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 Backgammon
is the oldest known recorded game. Traditionally, it was believed to
have originated in ancient Mesopotamia, (present-day Iraq), also see
Royal Game of Ur. In English, the word backgammon is believed to be
derived from "back" plus the Middle English word "gamen" (game).
Tabula was a form of backgammon played by the ancient Romans. It was
called tabula, which means 'table' or 'board', since it was played
on a special board. Tabula bears some similarity to Egyptian Senet,
which dates back to at least 3000 BC.
The game of Tabula was similar to modern-day Backgammon in that the
same board was used with fifteen pieces alloted to each player with
the object of the game being to be the first to bear off all fifteen
pieces. It differed in that the game began with no pieces on the
board so that these first had to be entered by the roll of the dice.
Likewise, three dice were used instead of two. Finally, both players
entered the board from the same table and moved around the board in
the same counterclockwise direction.
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