Crisloid
Organization Name
CrisloidOrganization Type
Backgammon BrandOrganization Description
Crisloid is easily the longest-running, most popular provider of backgammon sets in the United States. Its origins go back to 1948 Brooklyn, where it operated as A&L Manufacturing, named for Alphonse and Lucky Lodato, great uncles to current CEO Jeff Caruso. That company worked closely with a newer company, Crisloid, founded in the 1950's in Providence, Rhode Island. Crisloid formally merged with A&L in 1970, and also acquired L. Baron Co. shortly thereafter. Crisloid's cork-surfaced boards became the workhorse sets of the 1970's-80's backgammon boom. Many clubs bought dozens of their wood-frame table-top boards for their regular tournaments, while their folding sets became the standard portable set through the 1990's. Crisloid found the perfect consumer niche between the cheap smaller sets and the highly expensive luxury sets with their large, affordable, long-wearing sets. With the rise of the internet and increasing competition from small board makers, Crisloid has diversified their offerings in the 21st century, offering a wider range of surfaces, colorful checkers, and custom-branding on their equipment.
Photo by Albert Steg, 2018
