Analysis of information sources in references of the Wikipedia article "Backgammon" in English language version.
To start the game, each player throws a single die. This determines both the player to go first and the numbers to be played.
Backgammon: Throughout the Eastern Mediterranean region, it is unquestionably the single most popular game ; tric trac or towleh (table), as it is called, is practically the national sport of Lebanon
...tawla (backgammon), the national game…
Tavli (Backgammon in Greek) is the national game of Cyprus
Even in Israel [Rummikub] took a long time to make an impact, though today it ranks only just behind Shesh-Besh (backgammon) as the national pastime
P. [for Persian origin]: شش shesh, a. Six. شش اناز A player with six objects. 2. A player at backgammon. شش بش Six and five, in backgammon. شش و يك Six and one. شش بش كورمك (To take the six for a five) To see double. دو شش Sixes, in backgammon
Tavla, otherwise known as backgammon, can easily be considered Turkey's national game and, in the way it is played a metaphor for life in Turkey.
While other games--chess, bridge, even poker--have made inroads from time to time, backgammon has been for centuries the pastime of the Middle East
A disk and dice game that has been played in Middle Eastern streets for thousands of years, in English homes for hundreds of years, and on Bronx stoops for dozens of years has suddenly gripped the bankers and brokers of old-line men's clubs all over town.
There are 18,528,584,051,601,162,496 distinct backgammon positions.
