Backgammon for a Gift: What Kinds Are There and Where to Buy?

Before board games evolved into complex strategies with cards, chips and characters, friends gathered at the table around slightly different pastimes. Card games, chess, checkers, dominoes and backgammon – that's what was trendy 30-40 years ago. Today we'll talk about backgammon, a game less popular than chess, but with a longer history. Having learned the fascinating history of this game and its many variations, you will definitely be convinced that buying backgammon as a gift is a good idea. 

Endless variations of board games 

Sometimes it seems to us that our distant ancestors were too busy surviving and working hard without the help of machines to have fun. But archaeological finds indicate that they had enough time to invent board games and their new and new variations. The first board games were probably invented 5,000 years ago in the territory of modern Iran. They were played for millennia before being modernized into the form we know in the 17th century.  

Although our topic is backgammon, let's start by talking about backgammon. This is the name of a group of games that use a board-playing field and dice – dice with different numbers of marks on the faces. Players have an equal number of chips/checkers and their own «home» part of the field. Backgammon with certain differences and its local names traveled from Persia to the countries of the Middle East, was popular in Egypt, Greece, and then in Europe. In Britain the game overcame church prohibitions on gambling and became popular among church ministers. It was from English that the name of the game was formed on European territory.

Backgammon has many variants, both regional differences and modifications of the rules. Backgammon, as one of these subspecies, has become a favorite pastime in Armenia, Georgia, and the Kalmyks. This is how backgammon got into the Soviet space. In our latitudes, it is customary to play long backgammon, while short backgammon is classic backgammon.

Long and short backgammon, and how to play them

If both formats of backgammon are a mystery to you, let's briefly look at how to play backgammon and what are the differences between the two game variants.

Inlong backgammon, players have 15 white and black checkers, a playing field with 24 holes, and two dice. At the beginning of the game, each player places their checkers in the holes in the lower left and upper right corners, called the "head". The last quarter of the playing field is called the "home". So the task of each player is to move all the checkers there, moving counterclockwise. The victory goes to the one who first gets to the home and removes all his checkers. The peculiarities of long backgammon are that there is no attack on the opponent's chips as such, and your moves can only be made on holes that are not occupied by chips of a different color. Also, six chips in one hole in front of one opponent's chip block its moves. In short backgammon, they are played on the same field, and the main differences are in the different starting arrangement of chips and the rules of the moves. Players' chips are placed in four holes in different quantities. Opponents move towards each other, not in the same direction. Also in short backgammon there is an additional cube – The dice Gives, which doubles the bets.  

Long backgammon is believed to be a more complex version of the game, requiring better strategic thinking. The number of possible game development options after the initial move in short backgammon is much smaller (although it is equal to millions of probabilities) and has long been calculated by a computer. But both game options combine the factor of skill and luck due to the roll of the dice, so all players have a chance. 

How choose gift backgammon? 

Backgammon, like chess, is a very tactile game - the board, chips, and dice often come into contact with the players' hands, so it's important not to skimp on a game set, especially if it's backgammon as a gift to someone important to you. So what should you pay attention to when choosing backgammon?

Material of the board and chips. Quality backgammon can be recognized literally by touch. Expensive wood species, heavy chips that are felt in the hand, but at the same time retain ergonomics. Handmade backgammon has gifts of the tree from which they are made – natural imperfect patterns of cuts in the wood, differences in texture, which adds uniqueness to such a set. 

Convenience of storing the set. It would be very unpleasant to lose a chip or cube, especially from an expensive set. Therefore, it is worth paying attention to how storage and individual parts and the entire set are provided. The classic option is a folding board, inside which all small elements are stored. But without special compartments in the board itself, it is very difficult to keep the parts of the set in order. A reliable lock that keeps the board folded will be no less valuable. Some elite backgammon sets also have a special case or scarf for storing the entire set and protecting the board from damage and dust.

Aesthetics of execution. Although the playing field is quite standard for all types of backgammon and most related games, there are thousands of options for designing the board and chips. The most popular material for backgammon - wood - allows to use a variety of decoration methods. Painting, mosaic, inlay with different types of wood or other materials.  Backgammon sets are also often stylized in the oriental style, paying tribute to the origin of this game. 

For whomever you choose backgammon as a gift, do not forget about the pleasure of decorating the game set in addition to enjoying the game. And the online store of elite gifts Fama guarantees that all the backgammon sets presented in us meet the highest requirements.