Backgammon is an ancient two-player board game, in which pieces are moved according to the roll of dice. The winner is the player who is first to remove all of his or her pieces from the board. The game has evolved from its ancient Egyptian form, but many variations of the game still exist today.
Backgammon has been gaining much popularity lately, especially with the growing number of online backgammon sites. One notable such site is BackgammonMasters, which features interactive video clips that explain the rules of the game and offer playing tips. The main character of the clips is Jean-Claude, the animated tiger. The site demonstrates how much online game-playing has developed, as this particular software allows you to forward the clips to other users and even send in suggestions for new clips. Users whose suggestions are accepted can win prizes.
Because game-playing strategy—once the right of the few—are available to anyone with Internet access, the serious backgammon player must stay ahead of the game, so to speak. Many sites, in particular www.gammonish.com, offer playing tips and suggestions for game variations, as well as present an explanation about the history of the game. There is also a section about gambling, which, of course, can make the online backgammon experience a lot more interesting and even a little more rewarding.