arkitrave :: log

It appears that backgammon is the new poker.

I’m glad to see that we’re getting more sophisticated in our tastes. Backgammon is, after all, the oldest recorded board game, originating somewhere in Mesopotamia and played by kings and other upper-class folks.

It was played in English taverns around 1000AD, and was popular until chess took over in the 1400s. It was even banned for a time due to the tendancy of people to gamble.

Hoyle codified the rules to the game in 1743, in the Treatise on Backgammon. The game enjoyed mixed popularity throughout the modern period. Initially it was played in chi-chi private clubs, and it became more popular with the masses during the latter half of the twentieth century.

Now, apparently, it is just another way to lose money online and give me fifty more comment spams a day to delete.

Talk about a fall from grace.