In cultivated vineyards and wine cellars the world over, are the vintage years of wines. Years that are set out in the annals of cultivation, where the grape was at its finest and all conditions were perfect. Where not only was the taste sublime, but the aroma and very essence of the grape, magic. These are the key years, the years of celebration, the years of success the special years, stretching over the decade.

1970 was also a vintage year for the world's oldest game, pastime of Kings and Pharaohs. For, this was the year where the world of backgammon changed forever.

For centuries backgammon had been influenced by several popular board games in various countries like Senat, Ludus Duodecim Scriptorum, Tabula, and Nard etc. With its domain very much in the higher echelons of society, though not strictly confined to the so called upper classes, the populace played it merely for amusement.
In 1970 that all changed.


One of the man protagonists of this evolution was Prince Alexis Obolensky, who was more popularly known as Oby. For it was he who organised the first backgammon world championships in the Bahamas.

He also published "backgammon: The Action Game", which took the bestseller award. With the die cast – metaphorically as well as in reality - the first break is always said to be the toughest, so it was in the case of backgammon too.

Plenty of magazines, journals, and books emerged in the seventies. Some disappeared without trace, others became classics such as "The Backgammon Book" by Oswald Jacoby and John R. Crawford or "Backgammon: The Cruelest Game" by Barclay Cooke and Jon Bradshaw.

However, with the games popularity increasing throughout the decade, its diversity attracted various top-notch players from other games, such as Bridge and Poker.

Soon the media began to run stories about the game, attracting more and more publicity. Throughout Europe in the 70's the game began to emerge, as new clubs and associations began to spring up all through the towns and cities.

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