The History of Backgammon: The World's Oldest Board Game That Still Beats You Every Time

Backgammon is five thousand years old. It was played in ancient Mesopotamia, in the courts of Roman emperors, by Crusaders returning from the Holy Land, and by Samuel Pepys in a London tavern in 1663. The fact that it is still played, and still manages to humiliate experienced players through a single unlucky roll, is not a coincidence. Something in its structure is uniquely, stubbornly human.

Unlike chess, which is pure strategy, or Snakes and Ladders, which is pure chance, backgammon sits at the precise intersection of the two. Skill determines who wins in the long run. Luck determines who wins tonight. That tension has kept people playing it across five millennia, twenty civilisations, and every major world religion.

Origins: The Burnt City, 3000 BC

In the 1970s, archaeologists excavating the Burnt City, a Bronze Age settlement in what is now south-eastern Iran, unearthed a board game. It was 60 black and white pieces, two dice made from ivory and turquoise, and a rectangular board divided into points. The estimated date: 3000 BC. This is the oldest known backgammon board in the world, and it is recognisably the same game played in British homes today (National Museum of Iran).

Similar boards have been found in ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia. The Egyptians played a game called Senet, which shares structural features with backgammon. The Persians played Nard, which was almost identical to the modern game. All of them combined dice rolls with strategic piece movement, luck intersecting with skill in exactly the way that makes backgammon addictive.

Rome, the Crusades, and the British Parlour

Roman emperors were obsessed with it. Emperor Claudius reportedly had a backgammon board fitted to his carriage so he could play while travelling. The Roman version, called Tabula, used the same board structure and dice-driven movement. Soldiers carried backgammon boards across the Empire, and it spread with the legions through Europe, into Britain, and across the Mediterranean.

When the Roman Empire fell, the Church attempted to suppress it, dice games were associated with gambling and vice, and backgammon in particular was condemned by several Church councils in the early medieval period. The game ignored the prohibition entirely. Crusaders brought the Persian version back from the Holy Land in the 12th century, and it re-entered European aristocratic culture with renewed enthusiasm.

In Tudor England it was known as Tables, a term for all games played on a folding board. Samuel Pepys mentioned playing it in his diary entry for 1663: "To the Coffee-house and played backgammon with Mr. Sheply." By the 17th century it was standard in every British gentleman's club and parlour (Pepys Diary, 1663).

Hoyle and the Modern Rules

In 1743, Edmond Hoyle, the man who gave English the phrase "according to Hoyle", published A Short Treatise on the Game of Back-Gammon, codifying the rules that are still played today. Hoyle was a barrister who had turned game writer, and his treatises on whist, chess, and backgammon became the definitive authorities on each game. His backgammon rules introduced the doubling cube, defined the legal moves, and established the format that has remained essentially unchanged for nearly three centuries.

Victorian Britain embraced backgammon as a drawing-room game. Jaques of London began making premium backgammon sets during this period, leather-bound folding cases, hand-turned playing pieces, bone and ebony chequers. The Victorian backgammon set was an object of craft as much as a game, and the finest sets were designed to last generations.

Why Backgammon Is Still the Perfect Evening Game

Backgammon takes about twenty minutes to play. It requires no reading, no complex setup, and no prior knowledge from either player, one person can learn the rules in five minutes. But unlike pure chance games, skill accumulates. The more you play, the better you become at reading the board, timing your hits, and managing the doubling cube. A good player will beat a beginner most of the time, but not every time.

That combination, accessible to beginners, rewarding to experts, short enough to play after dinner, is what makes it endure. Researchers at the Santa Fe Institute studied hundreds of strategy games in 2021 and found that backgammon sits at an unusually productive point on the skill-luck spectrum: enough luck to keep games competitive, enough skill to reward improvement (Santa Fe Institute, 2021).

Frequently Asked Questions About Backgammon

Who invented backgammon?

Backgammon was not invented by a single person or civilisation. The oldest known board was found at the Burnt City in modern-day Iran, dating to approximately 3000 BC. Similar games, including Senet in Egypt and Nard in Persia, appear across ancient civilisations independently. The modern rules were codified by Edmond Hoyle in 1743 and have remained essentially unchanged since. The name "backgammon" first appears in written English in 1645, likely derived from the Welsh back (small) and cammon (battle).

Is backgammon older than chess?

Yes, significantly older. The oldest known backgammon board dates to approximately 3000 BC. Chess, by contrast, is generally dated to around 600 AD in India, where it evolved from an earlier game called Chaturanga. This means backgammon is roughly 3,600 years older than chess. Backgammon is widely considered the world's oldest board game still played in its original form, though some variants of Mancala may have comparable antiquity.

What age is backgammon suitable for?

Backgammon is generally suitable for children aged 7 and above. The rules require some understanding of probability and strategic thinking that most children develop between ages 6 and 8. Younger children, ages 4–6, may find the movement rules confusing, though they can play simplified versions. For children under 6, games like Snakes and Ladders and Ludo provide a more accessible introduction to dice-based board games.

What is the difference between backgammon and chess?

Chess is a game of pure strategy with no luck component, both players see all pieces at all times, and the outcome is entirely determined by decision-making. Backgammon combines strategy with dice rolls, meaning luck influences each game but skill dominates over many games. Chess typically takes longer, requires more preparation to learn well, and is not playable by age, a child rarely competes with an adult at chess. At backgammon, a beginner can win against an expert on a lucky night, which makes it more accessible and arguably more social as a family game.

Five Thousand Years Old. Still Decided by the Last Roll of the Dice.