Game box (Game case)

Description

Backgammon is one of the oldest known strategic board games. Rules vary in different eras and cultures, but generally two players each move 15 pieces (checkers, or men) according to the roll of two dice on a board containing 24 triangles (points). While the origin of the name is uncertain, many scholars cite the combined Middle English words “baec” (back) and “gamen” (game) since the goal is to return to home and off the game board. American newspapers of the early 1800s advertised cased sets of ivory and wood game pieces with mixed use for backgammon, chess, and checkers (chequers, or draughts). By the 1840s game sets were familiar holiday and New Year’s gifts.