History of Craps Games

Dice games have been around for well over two millennium, with evidence existing that dice games were being enjoyed as long ago as during the time of Roman Empire.  Roman troops played dice games using dice created from the bones of pigs and sheep to kill time when at camp; this utilization of pig and sheep bones is believed to be the origin of the saying “roll them bones”.

Originally it is believed that dice were used as a utility in predicting the future to assist in making a decision.  In the vast number of years since then the dice symbols in use have progressed into the digit symbols that we observe on modern dice; also the employment governing dice in fortune telling and to aid in making decisions is no longer used.

With everything this old the history of the way it developed is murky and various thoughts have been proposed over time.  One theory has the source of present day craps as an adaptation of a game played by Arabs known as Azzahr since before the time of the Middle Ages.  Later the game showed up in France where it was referred to as Hasard, sometime around 1500 the game made it across the English Channel and acquired the English spelling Hazard.  Official regulations for Hazard had been made by the early 1700’s.

The French delivered the game across the Atlantic whenever they settled in New France (Quebec and areas of Nova Scotia).  When the British defeated the French in the new world significant numbers of French settlers exited from Nova Scotia and ended up in Louisiana where they established a new community.  When the french settlers moved to Louisiana they brought with them the game of Hasard, but as time went on the games name evolved into Creps or Crebs (this refers to the smallest value possible in the game and is called Crabs by the English and Crabes by the French).  The Cajun word was distorted in American English to Craps not later than the year 1843.

Craps moved west along with the frontier, and these days is played all over America as well as in the rest of the planet.  Two major kinds of craps are enjoyed today, they are “Bank Craps” and “Street Craps”.  In recent times an online type – “Online Craps” is becoming well-liked.  It is thought that at least thirty  million Americans play dice every year.