5,000 Years of Backgammon History

Origins in Mesopotamia (3rd millennium BC)

At Ur (in present-day Iraq), archaeologists have unearthed game boards dating from around 2600–2400 BC that are often cited among the distant ancestors of backgammon. These boards — the “Royal Game of Ur” — were played with counters and tetrahedral “dice”.

The Royal Game of Ur was discovered by Sir Leonard Woolley during excavations in the 1920s. The original board is now on display at the British Museum in London. A much later Babylonian cuneiform tablet (177 BC), deciphered by Irving Finkel at the British Museum, gives partial rules for it.

Ancient Persia and “Nard” (6th century AD)

The first truly clear description of a direct ancestor of backgammon appears in Persian texts from the 6th century AD. According to the Pahlavi text “Wizārišn ī čatrang”, under King Khosrow I (531–579) the sage Bozorgmehr invented “nard” in response to the game of chess sent by an Indian king.

According to legend, one of King Khosrow's sages invented backgammon to show, philosophically, how fate (the dice) interacts with free will (the decisions). The 30 checkers represented the days of the month, the 24 points the hours of day and night, and the 12 points on each side the months of the year.

Ancient Rome — “Ludus Duodecim Scriptorum”

The Romans played several tables games, including Ludus Duodecim Scriptorum (“the game of twelve lines”) and Tabula, both close relatives of backgammon. The Emperor Claudius (10 BC – AD 54) was a keen player — he is even said to have written a book on the subject, sadly now lost.

At Pompeii, a fresco in the tavern of Salvius shows two players arguing over a game, and gaming boards carved in stone have been found throughout the Empire.

The Byzantine Empire and the Spread through the Arab World

After the fall of Rome, the tables game lived on in the Byzantine Empire under the name Tabula. The Emperor Zeno (5th century) is mentioned in a text describing a hopeless position of his checkers — regarded as the oldest documented game position in the history of tables games.

With the expansion of Islam in the 7th and 8th centuries, Persian nard spread throughout the Middle East and North Africa. Although some Muslim theologians debated whether it was permissible (since dice involve chance), the game remained popular in Islamic cultures, often in a form without money stakes.

The European Middle Ages

The tables game probably reached Western Europe through the Crusaders and Arab merchants. In the Middle Ages it was played at every level of society — from monks to lords. Illuminated manuscripts from the 13th century show figures playing on boards clearly identifiable as ancestors of backgammon.

The Church had an ambivalent relationship with the game — some councils banned it for clergy, yet it was nevertheless played in monasteries. The kings of England, France and Spain were renowned for their passion for tables games.

The Renaissance and French Trictrac

In the 16th century, trictrac became the tables game par excellence in France. Its name comes from the clatter of the checkers on the board. More complex than modern backgammon, it involves continuous scoring and very elaborate rules.

Trictrac is mentioned by Rabelais, was played at the Valois court and is described in numerous treatises on games. “Trictrac tables” — pieces of furniture combining a games table with drawers — were luxury items in noble households.

English “Backgammon” (17th century)

The word backgammon first appears in the English language in 1645. Its etymology is debated: “back” + “game”, or from the Welsh “bach” (small) + “cammaun” (a game played with sticks). Either way, the English rules of the 17th century are very close to the modern ones.

The Invention of the Doubling Cube (1920s, New York)

The doubling cube was invented in the 1920s in New York gaming clubs. This innovation — allowing the stakes to be raised during a game — radically transformed backgammon. It went from a pleasant game of chance to a deep strategic discipline, with an intense financial and psychological dimension.

Modern rules were then settled around the cube; the Crawford rule, specific to matches, would come later, proposed by John R. Crawford (1915–1976).

The 1970s Revival

Backgammon enjoyed a spectacular revival in the 1970s, driven by the international jet set. Lavish backgammon tournaments were held in Monte Carlo, in Nassau (Bahamas) and in American casinos. This was the era of professional backgammon players who flew around the world to play high-stakes games.

The first major international tournament was held in the Bahamas in 1964, organised by Prince Alexis Obolensky, and the first “world championship” in Las Vegas in 1967. Figures such as Paul Magriel (“X-22”) published groundbreaking books on strategy that remain standard references today.

The Computer Age and AI Analysis

In the 1990s, the program TD-Gammon (developed by Gerald Tesauro at IBM) rose to the level of the best human players, thanks to machine learning. Unlike chess, where Deep Blue beat Kasparov through brute force, TD-Gammon learned by playing millions of games against itself — a revolutionary approach.

Today, programs such as GNU Backgammon and Extreme Gammon (XG) play at a level the best humans cannot reach. These programs have also transformed how backgammon is taught: players analyse their games with AI to identify their mistakes.

Backgammon Today

It is often estimated that more than 100 million people play backgammon worldwide. A world championship has been held every year in Monte Carlo since 1979. Major tournaments take place in Monte Carlo, Istanbul, Tokyo and many other cities.

Online, millions of games are played every day. Platforms such as Backgammon Galaxy allow players from every continent to test themselves against one another and improve thanks to real-time analysis.

In Switzerland too, clubs and tournaments bring backgammon enthusiasts together.