ANCIENT GAME REVIVED

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXIV, 7 January 1931, Page 2

ANCIENT GAME REVIVED

BACKGAMMON’S RETURN

Backgammon, one of the most ancient forms of recreation, is suddenly returning to popularity after practically dropping out for more than 50 years. _ Its antiquity is best evidenced when it is stated that it was frequently referred to by Chaucer as “Tables,” and that in the first book of the “Odyssey” Homer describes the suitors of Penelope as amusing themselves with the game. To-day backgammon is being extensively played in leading clubs, and there is such a demand for outfits that the few manufacturers in England are being hard pressed to meet it. It is likely that few of the younger generation have ever seen the pastime, but one of the facts mostly quickly established was that it lias started an almost new form of gambling. Large bets are laid not only on the results of games, but on a particular throw of the dice. Inquiries made show that backgammon is commanding unusual attention in the United States, in Canada, and on the Continent, and it may well be that shortly it will be as great a craze as was mah-jongg a few years ago, and as bridge is to-day. A member of a London firm manufacturing games equipment stated recently that a surprising number of requests are being received for backgammon outfits from the Mayfair district. The price of backgammon boards ranges from 14s to £5.

When bridge first entered into its period of popularity it was felt that its life would be short; but it killed whist and other card games.