Craps has an uncertain history that seems to derive from a variety of sources. Many believe the game’s origins to stretch back to the time of the Crusades!
2. The game of craps as we know it today has somewhat
contested origins. Some gaming historians trace the game's
history as far back as the Crusades. According to a number
of historical sources, as soldiers drove pagans out from
what was considered holy land, they passed the time by
playing a much earlier version of craps called Hazard. Quite
ironically, perhaps, many scholars believe that the origin of
Hazard is in fact from the Arabic dice game called Al Zar.
Craps as we know it
3. So perhaps, without knowing it, the very soldiers who were
zealously decimating non-Christian pagans were partaking of a
gaming tradition whose origins lay with their enemies.
Geoffrey Chaucer, considered to be a definitively influencing Old
English writer, mentions the game hazard in The Canterbury
Tales. So at least historically, the game seems to owe much of its
origins to war and bloodshed, which makes its appearance on the
modern-day casino floor quite extraordinary.
Craps as we know it
4. The game Hazard grew in popularity in England, and by the 17th
century there wasn't a single tavern in England where the game
wasn't very well known. It was played frequently in luxury
casinos and many of the nobility were fond of the game. Perhaps
predictably, many lost enormous fortunes playing it.
The French probably adopted the game from the English, but
changed the name in order to distinguish themselves from the
Englishmen.
Craps as we know it
5. The French are thought to be the first to call this game craps,
which is really a corruption of "crabs" – the name given to a
player that rolls in 2 in Hazard. There seem to be equal number
of sources that show the name “craps” to have originated in
America as a mocking term of the Frenchmen. What we know for
sure is that craps also owes much of its development to the
American South, where locals and African-Americans
appropriated and developed it.
Craps as we know it
6. It's not precisely known who took craps to America and
how they did it, but many theories point to the influence of
French settlers who displaced the British and moved south –
eventually becoming what we know today as the Cajuns.
This is the school of thought that claims that the moniker
“craps” derives from the derogatory name for the French
(“crapaud” being French for “toad”). Again, this has never
been proven conclusively.
Craps as we know it
7. Much like poker, a key factor in the dissemination of craps
throughout America and into the larger population was the
influence of the great riverboats on the Mississippi that took
travelers, itinerant gamblers, businessman, and many chancers
throughout a wide variety of geographical locations.
During World War II, there developed an intensely popular steet
version of craps amongst soldiers, who would play the game by
using an old army blanket as a shooting surface.
Craps as we know it
