Japanese Backgammon
Only in Japan can you find a game that combines backgammon and Snakes and Ladders. Sugoroku is played much like backgammon; the only differences are doubles aren't special. When you roll a double, your die would still count as separate; second, in Sugoroku, you don't bear off your checker. The goal is for you to move all your checkers within the last 6 points of the board; Third, there is no doubling cube; and lastly, you are not allowed to form six consecutive points for blocking. In backgammon, this is a strategy called prime.
Sugoroku's History
Historians believed that this game came from China, which was referred to by the Chinese as Shuang-Liu in the 6th century. The name Sugoroku and Shuang Liu (sheung luk) means double sixes or the dice's highest face.
Because of its reliance to luck, the game became a popular gambling practice in Japan. For this reason too, Sugoroku was been banned many times in the empire especially in the years 689 & 754. When the game reached the Edo era, it was surpassed by another gambling game known as Hancho.
This form of backgammon is only played in Japan, thanks to the promotion made by a Japanese newspaper called Kingu that included a free sugoroku board in 1925, selling almost 3 quarters of a million.
There was a simpler version of Sugoroku that appeared in the 13th century that was played in cheap wooden blocks sold by wood printers during the Edo era. This game was much more similar to Snakes and Ladders than to Backgammon. In later versions of this game, the boards were created with pictures of political, religious, and literary materials. In the Meiji era, the game became more popular when it was used as a kid's game.
The Game of Life or the Jinsei Game is another version of the Sugoroku. In this game, players use roulette instead of dice to move their checkers. This game was introduced in 1968 and has become popular ever since.
Some legends of the Game
Some historians believe that sugoroku was a game played in Hu, a country of the Tartars. The king of Hu was said to have a brother who was punished by death for a heinous crime. The brother, while in prison, sent a secret message that was hidden in the form of game. The game was sugoroku and its message was about how men in Hu were being oppressed, especially when they are alone and weak.
|
