Tables

Variants

• All Tables --
• Common Puff --
• Dublets -- A simple, borderline stupid gambling game played within the tables.
• Duodecima Scripta -- A Roman forerunner of Tables games.
• Early Backgammon -- Essentially the link between Elizabethan Irish and modern Backgammon.
• Fayles -- A period three-dice version of Tables.
• Game of the Four Seasons aka El Mundo -- A four-player variant of Tables, from the Alfonso MS.
• Irish -- One of the direct ancestors to Backgammon, I believe -- this is pretty much "generic period Tables", as played in England.
• Re-encounter --
• Seven-Sided Backgammon aka Astronomical Tables -- A curious but fun seven-player Tables game from the Alfonso MS. Moderately popular in the SCA, since it is a relatively social variant.
• Six, Two and Ace --
• Sugoroku aka Shuanglu -- The Japanese version of Tables.
• Tabula -- A pre-period Roman game, likely an ancestor of Tables.
• The Quest --
• Tick-Tack -- A delightful English gambling game played in the Tables.
• Trictrac -- One of the major French variants of Tables. Its further variant, Le Grand Trictrac, is still played today.

Reconstructions and Other Discussions

• Imran Ghory's History of Games (Overview) -- A snapshot of the page from one of the folks working in the field, whose page went bye-bye. Mostly links into the Wayback Machine now. (more)
• Backgammon Galore (Overview) -- A big site on All Things Backgammon. This is not primarily about period Tables Games, but it has a substantial page of Backgammon Variants, a number of which are period. (more)
• On the Explanation of Chess and Backgammon (History, Transcription, Translation, Facsimile) -- A medieval Persian source, describing how Chess came to Persia and how "backgammon" (games within the Tables) was invented. (more)
• 7 period board games, printed on fabric (Vendor, Equipment) -- A wonderfully useful little Spoonflower store that does print-on-demand of several common games that you can then sew into pillows or bags. (more)
• Chronology of Backgammon and Tables in England (History, Bibliography) -- Via the Wayback Machine. A summary of some major references to Tables in English literature. (more)
• Games in *The Academy of Armory* (Transcription) -- Transcription by Justin du Coeur and Jeff Singman of the relevant sections from this 1688 book on heraldry, which happens to talk a lot about a lot of stuff. (more)
• A 14th c. MS with info about Merels and Tables (History, Primary Source Material) -- (more)
• The Origins of Backgammon (History) -- A very neat page, citing several solidly medieval sources. (more)
• The Asia Society on Backgammon in Persia and China (History) -- (more)
• The Compleat Gamester, 1725 edition (Facsimile) -- A facsimile of a later (but still useful) edition of Cotton, available on Google Books. (more)
• Common Tables Concepts -- A quick overview of what you can generally expect from Tables games.
• Imran Ghory's notes on the History of Backgammon (History) -- Via the Wayback Machine (more)
• The Games of Chess and Backgammon in Sasanian Persia (History) -- A longish and very scholarly essay, adducing lots of evidence for early forms of the games in Persia, and discussing what we know about them in Persian society. (more)
• So You Have This Backgammon Board (Reconstruction) -- A brief PDF introduction to several period Tables variations. (more)
• History of Backgammon on Traditional Games (History) -- Brief outline of the history of Tables games. (more)
• Cardano on Tables Games (Transcription, Translation) -- A transcription and translation of the relevant sections from Cardano's Liber de Ludo Aleae. (more)
• Imran Ghory's Listing of Tables in English Literature (History, Bibliography) -- Via the Wayback Machine. A useful chronology of pre-20th century references to Tables Games, likely useful for research. (more)
• Tractatus de scacchis, de tabulis et de merellis (Facsimile) -- Online facsimile of an early 15th century book on Chess, Tables and Merels, containing bazillions of puzzles. Extremely neat! (more)