Dice and dice games have been around almost from the beginning of time. Nearly every ancient society has evidence that dice games were played. Nero, for example, was an avid dice player and reputed cheater. Modern-looking dice were found in Egypt and were dated at 600 B.C. These original dice games were often used to predict the future.

How Craps Got Its Name

Despite the long history of dice games, the game of craps is relatively recent, approximately 100 years old.

Craps is believed to have been derived from the game called Hazard, a game which goes back to the twelfth century. There is evidence Hazard was played during the Crusades and was a favorite of Richard the Lionhearted. It is believed the game came to the United States on the Mayflower.

In Hazard, the roll of the lowest value in a game was called crabs. When the game was introduced to New Orleans and the Louisiana Cajuns in the 1800s, the Cajuns didn’t call the game by its original name, but instead used the name of the low roll. In the Cajun language, the word crab was pronounced “creps.” Eventually, as the term began to spread to the Louisiana English and beyond, creps became craps.

The Game Develops

About the time the Cajuns coined what became the name craps, the game itself went through changes, losing its European flavor and becoming a distinctly American game. The new variations made the game simpler and faster. The casino and gaming establishments of the 19th century favored a version of craps called Table Off. With that game, casino tables, a simple table layout that featured 6 and 8, the Field, the Win, and the Come bets was introduced to gamblers.

How to Play

The current version of the game has been around for at least a hundred years. It is played with two dice that are thrown by a shooter on a long table with “walls” set up along the sides.

The first throw is called the come out roll. That roll determines the point number that needs to be repeated before a 7 is rolled. If a 7 or 11 is rolled on the come out roll, the shooter wins, and the game is over. If the shooter rolls a 2, 3, or 12 on the come out, that is craps, game over. Any other number establishes the point number and the game continues until someone either matches the point and wins or rolls a 7 and loses.

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