Backgammon facts for kids
Backgammon is a fun game for two players. Each player moves their pieces around a special board. Players roll two dice to see how far their pieces can move in one turn. The first player to move all their pieces around the board and off wins the game!
Contents
How to Play Backgammon
The Board and Pieces
The Backgammon board looks the same for both players, but they move in opposite directions. One player moves their pieces counter-clockwise, and the other moves clockwise. This makes the game fair for everyone.
Pieces start in different places on the board. Some pieces begin close to your "home" area. Other pieces have a longer journey to make all the way around the board. Sometimes, your pieces can even be sent back to the start if an opponent lands on them!
Dice and Strategy
Rolling the two dice adds a bit of luck to the game. But Backgammon is mostly about strategy. You need to think carefully about your moves to block your opponent and get your own pieces home safely.
Game Length
A single game of Backgammon usually takes about 15 to 30 minutes. If you play in a championship or a longer match, there are extra rules, like using a "doubling cube," which can make the game more exciting and challenging.
History of Backgammon
Backgammon has a very long and interesting history. Games similar to Backgammon have been played for thousands of years!
Ancient Discoveries
Archaeologists are people who study old things to learn about the past. They found parts of a game that looked like Backgammon during excavations at a place called Burnt City in modern-day Iran. They found 60 pieces and two dice. Scientists believe these game pieces are about 5,000 years old, from around 3000 BC!
These pieces are even older than another similar game set found in Ur, an ancient city in Mesopotamia. This shows just how old and popular this type of game has been throughout history.
Images for kids
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Roman Ludus duodecim scriptorum board from the 2nd century, Aphrodisias
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The poet Herr Goeli playing, Codex Manesse, 14th C.
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A Short Treatise on the Game of Back-Gammon
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Doubling cube
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Todas tablas from the Libro de los juegos
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Backgammon set, 19th century
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Medieval players, from the 13th century Carmina Burana
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Damascene-style marquetry backgammon board, Khan el-Khalili, Cairo.
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Backgammon and Dominos numbers in Ottoman Turkish, in V. H. Hagopian's 1907 Ottoman-Turkish Conversation-Grammar. James Redhouse's milestone Ottoman Turkish dictionary in the 19th century described a similar phenomenon alongside many other Ottoman words of Persian or Turkish origin.
See also
In Spanish: Backgammon para niños
