All About Carved Backgammon

Probably each of us has heard about backgammon at least once. The game has a thousand-year history, appearing about 3,500 years BC in the East, and then spreading to almost the whole world. They represent a playing field on a board divided into two parts, dice (dice) and a set of drafts (chips).

In the process of action, backgammon is a bit like checkers, but there is an element of chance Are dice with dots on each side, denoting numbers from one to six. They determine the sequence of the following moves.

Backgammon develops the mental abilities of a person, makes you intensively calculate the options for further moves. People are attracted by a large number of the latter and the unpredictability of the game.

Backgammon is very popular in our time. Even competitions are held in many parts of the world.

For the manufacture of all elements of backgammon, materials such as wood, plastic, glass, stone and many others are used. You can find both inexpensive unpretentious models, and sophisticated, made of expensive materials decorated with precious stones.

Wooden backgammon - the most popular options. Carved wooden patterns are often made. to order. The master tries to fulfill the wishes of the client as accurately as possible. Carvings can be very different, but often used geometric patterns, images of animals, birds and so on.

Features of such models are:

• individual design of a game board and chips;
• very thorough study of surface details and sides;
• long term of use and practicality.

In the manufacture of handmade backgammon has its own secrets and subtleties. First you need to choose wood. Hardwoods are bestfor example, oak, ash, walnut, linden is sometimes used. Only dry boards up to 50 mm thick are taken. Other masters with drying chambers are engaged in drying themselves. But without drying equipment, such work will be quite difficult and very long.

Dry boards need to be cut into elements from which the frame and the playing field will subsequently be assembled.

On the outside, you can cut a beautiful pattern that looks very impressive. Of course, no thread is applied to the playing field, since it must be perfectly smooth. If you do not have wood carving skills, then you can use a milling machine. But when using mechanization, individuality will be lost - the machine makes only a small number of carved elements, moreover, quite unoriginal.

After the frame and game board are completely ready, they need to be covered special impregnations to protect against the influence of the environment and the hands of the players. Then it will be necessary to tint and apply varnish. And when the varnish layer dries out, it is necessary to polish all the surfaces and again varnish everything. Allow coating to dry.

Now it will be possible to assemble the individual elements of backgammon in a single design and let it lie down for a while.

After a few days, you need to finalize the backgammon: apply the appropriate paints, varnish again and set aside again until the varnish is finally absorbed into the wood and dries. Only after the completion of these processes can you start playing backgammon or use them as a gift.

True, for the game you still need to make additional accessories - chips (zaras), dice, and sometimes a glass for mixing the dice. To get chips, you need to take a wooden cylinder of a suitable diameter, cut checkers (chips), and then polish them and varnish them with a dark and light color. Some masters apply additional threading to the chips, thereby decorating them.

Game dice have recently been made from epoxy resin or other polymers, as they must be heavy. To put characters on the edge of the cubes, use drilling. The bones must be perfectly balanced, without internal voids and other defects that may affect the result of the throw.

There is currently no specific standard for the size of the playing field for backgammon. But there are 3 certain types: large, medium and small. Large ones are used in tournaments, so they can have truly impressive sizes - up to 1 meter on one side. This is done so that spectators and judges are comfortable watching the game.

The average size of backgammon is designed to play at home with friends in a warm environment. Their sizes are not so impressive - up to 50 cm. And for camping life small backgammon is produced - less than 40 cm, which are convenient to carry in a suitcase or fit in a backpack.

And since this game came to us from the East, the most popular backgammon in the former USSR is backgammon made by manufacturers from Armenia.

• The Star and Tiger model by master Sargis Petrosyan. In its manufacture, beech was used, which is a fairly durable tree that will last a long time.The size of the board is 62x61x3 cm, weight with packaging - 5 kg. Very beautiful carvings on the outside. The master puts in his products, as they say, in addition to skill, also a piece of the soul. The result is a high-end product, but not too expensive. The price of this product is about $ 150.

• The name of Karen Khaleyan is known to every fan of board games. From his hands come true works of art, such as a game board with the image of Mount Ararat on the outside. This sample is also made of beech, but has more modest dimensions: 31x36x2.5 cm. The weight of the product is only 1 kg, there is a cover in the kit. Quite a hiking option.

• Master Hrachia Ohanyan offers to purchase an exclusive sample, on the outer surface of which there is an image of the Russian emperor Peter the Great and a chessboard. The playing field allows you to play backgammon, chess and checkers. Dimensions are 64x60x2 cm, weight - 4.5 kg. But this pleasure will cost 300 dollars.

There are many more worthy craftsmen whose products deserve attention. In addition, enterprises are engaged in the production of carved backgammon, for example, Decor (Ukraine), Games Dealer (RF) and many others. Their assortment is very wide, you can order backgammon for every taste and budget.

The first thing they usually pay attention to is financial side of the issue. If you decide to make a gift to a loved one or your boss, then you should not save money. Pay attention to exclusive designs with a non-trivial design.

The second point is practicality. The quality of the materials from which backgammon is made is important. The cost of the product depends on this. If the game is bought for a child, then you should not buy expensive models - with age he can cool down to backgammon, and the money will be wasted.

And the third criterion for choosing is the size. If backgammon will often be taken out of the house and intended for tournaments in the park or entertainment on the road, then they should be modest in size. In the case when they are bought for yourself or as a gift, the parameters can be any. It all depends on the purpose of this game in the future.

Handmade backgammon made of wood are presented in the video below.