• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer
Zippy Facts Logo

Zippy Facts

Interesting Random Facts

  • Animals
  • Culture
  • Firsts
  • Food
  • Geography
  • Health
  • History
  • Inventions
  • Language
  • Mythology
  • Odds
  • People
  • Religion
  • Science
  • Space
  • Universe
  • World
You are here: Home / Firsts / Who Were the First People To Play Backgammon?

Who Were the First People To Play Backgammon?

February 27, 2020 by Karen Hill

The board game called backgammon is one of the most popular games in America today, with more than two million regular players. Yet this game isn’t as popular today as it was more than 2,000 years ago!

No one person invented backgammon. It evolved from a number of old games that were played in the Near East as early as 3000 B.C. The ancient Egyptians played a board game, called senet, that was similar to backgammon. A senet board was found in the tomb of King Tut, which dates from 1500 B.C.

Another game similar to backgammon, called tables, was very popular during the days of ancient Rome. The Emperor Nero played tables for money. Tables was also popular in Europe during the Middle Ages, and this game evolved into modern backgammon around the 14th century.

Some backgammon boards, made of leather and edged with gold, cost over $2,000!

Related Facts

  • History of Playing Cards
  • Top 25 Inventions That Changed Our Lives Forever
  • Top 25 Inventions That Changed the World
  • History of Dice
  • How did Backgammon get its name and Where does the word Backgammon come from?
  • The Best 20 Inventions Ever Invented

Filed Under: Firsts

About Karen Hill

Karen Hill is a freelance writer, editor, and columnist. Born in New York, her work has appeared in the Examiner, Yahoo News, Buzzfeed, among others.

Previous Post: « How Old Are Dice?
Next Post: Who Were the First People To Play Billiards? »

Footer

Follow

  • Facebook
  • Flickr
  • GitHub
  • Google+
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Medium
  • Pinterest
  • StumbleUpon
  • Tumblr
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Categories

Accomplishments Animals Culture Firsts Food Geography Health History Inventions Language Mythology Odds People Religion Science Space Universe World Your Body

About

Zippy Facts empowers the world by serving educational content that is accessible to everyone.

A tribute to growing up, zippyfacts.com showcases interesting and unusual facts about the world.

Our mission is to use technology to facilitate knowledge transfer and sharing.

Copyright © 2020 Zippy Facts

  • About Us
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy