The sounds of ‘60s music, friendly conversation, and clattering dice blended together in the dimly lit room at the Pig Bar and Grill on Saugerties’ Partition Street on Tuesday night. Martinis, french fries, and backgammon boards covered a large communal table, where neighbors gathered around one of the world’s oldest board games. 

With roots stretching back nearly 5,000 years to ancient Mesopotamia, modern-day Iraq, the two-player board game’s popularity is experiencing a renewal across the globe, both online and through in-person meet-ups at pubs, parties, and clubs.  Recently, a backgammon social club opened in New York City. Locally, the Woodstock Backgammon Club launched in late 2025 at the Tinker Street Tavern.

Elizabeth Reece, 60, the organizer of the Saugerties meet-up, said the idea grew out of a long-dormant personal connection to the game. A Saugerties resident for 22 years, Reece has owned a backgammon board since her early teens.

 “I hadn’t played since I was 13 but when I was back in England a few years ago, I decided to bring my board back,” she said, recalling how cool she felt carrying her newly purchased briefcase-style set out of Kendall’s department store in Manchester, England. “We used to have so much fun sneaking out of our room in boarding school, staying up late and playing endless rounds. It’s fun to start back up. I’m hooked again.”

Backgammon is a two-player board game that mixes strategy and luck. Each player rolls two dice to move 15 pieces around a board with 24 triangles. The goal is to move all your pieces into your home area and then remove them from the board before your opponent does. You can land on and send an opponent’s single piece back to the start, which adds competition and strategy to the game.

After brushing up on the rules online, Reece realized the game was better enjoyed with others.

“It’s social and it’s innocuous,” she said. “I figured all sorts of people would come out to play.”

The Pig, one of Reece’s favorite local haunts, was quick to say yes.

Jacki Pasaran Ball, a Saugerties native who has worked at the Pig for 12 years, said “it’s a great way for people to get out of the house to socialize and meet new friends,” adding that this winter has been one of the slowest for the restaurant in recent memory.

“Bring a board or someone with one,” read Reece’s social media post, a call that drew interest.

Kelly Myers, 61, arrived with her own briefcase-style set, which she has carried since she was 13. “I’ve moved all around the country with it. I even brought it to Europe when I was an exchange student in college,” she said.

Though she had taken a long break from playing, Myers said online refreshers helped sharpen her skills. She went on to win game after game that night.

The game’s growing popularity extends far beyond Ulster County. According to the Daily Telegraph, Marc Olsen, a Danish professional football player and backgammon grandmaster, has earned more than €200,000 in tournament winnings. Olsen, the creator and CEO of Backgammon Galaxy, a major online platform and sponsor of the Backgammon World Championships, called backgammon “more or less the perfect game.”

“I want my kids to know how to gamble, because it’s the best simulation of real life. The world is random. You have to deal with the luck of life,” Olsen told the Telegraph.

Participation in the championships has doubled in recent years, Olsen said, with grassroots play growing as well.

That low-stakes, social spirit defines the Saugerties meetup, where players skip the doubling cube, a feature popularized in the 1920s that raises the gambling stakes.

“Right now, we are just feeling our way,” Reece said. “We have no hard rules other than to show up and have a nice time.”

With no need for a shared language or culture, backgammon can bridge differences, something Reece said she has already witnessed.

“You never know who you’ll meet at a public event. All different types of people come out,” she said. “For two weeks now, people just show up and chat about all types of things, having nothing to do with backgammon. It’s just what brings us together.”

Conversation at Tuesday’s gathering ranged from local issues, including an upcoming town meeting on battery storage, to broader reflections on life.

“We only get one life and have to seize our moments and live it well,” Myers said.

A former town supervisor, Myers said Saugerties has a long tradition of coming together. “Backgammon is just one more way we can do so.”

As for what lies ahead, Reece said the group is content to let the dice fall where they may. Laughter rippled through the room when one player shared the story of a failed 1970s California backgammon club called Destiny II, which later became the famous male-stripper venue Chippendales.

Chana Widawski is a contributing reporter. Send correspondence to reporting@theoverlooknews.com