The Origin of Backgammon

Backgammon

Time & Place

1743-1928

England

References

1743 - A Short Treatise on the Game of Back-Gammon - Hoyle, Edmond

1801 - The Sports and Pastimes of the People of England - Strutt, Joseph

1818 - Cours complet de Trictrac avec un abrégé du Gammon, du Jacquet et du Garanguet

1822 - Traité Complet du Jeu de Trictrac Suivi d'un traité du Jeu de Backgammon - Guiton, N. (aîné)

Equipment

    Backgammon board

    2 x 15 Pawns (men)

    2 x 2 Dice

 

Rules

Initial Position	Identical
Start of the Game	Each player throws 1 die and the best starts.
Moves	Identical
Bearing Off	Yes
Bet	No
Doublets	Played 4 times
Gammon	Yes: if one player has not borne off any checkers by the time that player's opponent has borne off all fifteen, then the player has lost a « gammon », which counts for double a normal loss.
Backgammon	The triple game appeared circa 1850: if the adversary has not thrown off a single man, and has one or more men in the winner’s inner table or upon the bar. This triples the count for a single game.
Special Rules	Penalties in case of illegal moves (Hoyle, Guiton)
Variants	No