Dice games are one of the earliest forms of gambling entertainment, going back over 2000 years. The Roman soldiers used to shave down pig knuckles into cube shapes and toss them into their shields as a form of entertainment.
The game of Craps is of American origin, adapted from the game of Hazard. The game of Hazard is in turn thought to be adapted from an Arab game Azzahr (meaning "the die").
Azzahr traveled across the Mediterranean to France, where it was renamed Hasard. From France Hasard migrated across the English Channel to England (pre 1500 A.D.) where it became known as Hazard. French settlers are credited with bringing the game across the Atlantic to the French colony of Acadia in the early 1700's.
After the British defeated the French in the new world they forced them out of Nova Scotia. The Acadians, as the original French settlers were known, roamed around a bit until they settled in Louisiana. They still played Hasard but through time started to call the dice game Crebs or Creps, their spelling of the French Crabes (The lowest possible value in the game was called Crabs by the English and Crabes in French). By 1843 the Cajun word came into American English as Craps.
New variations on Hazard simplified and sped up the game. Bernard de Maneville is credited with simplifying the game into the present game of Craps. John H. Winn improved the table layout creating such things as places for players to bet for or against the shooter. By 1910 Craps had become the most popular casino game in the world, and although it has lost some popularity it is still played at casinos.
