The backgammon set with its wooden board and round counters, the dice and the cup to throw them, is familiar to a huge section of the world’s inhabitants. Perhaps there are areas of remote Papua New Guinea where the game has not yet penetrated, but for most of the people reading this article, explaining the components of the backgammon set is as superfluous as describing what a pack of cards contains.

The spread of the backgammon game from its ancestral home in today’s Iran and Iraq, via the Roman Empire and the Arab world across the globe is a fascinating historical story. Whereas so many ancient games have been lost to us, yet how to play backgammon is known to millions of people today, is a question worth pondering. Obviously, the anonymous inventors of the game hit on a winning recipe. The backgammon rules simplicity has made the game an easy one to learn and this has certainly helped insurance its endurance. However, the adaptability of the game to changing times and tastes has without doubt made a major contribution to the game’s successful transit through the ages. The transformation of the backgammon set from stone to video offers one of the clearest indications of the game’s durability.

According to ancient records and archaeological evidence, the first backgammon counters were made of smooth stones, perhaps gathered from the edge of a stream. The dice would have been carved in bone. The board may have been carved or painted on a flat piece of wood, or perhaps even scratched out in the earth. In line with the widening range of materials coming into use in the home, farm and workshop, the materials used to make the backgammon set also evolved. Pottery replaced stone and bone, and sets began to be constructed in a more elaborate manner. Although most backgammon sets would have been homemade, the commercial production of sets in the last century brought cheap backgammon sets onto the market. Even those who didn’t have the means to make their own sets could now afford to buy their own set. At the upper end of the market, classy backgammon sets made of precious metals to grace the tables of kings and aristocrats also made an appearance.

For the first five thousand years of the game’s history, whatever materials backgammon sets were made of they shared in common the fact that they were in some way or another manufactured. The creation of backgammon software in the past fifteen years has taken the game into new dimensions. When someone invites you to play backgammon today, they may just as well be referring to online backgammon as the conventional offline variety of the game. The backgammon online developers have gone out of their way to present a 3-D backgammon set that looks almost like the “real thing”. Going out and looking for a backgammon set to buy, or joining a club is no longer necessary to participate in the game. Backgammon has shown how well it adapts to the times.

Just as there is said to be a woman behind every successful man, experienced players of the backgammon board game know that behind every successful backgammon player is a sound backgammon strategy. Since so many of us learn to play backgammon while children, and we find it easy to quickly learn the backgammon instructions and think that we know all there is to know about backgammon setup, we may come to think that the game doesn’t require the same level of thought as some other board games. Should we ever have the opportunity to attend a backgammon tournament, or see experienced players in some other context, this illusion is soon dispelled. The presence of the dice in the backgammon set up certainly does indicate that there is an element of luck in the game, but the probabilities of a player winning on the basis of fortunate dice throws alone are so remote as to be statistically insignificant. Even if the throws of the dice always seem to be in favor of a certain player, if that player lacks a knowledge of backgammon strategy they are in no position to exploit their good fortune. Thus, it would not be surprising to find an experienced player soon defeat the inexperienced player with the good dice throws.

Acquiring a sound backgammon strategy is therefore essential for anyone who enjoys winning their backgammon games. Fortunately, today there are many ways to learn how to play good backgammon. A good place to start is one of the backgammon clubs that are found in many cities around the world. Even if you are a complete novice, there is so much to learn by watching the play of more experienced players. When you feel that you have reached a level where you can put up a good match against a skilled player, your learning progresses to a further stage as you develop your skills through experience. Although there is no substitute for actual play, there is also much that can be learned from a perusal of the many books that have been written over recent years describing winning backgammon strategies, and offering tips for improving your play.

The appearance of Internet backgammon sites over the last few years have provided a wealth of opportunities to learn to play backgammon to a high level. All that is required is a connection to the Internet for the backgammon download brings free backgammon the game to your computer. There is no longer any need to go out and buy a backgammon board, checkers, dice and throwing cup since these are all presented to you in virtual form, and with a level of color quality and 3-D appearance whose quality shows the great investment made in the setting up of these gaming sites. Whether you choose to build up your playing skills in games against a challenging backgammon computer, or gain experience playing against fellow enthusiasts from around the world, Internet backgammon has the answer. The sites also contain valuable information on how to improve your game.