What is Backgammon?

Backgammon is one of the oldest games known to man. In fact, historians have uncovered evidence that a version of the backgammon may have existed as early as 3,000 BC. There is also evidence that backgammon was a popular game played by the ancient Romans. The modern-day version of backgammon has been played throughout the world since the 19th century. Amazingly, inhabitants of every continent have been enjoying backgammon for hundreds of years.

Backgammon is a board game requiring two players. In the game, the players compete with each other to be the first to remove all of their backgammon pieces from the board. A backgammon set consists of a board with 24 triangles, 30 game pieces, and two dice. Each player receives 15 game pieces, and they take turns rolling the set of dice to determine how they can move their pieces.

The game of backgammon is not difficult to learn. Nonetheless, it can become quite competitive and a number of strategies can be put into place to help ensure victory. Backgammon experts agree there are a few strategies that can help a person win a game, but those strategies must be learned and manipulated throughout the course of playing the game. Some of the strategies include learning how to build a "wall" of game pieces, "closing" the home board, and placing "anchors" in particular spots on the board.

It is common for a typical backgammon game to be very short, lasting only a few minutes. Because of this, players often decide to play a number of rounds of the game in one sitting. In this case, players keep score of the number of games won, playing until one player wins the predetermined number of games.