, a number of enthusiasts have attempted to complete the arcane jigsaw.⁵ It should be noted however, that no evidence exists that the game involved the use of dice.

In 1926 a joint expedition between the British Museum and the University of Pennsylvania Museum, led by the British archaeologist Sir Leonard Woolley discovered four wooden game-boards amongst the treasure troves of Ur al Chaldees, the ancient cultural centre of Sumer. Two of the board-games consisting of a matrix of twelve squares have been dated at around 2600 B.C. Sets of checkers and two sets of three tetrahedral die were also discovered at the site.⁶ These Royal Games of Ur are regarded as strong candidates as the harbingers of modern backgammon though the precise rules of the game remain unknown.⁷

Lacta Alea Est—The Die is Cast

^{The legacy of the Roman Empire contains artifacts of the board-game Ludus Duodecim Scriptorum, now popularly known as the game of the twelve lines. Examples of leather game-boards8 have been found dating from around the second century A.D., though literary references provide evidence of the game's popularity prior to this period.9 Interestingly, some boards were discovered with sets of 30 checkers consisting of 15 ivory, and 15 ebony pieces10. Evidence suggests that checker movement was governed by roll of three die, and examples of game-boards dated around 600 A.D. have been found accompanied by a set of six cubic die.11}

The game was possibly derived from the Egyptian Senat possessing a similar matrix of 3 x 12 points, and Murray¹² is of the opinion that the game is a replica of the Greek Kubeia, which Plato assigns to Egyptian origin.

Around the first century A.D., a new variant of Ludus Duodecim Scriptorum appeared in Rome in which the 3rd row of 12 points was omitted. The generic term of Alea, which originally meant the art of gambling with dice, became attached to the new variant. Documentary evidence illustrates that Alea had become a popular pastime by the First century AD, at which time it was the favored game of Emperor Claudius who is reputed to have written a manuscript on the game.¹³

As the game increased in popularity the generic term of Tabula, meaning Board, became common currency, though the two names coexisted long into the new millennium. The reformation of the game-board to 24 points makes Alea a strong candidate as the first true precursor of backgammon. Documentary evidence¹⁴ demonstrates that the game originally commenced by the players casting dice to enter their checkers on to the board, a characteristic featured in the rules of many contemporary backgammon variants including Acey-Deucy, and Puff.

However, following diffusion of the game throughout Asia and Europe, variations in the initial starting positions of the game were manifest.

In Persia, the game of Nard was played on a board of similar design to Alea, the significant difference being the use of 2 die to govern the movement of checkers. Set up of the modern game is identical to backgammon with play commencing from a fixed arrangement of the checkers on the board.

References to Nard are found in the Babylonian Talmud which was compiled around 500 A.D. Murray¹⁵ notes that popular etymology ascribed the invention of the game to Ardeshir (aka Artaxerxes), the founder of the Sassanian dynasty in 224 A.D. The game also became known as Nardshir throughout the Middle East (aka Nardeshir, and Nard-i-Shir). Nard was a generic Persian name for wood or wooden products, whilst shir means lion. Murray considers that the suffix shir is attributable to the fact that the checkers of Nard were often carved in the shape of lion heads, though an alternative interpretation is that the suffix acquired common currency through the association of Ardeshir with the game.

Within twenty years, Ardeshir (224-241) created a vast empire that stretched as far as the Indus, which may account for a reference by Al-Ya Qubi¹⁶ that, professes Nard to be an Indian invention.¹⁷ Al-Ya Qubi attributes a cosmological symbolism to the design of the board and its appurtenances:

"The board represents a year; each side contains 12 points for the months of the year; the twenty-four points represent the hours in a day; the 30 checkers represent days of the month; the sum of opposing sides of the die represent the 7 days of the week; the contrasting colors of each set of checkers represent day and night."

Ardeshir's son Shapur I (241-272) continued the expansion of the Sassanian Empire, which lead to several military campaigns against Rome around 259 A.D. The contact between the two cultures may have provided an opportunity for the introduction of the rules of Nard into the Roman game of Alea. However, the tangled web of inter-cultural relations set in the distant past precludes an accurate assignment of credit for the original invention of backgammon's immeadiate ancestor.

Dissemination, Diffusion and Metamorphosis

The renowned historian Sir John Myers noted that much of our written history concerns the documentation of change.¹⁸ The history of board-games clearly illustrates a distinct paradigm whereby a parochially successful game is rapidly disseminated from its source of invention to neighboring centres of culture.¹⁹

The opportunities for dissemination increase with the enhanced mobility of the populace, for example through developing trade routes and political empire building. As board-games become entrenched in the social fabric of neighboring cultures the opportunities for further dissemination on an increasingly wider geographic scale accrue.

Developments in transport and military technology, such as the utilization of horses and horse drawn vehicles by the various militaristic dynasties of Asia and the Levant, facilitated the rapid promulgation of social paradigms across disparate political and theological ideologies.

The dissemination of secular concepts was generally confined to the oral tradition prior to the invention of the printing press. As board games became distributed far and wide from their original source, so the opportunities for modification increased. It is highly likely that the inherent complexities in the translation of the spoken word, from one language to another, facilitated a diffusion of the oral rules of games. In the cultural melting pots of the Medieval Middle East, the intricate nuances of myriad languages and dialects engendered significant opportunities for disparity in the interpretation of the rules. Further incremental changes in the minutiae of the rules would be inevitable as the traditions were passed down intergenerationally by word of mouth.

The material format of the games, however was less prone to accidental modification as gaming boards tended to be constructed of durable and easily replicated materials such as stone, wood or leather. It is likely that these factors account for the rich diversity in backgammon variants which share the common physical format of a board divided into four quadrants each containing 6 pips, and two sets of 15 distinctly colored checkers.

The evolution and metamorphosis of recreational games is a common cultural phenomena; for example the contemporary game of chess is significantly different to the modern game of Japanese chess yet both variants share the same ancestral underpinnings in the ancient game of Chinese chess.²⁰

Exodus of Backgammon

The exact origins of a particular game and the historic passage from its source to distant communities may be obscured by the filter of time. However, the name adopted by the subsequent players for the game may provide a valuable clue to assist in determining the game's immediate cultural source.

The legacies left by ancient civilizations of the Old World have proved a veritable treasure trove of information. Artifacts discovered at various sites throughout Asia illustrate that board games formed a significant cultural component of life during those times. Far beyond the geographical boundaries of Egypt, Sumer, Persia and Rome, examples of similar boards provide solid evidence of the gradual progression of theie board-games northerly into Europe and eastwards through Asia.

Conquering Roman legionaries transported Alea to the farthest frontiers of the Roman Empire where the game's fascinating allure was not lost on the local populace. Murray argues that the adoption of the generic Roman name of Tablula (aka Tables), by local cultures provides evidence that the existence of these games was unfamiliar in Northern Europe prior to the Roman invasion. Tabula also reached Arabia by Roman expansion into the Middle East during the first century A.D.

By a similar modus operandi, board-games popular within the Muslim cultures of Arabia were disseminated to the local populace under the aegis of the Muslim empire. However, the Arabs had probably first come into contact with the game of Nard after their conquest of Persia in 631 A.D. Through trade routes and military campaigns, the game of Nard spread Northwards into Georgia and Easterly to arrive in Northern India during Sassanian rule in Persia.(21) In turn the game spread from India to China where it had become known as Shwan-liu (meaning double six),²² by 700 A.D.

A major distinction between Tabula and Nard was the latter's use of two die. The period of the European Crusades around the 12th century facilitated further cultural interchange and following the Crusaders return to Europe, the use of 2 die for playing Tablula became increasingly common. According to Murray, the modern version of backgammon (as opposed to Tables) can be traced to the mid-17th Century. Murray notes that Backgammon was distinguished from Tables by virtue of the introduction of the contemporary norm of playing doubles twice.²³

It has been suggested that the modern term of Backgammon was coined from the Welsh words bac (aka bach), and gammon (aka cammaun) which translate to little battle. However, Jacoby and Crawford²⁴ note that the name could be derived from the Olde English words baec and gamen meaning back game.

An equally plausible explanation could be the historic tradition whereby backgammon boards were found on the reverse side of Chess boards, hence the game on the back (of the chessboard).

Evolution and Standardization

Johann Gutenberg's invention of the printing press in 1436 marked a revolution in media communications. The printing press greatly facilitated the accurate communication of ideas and concepts both within and between temporally and spatially distant communities.

As the printed word became accessible to a progressively wider audience, the opportunity for accidental change diminished. Furthermore, the dissemination of the written word was no longer a monopoly held by the ecclesiastical sector.

As the dissemination of ideas became progressively easier and cheaper, authors were able to cater to the growing secular interests of the populace. A raft of publications devoted to recreational games started to appear in Europe from the 15th century onwards.²⁵ The historic social commentaries on backgammon authored by James Balmford;²⁶ and Daniel Bellamy;²⁷ and the more technical works of Edmond Hoyle²⁸ provide ample documentary evidence of the popularity of the game in Britain from the Middle Ages to the era of the Industrial Revolution²⁹.

A sound argument can be made that the periodic publication of new texts devoted to specific recreational games provides a fairly accurate indicator of their sustained popularity. From this premise, it can be demonstrated that backgammon sustained a reputation as one of the most popular parlor games of the British literate classes from the Middle Ages until the latter half of the 19th century. Other popular games in Britain during this period included Chess, Draughts, (aka Checkers), Dominoes and Whist.

Despite the close proximity of Britain to mainland Europe, documentary evidence suggests that distinct backgammon variants—each possessing an idiosyncratic body of rules—remained a parochial favorite pastime from the Mediterranean to Scandinavia.

Throughout the diversity of European culture, specific variants were adopted by the locals as their favored game of choice. Murray³⁰ notes that around 25 distinct versions of the game were evident throughout Europe during the Middle Ages. Around the Mediterranean for example, variants in which the game commenced by bearing in checkers, or in which the game begins with all checkers stacked on the respective ace-points, became firmly entrenched in the local culture.

In France, the cognoscenti preferred the comparatively complex rules of the backgammon variant Tric Trac. From the 17th century onwards, the literary works of numerous French authors provided a veritable wealth of information on this significant variant.³¹

At the turn of the 3rd millennium, the phenomena of standardization permeates almost every aspect of our daily lives. The printing revolution facilitated an incremental adoption of standardized rules throughout societies. As the rules of games became accurately enshrined in print, the opportunity for accidental modification of the rules diminished.

The profusion of printed matter on backgammon served to market the game to an ever increasing, and more widely distributed audience. A larger, and increasingly more affluent and literate population provided a strong potential readership base to further motivate the nascent publishing industry.

Dynamism and Popularity

Human nature is not entirely adverse to change. The deliberate modification and evolution of recreational games, to improve upon the status quo (or merely change for change sake), has remained a healthy phenomena to the present day.

Certainly, slight or even radical changes to the rules of a game can act as an invigorating tonic to revive interest where a game has become stale through stasis. For example, it is debatable whether backgammon would enjoy its present popularity in the Western world were it not for the innovative introduction of the doubling cube during the 1920's.

Perhaps it is no coincidence that around a decade earlier Holzhausen³² professed that the popular longevity of a board game was dependent on the element of skill involved. For Holzhausen, a strategy game whose outcome was dependent on the skill of the players would only survive if the skill level necessary for an opponent to prevail was such that only slight errors could lead to the loss of the game. It is arguable that the introduction of the doubling cube significantly enhanced the element of skill in the game so increasing its marketability in an increasingly competitive leisure market.

A further factor, which impacts upon the popularity of a particular game, is the competition posed by similar recreational pursuits. A game that is dull or has become stale overtime will inevitably suffer once a more interesting competitor is introduced to the market.

Newly introduced games may provide a greater challenge, for example requiring a player to master a broader range of skills to prevail over their opponent. New games might also offer a novel sensory stimulus, provide greater thrills through increased opportunities for gambling, or facilitate increased social interaction by enabling more players to participate in the proceedings.

From a historical perspective, the popularity of backgammon in the West has clearly waxed and waned in tune to both national and international developments in recreational pursuits.

In 1930, Boyden³³ reflected that backgammon was one of the most fashionable games of England at the end of the 19th Century, attributing its popularity to the extant prejudice against card games of that era.

The early years of the 20th Century witnessed significant social change in Western Europe, and during this period the social stigma attached to card games were quickly eroded. With the increased competition from card games (particularly Bridge which was rapidly eclipsing the popularity of Whist due to the increased skill factor), the popularity of backgammon waned significantly. The introduction of the popular oriental parlor game of Mahjong to Britain around this period also impacted negatively upon the popularity of backgammon³⁴.

Boyden's book is but one example of a swarm of texts published around 1930 by publishing houses hungry to capitalize on the surge in demand for information on backgammon after its return to popularity in both the USA and Britain. The number of backgammon texts (around 20 titles),³⁵ published from the late 1920's to the early 1930's almost rivals the halcyon decade of the 1970's in prolificacy. Perhaps it is no coincidence that renewed enthusiasm for the game was immediately preceded by the changes in rules concomitant with the anonymous introduction of the doubling cube to the game.

A New World Order

The global political turmoil of the 1940's marked an end to the Western backgammon renaissance of the previous decade. The number of new publications gradually trickled to a halt in the decade following the Second World War. In 1960, Robert Charles Bell commented that:

"Pamphlets of rules can be bought in the better games shops in England, but few sell boards or pieces; occasionally they can be found in antique shops. The seller may be unaware of their purpose!".³⁶

It is significant to note that 1947 marked the birth of the modern Pinball machine (a derivative of the 18th century French game of Bagatelle) following the addition of the flipper by the Gottlieb company.³⁷ The 1950's and 60's witnessed a massive surge in popularity of the Pinball game particularly among the younger generations hungry for new sensory stimuli. Backgammon had clearly become stale and largely ignored pastime in the eyes of the young.

Throughout the ages backgammon has consistently proven to be a fascinating recreational pastime capable of captivating the hearts and minds of generations of casual and serious game enthusiasts. In the New World Order of the post-war 20th century the power of marketing fueled by ever increasing developments in media communications, facilitated a resurgence of interest in the game from the mid-1960's.

The initial resurgence in the popularity of backgammon in the post-war years has been traced to the efforts of Prince Alexis Obolensky during the 1960's. Prince Obolensky promoted the concept of invitational tournaments and was instrumental in establishing an official formal World Championships for the game in 1964.

Competitiveness has long remained a strong and compelling force in both the human and non-human kingdoms. The kudos attached to an individual's high performance in such events combined with the attendant allure of big prize money proved to be a fine recipe for success.

From the mid-1960's, participation in International and national backgammon tournaments steadily grew. By the 1970's the social status of the participants had broadened from the privileged elite to include a more diverse range of individuals from the lesser privileged classes. The 1970's renaissance was marked by a further boom in backgammon publishing. The 1969 publication of Prince Oblensky's and Ted James's, Backgammon, the Action Game sparked an enfilade of backgammon texts by the major publishing houses of the United States and Britain.

In contemporary times, commentators have come to regard the 1970's decade as the "heyday of backgammon".³⁸ The subsequent demise in the game's popularity in the West may have been partly due to the new competition for our leisure time posed by the nascent video games industry, which offered another new sensory stimuli with Atari's release of the first commercially successful³⁹ video arcade game Pong⁴⁰ in 1973.

Subsequent whirlwind developments in video technology facilitated an onslaught of progressively more popular video arcade games spearheaded by the phenomenally popular Space Invaders⁴¹ and Pac Man⁴² (the most successful video arcade game of all time) in 1978 and 1980 respectively. Capitalizing upon its success in the arcades, Home Pong,⁴³ (and boosted by a drop in price of microchips), exploded into the living rooms of millions of baby boomer consumers in 1974.⁴⁴

The Revelation of Backgammon

The 1980's witnessed a rapid end to the gammonmania of the preceding decade. Bower⁴⁵ notes that the game suffered the demise typically associated with a fad, as the rapid attrition of players was not replenished with new blood and the mass media publicity disappeared. It is highly likely that backgammon had become a stale game in the eyes of X generation teenagers whose leisure time was often spent entrenched in the Video arcades or sat transfixed before their home-video game consoles. Despite backgammon's fall from the limelight, a steady stream of academic texts⁴⁶ catered to a niche market of hardcore backgammon enthusiasts throughout the decade and into the 1990's.

Despite the negative impact of the video games on the popularity of backgammon, developments in the video games industry were largely responsible for the widespread acceptance of computers by the public. The computer age would prove to be a blessing in disguise for the popularity of backgammon in the West. Progressively more powerful home computers at increasingly affordable prices engendered a computer literate consumer base for the burgeoning Information Technology industry. Through the maelstrom of new computer games, (most of which passed in and out of vogue in the flash of an eye), traditional board-games found their way into the new market place to establish a firm foothold in the virtual landscape.

Advances in computing technology such as the development of Artificial Intelligence paid unexpected dividends to the backgammon community⁴⁷ as a succession of Robot players and software products were released into a global market place and on to the Internet. The release of hi-tech backgammon software⁴⁸ opened the door to the previously elusive and hallowed realm of theoretically expert play to all those willing to pay the modest price for admission. Meanwhile, the media revolution of the Internet dissolved spatial barriers enabling scientists in Antarctica to pitch their skill against Bedouins in Arabia within the virtual gaming colloseums of cyberspace. Perhaps more importantly, the silicon chip had enabled backgammon to branch out from its inveterate physical format to find a home in the hearts and minds of the children of the new revolution.

Copyright Mark Driver 2000.

Artwork of Senet, Royal Game of Ur and Tabulae, copyright Dean Kezan 2000. Dean's Active Backgammon Desktop Theme honourware can be viewed and downloaded from the following link: [link no longer active]

Reproduction of this article in whole or in part, is not permitted without prior written permission from the author.

Appendix 1: Substantive Backgammon Variants

Although the physical format of the game is common throughout the world, a multitude of backgammon variants is extant. Such variations include major differences in the initial set up of the checkers (either on or off the board) and the movement and action of the checkers throughout their journey to the bear off. Other minor disparities include the rules governing the physical etiquette for casting of the dice and the movement of checkers on the board.

A comprehensive description of the full panoply of backgammon variants would fill an entire book and was certainly beyond the scope of this article. However a brief and select overview of significant variants is provided below:

Acey-Deucy

A further variant from the German Gegenpuf,⁴⁹ popular with the United States Navy,⁵⁰ In which the game commences by bearing in checkers into the respective home boards of each opponent. Checker movement follows an opposing path as in regular backgammon and blots may be hit after which they must enter from the bar. Distinct rules apply to the movement of checkers, and the roll of 2-1 receives special treatment whereby the player is entitled to a complex series of combination moves and a further throw of the dice.

Moultezem

A variant popular amongst the Levantine. The initial set of the board differs significantly from other variants in that each side's inner boards are diagonally opposite. All checkers start on the board stacked on the respective ace-points for each player, and are raced around 24 pips to bear off in the respective home-boards for each side. Significant variations to the rules of standard backgammon include: blots can not be hit and taken to the bar; initial progression of the checkers is restricted until the first checker has passed the opponent's ace-point; and primes are restricted to four points in each player's outer table.⁵¹

Plakoto

A further variant popular in the Levant. Play commences with all 15 checkers stacked opposite each other on the respective ace-points of each player; i.e. both columns will appear either to the right or the left of each player depending upon their perspective). The flow of the checker around the board is similar to regular backgammon, however after a hit, blots are not captured and taken to the bar, rather they remained in a state of paralysis until the opponent has removed the attacking checker from the point occupied by the blot.⁵²

Tric Trac

Invented in France around 1500.⁵³ Play commences with 15 checkers stacked on each opponent's ace-point. Though similar to backgammon, Tric Trac is not fundamentally a racing game, as points are scored for making prescribed plays and achieving specific positions from the possible combinations permitted by the throws of the dice. However, the end game is similar to backgammon in the bear off stage. Checker movement is governed by a number of specialized rules;⁵⁴ for example a checker may not move to or pass over a point occupied by one or more of the opponent's checkers. Games are won by the first player to attain a score of 12 points. A Tric Trac match typically consists of twelve games of twelve points.

Other Variants

Other noteworthy backgammon variants include inter alia; Domino Gammon; Misere Backgammon (aka Anti-backgammon); Nackgammon; and hypergammon.

Appendix 2: Select Bibliography and Further Reading

Articles Published on the Internet

Chuck Bower, "(20th Century) History of Backgammon," published on GammOnline, August 1999 edition, http://www.bkgm.com/articles/GOL/Aug99/chuck.htm

Michael Crane, "Tavla in Turkey," (first published in Bibafax No 35, July 1996) reproduced on the Mind Sports Olympiad Mindzine at http://www.msoworld.com/mindzine/news/classic/bg/tavla.html

Mark Driver, "Historic Origins of Backgammon in Britain, including a Review of Edmond Hoyle's 'A Short Treatise On the Game of Back-Gammon," published at GammonVillage.com, http://www.gammonvillage.com/news/article_display.cfm?resourceid=433

Dean Kezan, "Backgammon Game Or ...," published on Kezan Design homepage at [link no longer active]

David Levy, "History of Tric Trac" and Rules of Tric Trac, published on the Tric Trac Homepage at http://pages.sbcglobal.net/david.levy/trictrac/

James Masters, "Backgammon—History and Useful Information," published at The Online Guide to Traditional Games, http://www.tradgames.org.uk/

Catherine Soubeyrand, "The Royal Game of Ur," published at Gamecabinet.com, http://www.gamecabinet.com/history/Ur.html

Catherine Soubeyrand, "The Game of Senet," published at Gamecabinet.com, http://www.gamecabinet.com/history/Senet.html

Michael Strato, "History of Backgammon," published at Gammonvillage.com, http://www.gammonvillage.com/news/article_display.cfm?resourceid=38

Kit Woolsey, "Computers and Rollouts," published on GammOnline, January 2000 edition, at http://www.bkgm.com/articles/GOL/Jan00/roll.htm

Footnotes

BOOK - 1977 - Backgammon by Clay, R. A. (Robin A.)

• Teach Yourself Backgammon (originally published in 1978; revised editions in 1987 and 1993):
  • This is his most famous instructional work, published under the popular Teach Yourself series.
  • It begins with a concise explanation of fundamental rules before exploring aggressive and defensive styles of play.
  • You can preview or borrow digital copies through the Internet Archive, or view listings on Amazon.
• Backgammon: Winning Strategies (published in 1996):
  • A guide tailored specifically for intermediate players who already understand basic mechanics but want to sharpen their decision-making.
  • It structures learning through practical quizzes, asking readers to test their judgment against common middle-game and end-game situations.
  • It includes dedicated analytical sections on the mathematics of dice probabilities and doubling cube criteria based on position, threat, and racing metrics.
  • Used copies are often sourced via specialized out-of-print marketplaces like AbeBooks.

Backgammon In A Week (published in 1992):

• A fast-paced training guide designed to take a complete beginner to a high playing standard across a condensed timeframe.
• It details tactical board obstacles like traps, ambushes, and blockades.
• It features unique gameplay instructions for the Chouette variation, allowing up to six people to participate in a single game.

BOOK - 1976 - Backgammon by Paul Magriel

• Authors: Paul Magriel (1946–2018), a former mathematics professor and 1978 World Backgammon Champion widely known by his nickname "X-22."
• Significance: It was the first true comprehensive textbook on backgammon. It moved the game away from pure intuition into a structured, mathematical, and conceptual science.
• Format: The book relies on a unique, step-by-step "building block" approach. It features over 600 clear positional diagrams, standard odds tables, and a glossary.

• The Four Core Game Plans: He formally structured the book around mastering the Running Game, Holding Game, Priming Game, and Attacking Game.
• Safe Play vs. Bold Play: He established the foundational criteria for when a player should take aggressive risks versus when they should play safely based on home-board strength and anchor positions.
• The Golden Point: He popularized the critical importance of securing the opponent's 5-point (or your own 20-point), naming it the "golden point" due to its positional strength.
• Duplication and Diversification: He taught players how to use the dice efficiently by forcing opponents to need the same numbers (duplication) or maximizing their own useful rolls (diversification).

1. Section I: Rules, Notation, and Basics — Introduction to fundamental checker play, opening rolls, and basic doubling cube strategy.
2. Section II: Using Men Effectively — Advanced checker handling, including flexibility, builders, and managing shots.
3. Section III: Middle Game Strategy — Modern opening theory, slotting, splitting, and advanced doubling theory.
4. Section IV: Endgame — Handling bearing off, avoiding contact, and managing positions after contact.
5. Section V: Advanced Positional Play — Complex strategies involving timing, control of the outside board, and advanced backgames.

BOOK - 1975 - Backgammon by Copeland, W. H

• Target Audience: Complete beginners and spectators looking to learn the foundational mechanics of the game.
• Format: It is a slim, highly visual trade paperback typically spanning 31 to 34 pages.
• Publisher: Originally released by EP Publishing Ltd. based in Yorkshire, UK. Later editions and revisions featured contributions from Guy Titley.
• Identifiers: ISBN-10: 0715801732 / ISBN-13: 9780715801734.

• Setup & Fundamentals: Detailed illustrated instructions on board layout, checker movement, and standard dice rules.
• The Doubling Cube: A beginner-friendly introduction to using the doubling cube to raise stakes mid-game.
• Opening Strategy: Basic guidance on standard opening moves and basic checker safety.
• Match Variants: A brief breakdown of different styles and structures of tournament or casual play.

BOOK - 1979 - Intellivision Backgammon by Mattel Electronics

BOOK - 1982 - The Backgammon Scholar: A Journal of Backgammon Science

The Backgammon Scholar: A Journal of Backgammon Science was a specialized periodic journal published in 1982. Edited by famed backgammon champion and author Jake Jacobs, the short-lived publication served as an early collective repository for analytical strategy, odds calculations, and match analyses contributed by various elite writers and leading theorists of the era.

• Historical Significance: It was one of the earliest dedicated forums attempting to treat backgammon strictly as an exact science rather than a casual parlor game.
• Early Groundwork: Because it was printed in 1982, it captured the era of intense human-to-human analytical theory, just before the mid-1980s and 1990s machine-learning revolution (such as Gerald Tesauro's TD-Gammon) fundamentally redefined backgammon strategy.
• Contributors ("By Various"): In addition to editor Jake Jacobs—who would go on to write classics like "Can A Fish Taste Twice As Good?"—the journal aggregated strategy breakdowns, mathematical models, and game commentaries from multiple unnamed and guest masters within the tight-knit American tournament circuit.

BOOK - 1977 - Backgammon How to Play, Gamble and Win

Don Stern, director of the American Contract Bridge League, is a leading authority on Backgammon, an enthusiastic and successful player, teacher and tournament organiser.
His direct, uncomplicated approach leads swiftly and easily through the basics of play and on to the intriguing complexities of advanced strategy, tactics, betting and winning!
Each easy step is a ccompanied by quizzes and diagrams, sample moves and games, and guides to the odds and probability of each throw, designed to reinforce the lessons, tests the reader's progress and provide an invaluable and immediate source of information. for the beginner and the expert.
Other Backgammon books explain the rules and theory of the game: Don Stern explains the competitive strategy and psychology of the game and how to win and keep improving the suspense, excitement and skill of your game as you keep winning against more advanced opponents.

Backgammon, one of the most ancient boardgames known to man, has achieved today an ever increasing cult-like popularity. Known for over 5,000 years as The Game of Kings and the King of Games, it is still probably the world's fastest moving game of skill and chance.
Why? It demands the mental ability of a chess player, the betting skill of a poker player and the gambling instinct of a roulette player. No two backgammon games are identical. Ties are impossible.
Luck and skill alternate with breathtaking speed and with one roll of dice the player can tumble his opponent from the heights of a winning position to total defeat. The tide of battle in one game can shift a dozen times in as many throws of the dice.
It takes no more than five minutes to learn the basics of the game and is as exciting for the beginner, faced with the challenge of innumerable intricacies, possibilities and variations of play, as it is for the professional who has spent many years learning the game and stakes thousands on the roll of the dice and five minutes play.

BOOK - 1974 - Backgammon: The Action Game by Prince Alexis Obolensky and Ted James

Backgammon: The Action Game by Prince Alexis Obolensky and Ted James is a masterpiece of simplified instruction that serves as the ultimate gateway for beginners. Published in 1969, it captures the raw excitement of the game right at the dawn of the 1970s backgammon boom.

Famous historical backgammon players

This is something a little different from Deluxe Backgammon. In this week’s post, we will take a look at some famous historical figures who were keen backgammon players. In some instances, we may even get to have a glimpse at the quality backgammon sets that these individuals owned and used. This is a post that we will add to gradually over time.

Charles Darwin

Charles Darwin (b. 12 February 1809 – d. 19 April 1882) was an English naturalist best known for his contributions to the science of evolution. His theory that all species of life have descended over time from common ancestors is now widely accepted. His most famous piece of published work was the 1859 book On the Origin of Species (Charles Darwin at Britannica).

Darwin lived his life according to a strict schedule. This included two games of backgammon with his wife, Emma, every evening between 8 and 8.30 pm. He even recorded the results of every game they played. In Down House, where Darwin lived for many years, there is a backgammon set on display in the drawing room.

Winston Churchill

Sir Winston Churchill (b. 30 November 1874 – d. 24 January 1965) was a British politician, army officer, and author. He was most famous for his outstanding leadership during the Second World War. He was twice Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945, and again from 1951 to 1955.

Churchill was born into an aristocratic family with mixed English and American heritage. As a young man, he joined the British Army and saw action in a number of conflicts. In the early 20^th century, he entered politics and continued to serve as an MP until just before his death in 1965. He is widely considered one of the most significant figures of the 20^th century.

Churchill was known for his structured routine. His long working hours were punctuated by three-course lunches, dinners and drinks. A favourite afternoon activity would be to play backgammon or cards with his wife, Clementine. Churchill also recommended backgammon to the Royal Navy during the Second World War, saying, ‘I have no doubt it would amuse the sailors’.

Roman Emperor, Claudius

Claudius (b. 1 August 10 BC – d. 13 October AD 54) was a Roman emperor from AD 41 to 54. He was born in Lugdunum in Roman Gaul and was the first Roman emperor to be born outside of Italy. He was born with a limp and slight deafness due to an illness at a young age, and his family ostracised him from public office until his consulship, shared with his nephew Caligula in AD 37.

Although he lacked any military experience, the most notable attribute of a Roman emperor, he managed to coordinate the conquest of Britain in AD 43. As ruling Emperor, he actually visited his new province of Britain before returning to Rome in triumph. As well as Britain, Claudius added a number of other territories to the Roman Empire (Claudius at Wikipedia).

Claudius was extremely fond of the game known as ‘Ludas Duodecim Scriptorum‘, a forerunner of the modern game of backgammon. He was so entranced with the game that he ordered a board to be built on his chariot so that he could play when he travelled.

Lewis Carroll

Lewis Carroll was the pseudonym of English writer Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (b. 27 January 1832 – d. 14 January 1898). Dodgson was a writer, mathematician, logician, Anglican deacon (Reverend), and photographer. He attended Oxford University and graduated first in his class in Mathematics. Dodgson could have embarked on a lengthy academic career, but instead became a country parson.

It was as a writer of children’s fiction that Dodgson is best remembered. His most notable works were Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and its sequel Through the Looking-Glass. Dodgson was also a keen backgammon player. He published the rules for a number of backgammon variants, including a version called ‘Cooperative Backgammon’, which involved rolling three dice (Co-operative Backgammon at The Lewis Carroll Society)..

Thomas Jefferson

Thomas Jefferson (b. 13 April 1743 – d. 4 July 1826) was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. He was a statesman, diplomat, lawyer and architect who served as the third president of the United States from 1801 to 1809.

Jefferson was the primary author of the Declaration of Independence. The document announced that the US Colonies at war with Great Britain would regard themselves as independent sovereign states, no longer under British rule.

In early life, Jefferson was a keen gambler and kept records of his wins and losses in his account books. There were a number of references to the results of backgammon matches. Some of which were dated during the time that the Declaration of Independence was being drafted (Thomas Jefferson at The White House Historical Association).

Samuel Pepys

Samuel Pepys (b. 23 February 1633 – d. 26 May 1703) was an English naval administrator and Member of Parliament. He is most famous for the detailed private diary that he kept from 1660 until 1669. The diary was first published in the 19^th century, well over a hundred years after his death. The diaries gave an incredibly detailed account of everyday life during the English Restoration period.

The diary recorded, in detail, such notable events as the Great Plague of London, the Anglo-Dutch war and the Great Fire of London. Aside from the significant national events, Pepys commented in detail on his day-to-day activities. This provides historians with a great insight into the lives of typical Londoners in the 17^th century. The diary also included some rather sordid details regarding Pepys’ numerous infidelities.

We know that Pepys was a backgammon player because he mentions it in his diaries. At the time, the game was popularly known as tables. Pepys makes several references to the game in his diaries, including one instance where he lost a crown gambling with Lord Bruncke (Games at The Diary of Samuel Pepys).

Reading the Backgammon Position

Reading the Position

Here's the thing about reading a backgammon position: you don't need to figure it out from scratch every time. There's a simple framework that weighs four factors, points you toward the right game plan, and helps you make a decision. Once you get used to it, every board position becomes a question you know how to approach, even if you're not sure of the answer yet.

Four Things to Check

Every backgammon position comes down to four things. The weight you give each one depends on what's happening in the game, but all four are always worth a look.

The Race: Pip Counting and Visual Estimation

Who is closer to bearing off? The pip count answers this directly. A significant lead means you're winning if the game becomes a pure race. A deficit means you need contact (hits, anchors, primes) to stay alive.

Beyond the raw count, effective pip count (EPC) adjusts for how your checkers are arranged. Checkers stacked on high points waste pips during bearing off. Spread checkers are more efficient. Two players with the same raw count can have very different actual racing chances.

Structure: Primes, Anchors, and Board Strength

What do you own on the board? The key assets are:

A prime traps opponent checkers and restricts their movement.

A strong home board (four or five points made) punishes any hit you land.

An anchor in the opponent's board provides safety and a base for a holding game.

The 5-point is the most valuable single asset on either side of the board. Holding it (yours or theirs) changes the character of the position.

Flexibility: Connectivity and Builder Placement

Can you improve your position on the next roll? This factor is about future potential.

Builders (spare checkers in range of key points) mean more useful rolls on the next turn.

Stripped points (exactly two checkers with no spares) are fragile. One move and the point breaks, leaving a blot.

Connected checkers (no large gaps between groups) allow smoother movement. Disconnected groups create problems.

Safety: Blots and Volatility

How exposed are you right now?

Blots near opponent checkers are in immediate danger.

Volatility (how much the position can swing on a single roll) determines urgency. High volatility means the position won't stay this way for long. Act now.

Classifying the Game Plan

Reading the position is only useful if it leads to a decision about what you're trying to do. Here's how to use the four factors to classify the position:

Racing and Holding

Ahead in pips with minimal contact? Race. Behind in pips but you've got an anchor? Hold and wait for a shot. The race factor and structure factor together tell you whether you're in a racing game or a holding game.

Priming vs. Blitzing

Opponent checkers trapped behind your consecutive points? That's a prime. Opponent checkers exposed in your home board? That's a blitz. A prime looks like neat rows of made points. A blitz looks like scattered checkers and active combat. In practice, a stalled blitz often transitions into a prime.

The Back Game

You hold multiple deep anchors, you're way behind in the pip count, and your only path is to hit a late shot. This is a timing game: the safety and flexibility factors tell you whether your board can survive long enough for the shot to appear.

From Analysis to Action: The Doubling Cube

A good positional read leads directly to cube action. Here's how the four factors connect:

Position clearly in your favour across most factors? Check for market losers and consider doubling.

Close decision? Apply Woolsey's Law: if unsure, double.

Receiving a double? Think about your 25% threshold across all four factors, not just the race.

This four-factor check is what separates a thoughtful cube decision from a guess. Each factor contributes to your overall chances, and the cube decision flows from that total picture.

Tools for Improving Your Read

Picture this: you just finished a game and you're wondering, "Should I have doubled on that turn? Was my read right?" Several platforms offer post-game analysis where you can review your completed games and compare your decisions against an analysis engine. These tools score every position: basically a number that represents how well you're doing from that spot. Reviewing your games against these scores shows exactly where your reads went wrong and which of the four factors you're misjudging. We'll be bringing analysis tools to Backgammon.com very soon.

Your performance rating (PR) tracks how close your decisions are to the best possible play. Think of it like a golf score, where lower is better. Tracking your PR over time is the clearest measure of improvement. Try to review at least one game per session, focusing on the positions where your move and the engine's move differed. This is where the learning really happens.