Craps is one of the oldest dice games around. There are plenty of varieties available which have contributed to how the game has developed for modern players. We can trace the roots of the game to when the dice had only two faces. This form was considered to be mystical, as it was very reliable as you only had two outcomes. This form led to the outcome of stones which many people still play today.
The first forms of dice that we know were actually sticks, where symbols and sometimes numbers were engraved onto them. Looking at the past it is obvious that the materials which were used, were those readily available such as shells, sticks, and natural stones to name a few. With the arrival of tools and knowledge, these dice were then formed from stone until we got to dice made from animal bones which is still available today. These are because they are easy to chisel and make marks, in later years some exotic dice were formed using ivory. Stone became less popular due to people cheating by making the stone dice slightly rounded in some of the corners. This is why today's dice are have sharp edges, these are constantly being replaced during the day to prevent the dice from wearing out. The old dice are removed and marked to make sure they do not enter play again.
The numbers associated with dice can be traced back to Pakistan, in a recent discovery a set of stones were found with the numbers 1 to 6 on them. The French version the game known as Hazzard (Chance) was one of the popular versions of the game played for centuries. This game was commonly played by soldiers who were bored during there time on the front lines, the dice were light and could be carried easily. The name Craps came about in the 19th century when Mr John Winn (who was a die maker) introduced the don't pass betting option to the game, the name itself comes from the old French word "crapaud" meaning Toad, as the English could not understand they took the word to be Craps and that is how it got its name.
The first forms of dice that we know were actually sticks, where symbols and sometimes numbers were engraved onto them. Looking at the past it is obvious that the materials which were used, were those readily available such as shells, sticks, and natural stones to name a few. With the arrival of tools and knowledge, these dice were then formed from stone until we got to dice made from animal bones which is still available today. These are because they are easy to chisel and make marks, in later years some exotic dice were formed using ivory. Stone became less popular due to people cheating by making the stone dice slightly rounded in some of the corners. This is why today's dice are have sharp edges, these are constantly being replaced during the day to prevent the dice from wearing out. The old dice are removed and marked to make sure they do not enter play again.
The numbers associated with dice can be traced back to Pakistan, in a recent discovery a set of stones were found with the numbers 1 to 6 on them. The French version the game known as Hazzard (Chance) was one of the popular versions of the game played for centuries. This game was commonly played by soldiers who were bored during there time on the front lines, the dice were light and could be carried easily. The name Craps came about in the 19th century when Mr John Winn (who was a die maker) introduced the don't pass betting option to the game, the name itself comes from the old French word "crapaud" meaning Toad, as the English could not understand they took the word to be Craps and that is how it got its name.
