Backgammon

Backgammon is a a 2 player board game that is over 5000 years old. It is one of the oldest game of it's kind. The object of the game is to move all pieces to the other side of the board, then lead them off it.

Rules

The game consists of 2 players. Each player gets 15 checkers which they must move get to the opponents side, then off the board, moving on the board using points. There are 24 points on the board on which to move across. The object of the game is to move the checkers to the 24th point on the board, which is the 1st point of the opposing side. Then, after all checkers are in the opposing field, you are allowed to bear them off to win the game.

Backgammon relies on using 2 dice to move across the board. Each die constitutes its own move, giving the player 3 choices. An example would be rolling a 4 and a 6. You can choose to move 1 checker piece 4 spaces and move another piece 6 spaces. The third option is to add the numbers together, in this case making it 10 total spaces one checker piece can move. The checkers can only move to points on the board that are occupied by only 2 or less other checker pieces. If the dice roll contains double numbers, then there's the option of playing that number 4 times in total. An example would be a pair of 5's that can be played any way you choose up to 4 times, having 20 spaces in total to move your checkers across the board.

History

The game Backgammon has been found to date back over 5000 years, being one of the earliest board games of it's kind. Other games that have been found after Backgammon and are of the same type of board game are Senet and the Royal Game of Ur. The game was found in in Mesopotamia, dating back to as far as 3000 BC. The game Backgammon, or similar games that related to it, have been played throughout history at many times and places including Rome and Asia.

Game Design Elements

The game calls for luck and some strategy. The players have to mostly rely on their luck of dice rolls and then using strategy to carry out the most efficient moves possible. The basic layout of the game and the use of just one type of playing piece, checkers, gives it a more simplistic look but still calls for the use of strategic moves to actually win.

Art

The oldest versions of the game have a very simple look to them, only having shapes of the pieces and what was representing the board. The design of the Backgammon grew to be more refined looking, having different colored checkers for each of the 2 players, as well as having colored points, which are in the shape of triangles instead of squares like other ancient games of its type. All these design elements give it something visual to look at, and also gives it functionality as a board game.

References

"Backgammon History." Backgammoned. 2007. Web. 2 Feb 2010. <http://www.gammoned.com/history.html>.

"Rules of Backgammon." Backgammon Galore!. 2009. Web. 2 Feb 2010. <http://www.bkgm.com/rules.html>.

"Backgammon - History and Useful Information." The Online Guide to Traditional Games. 2010. Web. 2 Feb 2010. <http://www.tradgames.org.uk/games/Backgammon.htm>.

Links

http://www.gammoned.com/history.html - History information of Backgammon

www.tradgames.org.uk/games/Backgammon.htm - History information of Backgammon

http://www.bkgm.com/rules.html - Rules of Backgammon