Craps History

Dice have been used for over two thousand years.  Evidence exists that a form of craps was enjoyed as long ago as during the time  of Roman Empire.  Roman troops made use of the bones of sheep and pigs, shaping them into cubes, and tossed the bones in some sort of game to pass the time when in camp.  The bones used in the initial created dice are believed to be the basis of the phrase “roll the bones”.

Originally it is thought that dice were used as a utility in fortune telling to aid in decision making.  Over time, in part because of dice no longer being used to tell the future, the signs on the dice have evolved from their first symbols to what we see on modern dice.

Any pastime that has been in existence this long has numerous thoughts as to its roots.  One theory about the origins of the game has that it is an adaptation of a game played by Arabs for 1000′s of years called Azzahr.  After some time the game appeared in France there it was known as Hasard, and about the year 1500 the game made it across the English Channel and Hasard was given the English spelling of Hazard.  The game developed over time and by the early 1700’s recognized rules governing play where established.

When the French settled in New France (Quebec and parts of Nova Scotia) they brought with them the game.  When the French lost to the English in the new world numerous French settlers from Nova Scotia left Canada and migrated south finishing up in Louisiana there they established themselves.  The French settlers still played Hasard but through time started to name the game Crebs or Creps, the Cajun way of spelling the French Crabes (The smallest possible value in the game was referred to as Crabs by the English and Crabes by the French.  By 1843 the Cajun word came into American English as Craps.

The game of craps moved west as the frontier moved west and is currently played all over the United States as well as being played in the rest of the world.  The 2  usual kinds of craps enjoyed these days are “Bank Craps” and “Street Craps”; lately a additional type of internet craps “Online Craps” growing in popularity.  Conservative numbers of thirty  million are quoted when talking about the number of U.S. citizens who play dice games yearly.