It is thought that backgammon originated in ancient Rome. A game called tabula with rules identical to backgammon was traced back to emperor Zeno’s rule in AD 476 – 481. In the United Kingdom backgammon began its popularisation in the 18th century. Prior to this the playing of table games was prohibited by Elizabethan laws and the church. Backgammon is played globally. The backgammon world championships started in 1964. The first backgammon tournament was held in the Bahamas. The competition was held there until 1979 when it moved to Monte Carlo. IBM created the world’s first computerised backgammon player called TD-Gammon in the 1980’s. Backgammon was a popular game in the 1970’s; the computer game boom saw it decline in popularity. However IBM’s invention and the development of servers designed to host backgammon games now allows players from all countries to compete almost instantaneously. The increase in the number of tablets such as iPads and android devices may well see backgammon regain the interest it used to have
