The history of backgammon is a colorful journey from one ancient civilization to the next. With roots stemming from the societies of ancient Egypt, Greece and Persia, this world renowned game has attracted scores of anthropologists to the evolution of backgammon as it moved from the Middle East to the Far East and finally, to the West. With waves of popularity from the Middle Ages to the 19th and 20th centuries in Great Britain and then the United States, backgammon, a board game that combines race and chance, continues to attract game lovers all over the world.
As fitting for a game that has survived centuries of change, in the past twenty years backgammon has come into its own online. Thousands of people are playing internet backgammon at any moment in time, in all time zones of the world. For newcomers to the game, it is now ever so simple to learn backgammon rules from extremely user-friendly internet backgammon websites that offer comprehensive guides to the game and opponents to play whenever it is convenient for the player.
For those who play backgammon, or for those who are familiar with the game from travels in the Middle East where men still sit in cafes drinking coffee or tea, enjoying the water pipe, the idea of playing backgammon online may seem a little out of context. Nevertheless, backgammon has proven to be an adaptable game that persists despite gaming trends and changing technology. For instance, in the 20th century, uppity New York social clubs created a new culture of backgammon that furthered the evolution of the backgammon game. Members of these clubs were the first to use the doubling cube to increase the stakes of competitive backgammon games.
Therefore it is no surprise that backgammon has taken the Internet by storm. Moving out of teahouses, cafes and social clubs, backgammon has increased the diversity of its players by entering cyberspace. A player no longer needs to carry a backgammon set in order to play a game. As long as there is a computer with internet access nearby, whether it is a personal computer or at a computer cafĂ
By Gene Marshall
Gene Marshall, skilled backgammon player, is commissioned by a number of well-known backgammon magazines. The writer focuses on writings about backgammon and backgammon setup. Further resources and commentaries published by Gene Marshall about backgammon can be found on the web.