Backgammon is a board game in which pieces are moved according to the roll of dice. In order to win, a player must move his or her 15 pieces around and off the board. Deciding which pieces to move based on a dice roll is part of the strategy. Pieces can be captured and forced to start from the beginning.

Backgammon is the first game mentioned in written history. It dates back 5,000 years to Mesopotamia. Two boards were excavated in the 1920's by Sir Leonard Woolley. They date back to 2,600 BC. The game is called the Royal Game of Ur by historians, but it is very similar to a set of backgammon. Some backgammon-like boards were also excavated from the Egyptian tomb of Tutankhamen.