If we were to draw up a league table of the most successful board games, backgammon has an excellent claim to a place at the top of the list. First of all, it would be hard to find a game that has been played since the very beginnings of recorded human history. Historians have discovered that the backgammon set and the backgammon game we are familiar with today have their origins in the Fertile Crescent — the area in the Near East that is now divided between Iraq and Iran. Although these backgammon sets used stones for counters, and bone for dice, they would be recognizable to contemporary players. In a similar vein, our ancestors knew how to play backgammon in a way that was not so radically different from how we play it today.

From the Near East, the game spread through the Roman Empire and up into Northern Europe. Although the Roman game of backgammon, or tabula as it was known, has some differences from the game we are familiar with today, it had many common features. To play backgammon became a favorite pastime of the Roman aristocracy. The Emperor Claudius became the most famous player in the ancient world and certainly helped raise the profile of the game. However, it seems the main reason for the game’s popularity in the Roman world was backgammon gambling. Historical evidence indicates that tabula was only played for stakes, unlike today’s backgammon that many people play for the enjoyment value alone.

Certainly many of the games known in ancient times have not survived the test of time. If we try to understand why backgammon has not shared their fate, the simplicity of the backgammon rules and its adaptability to changing times stands out as key reasons for its survival. Backgammon has shown itself adaptable to a wide range of different cultures and nations. Over the past fifteen years, its transformation into one of the most successful Internet games has come to provide further proof of how a five thousand year old game is able to continue to maintain its popularity.

The developers of online backgammon have managed to create backgammon software that offers an exciting 3-D virtual replication of the much-beloved backgammon board game. Backgammon online comes to meet the demands of the twenty first century for instant entertainment with a high quality visual representation. It also satisfies popular demands for access to leisure activities at times that suit the playing public. By bringing together backgammon enthusiasts from around the world, Internet backgammon takes the game into new dimensions. The range of game levels and the variety of opponents available, combined with the opportunities to perfect playing skills against a sophisticated gaming computer, add a great deal to backgammon’s contemporary attractiveness. The generous sums of prize money offered to winning players, also serves to draw in many new patrons to the online backgammon sites. In addition, through publicizing the rules of the game and giving clear explanations of how to play online, these sites have done a great deal to increase interest in the game, and so help ensure its continued popularity for years to come.

The backgammon board game has been a firm favorite of all ages for at least five thousand years — an unbeatable record. Even non-players immediately recognize the familiar backgammon set up with the board divided into twenty- four narrow triangular divisions almost invariably colored black and white, the circular black and white checkers and the dice cup and dice. Few other games have achieved such a high profile. However, backgammon’s popularity has had its ups and downs, for example, the developing of the doubling cube in America in the 1920’s boosted interest in backgammon, in particular the game played in casinos. By the 1980 backgammon was in the doldrums. Some people associated it with an outdated image and it didn’t seem in tune with a youth-culture that valued fast moving games with an abundance of noise and action. The appearance on the gaming scene of the Internet backgammon games came just in time to revive backgammon’s fortunes.

Internet or online backgammon offers a backgammon download that brings free backgammon onto your computer screen. All that the player requires is an Internet connection and they can log into one of sites offering free backgammon and download a virtual backgammon board, There is no need to spend time arranging the counters since the computer has already made the backgammon setup on your behalf. The attractive appearance of the downloaded backgammon set compares favorably with the latest game sets on sale in the stores. The speed of the game, and sound effects, and the chance of playing against a powerful backgammon computer appeal to a younger audience who were not drawn to the traditional backgammon game in the local café or backgammon club.

Among the many other attractive features of Internet backgammon is the way it allows players to have a game at a time that fits in with their work or leisure schedule and does not involve them having to even leave their home or office. Although some social commentators protest against a generation seeking instant delivery of products or services, the fact remains that the continual availability of backgammon games on the Internet is a major factor encouraging the growing patronization of these sites.

In addition to being able to play a game of backgammon at a convenient time and location, the online sites fulfill a role in providing backgammon instructions, and their backgammon computers allow games to be set at different skill levels which is very helpful for new players to improve their skills at the game and develop a good backgammon strategy. The chance to make money by online gambling is also certainly a key factor in encouraging people to login to Internet backgammon. The prizes available for the taking exceed those available in most local games. Furthermore, the social side of Internet backgammon has become important to many patrons. It provides a link between players throughout the world, and allows them to compete with each other as well as share their interest in the game in a friendly way.