The Royal Game of Ur, also called a game of Twenty Squares.
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A Brief History of the Game
This is one of the oldest board games we have. In the 1920s, Sir Leonard Woolley excavated the best known board, which is now in the British museum. Dating to approximately 2,500 B.C.E. it was found in a royal tomb in the city of Ur, and so was named the Royal Game of Ur. This name is something of a misnomer, as it was probably played by everyone, not just royalty - in fact crude boards have been found scratched into rocks or paving all over the middle east.
At first, no one knew the rules of the game (we still don't know what it was called at the time: it is probable it has had several names over time and in different places.) Because of this, various people made up rules.
In 1976, the British Museum, in conjunction with Merit Games, released a reproduction game, the rules of which had been made up. My grandparents bought me a copy (pictured) in 1977 during a visit to the UK - I still treasure it, and believe it began my life-long fascination with historical games and entertainments. I have included the rules provided with that set for recent historical interest only.
In 2007, Dr Irving Finkel of the British Museum translated a cuniform tablet from circa 200 B.C.E. that described a racing game "of twenty squares" (hence the alternative name). He realised that despite the 2,000 year gap between the two, it was most likely to have been played on the board of the Game of Ur, and determined the rules.
Click here for detailed photographs of the original board and comments on its construction.
This is one of the oldest board games we have. In the 1920s, Sir Leonard Woolley excavated the best known board, which is now in the British museum. Dating to approximately 2,500 B.C.E. it was found in a royal tomb in the city of Ur, and so was named the Royal Game of Ur. This name is something of a misnomer, as it was probably played by everyone, not just royalty - in fact crude boards have been found scratched into rocks or paving all over the middle east.
At first, no one knew the rules of the game (we still don't know what it was called at the time: it is probable it has had several names over time and in different places.) Because of this, various people made up rules.
In 1976, the British Museum, in conjunction with Merit Games, released a reproduction game, the rules of which had been made up. My grandparents bought me a copy (pictured) in 1977 during a visit to the UK - I still treasure it, and believe it began my life-long fascination with historical games and entertainments. I have included the rules provided with that set for recent historical interest only.
In 2007, Dr Irving Finkel of the British Museum translated a cuniform tablet from circa 200 B.C.E. that described a racing game "of twenty squares" (hence the alternative name). He realised that despite the 2,000 year gap between the two, it was most likely to have been played on the board of the Game of Ur, and determined the rules.
Click here for detailed photographs of the original board and comments on its construction.
Modern rules from the 1976 game issued by Merit Games and the British Museum
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The Board and Pieces
The set excavated from Ur had two sets of seven counters, each decorated on one side with 5 spots. While one modern made-up game makes use of these spots on the counters (this version doubles the racetrack and has counters flipped to show they are on the return lap) there is no indication from the historical rules that this is anything other than decoration.
It also had three tetrahedrons, used like dice. Unlike modern four-sided dice, these did not roll one to four, but rather two points were marked with white. The rules Dr Finkel found indicated that actually four of these should be used.
The board is based on an eight by three grid of squares, with four squares not used in play. Although the British Museum's famous board has multiple different square patterns, simpler boards of similar antiquity have only 2 square patterns, the rosette and a five-dot pattern similar to the face of the five-pip on a six-sided dice. The later rules only make reference to the rosette square as having any value, so we do not know if the other decorations had a purpose originally, making a more complicated version of the game, or were simply decorative variants.
The set excavated from Ur had two sets of seven counters, each decorated on one side with 5 spots. While one modern made-up game makes use of these spots on the counters (this version doubles the racetrack and has counters flipped to show they are on the return lap) there is no indication from the historical rules that this is anything other than decoration.
It also had three tetrahedrons, used like dice. Unlike modern four-sided dice, these did not roll one to four, but rather two points were marked with white. The rules Dr Finkel found indicated that actually four of these should be used.
The board is based on an eight by three grid of squares, with four squares not used in play. Although the British Museum's famous board has multiple different square patterns, simpler boards of similar antiquity have only 2 square patterns, the rosette and a five-dot pattern similar to the face of the five-pip on a six-sided dice. The later rules only make reference to the rosette square as having any value, so we do not know if the other decorations had a purpose originally, making a more complicated version of the game, or were simply decorative variants.
Dr Irving Finkel and his reconstruction
I adore this man, and I'm quite happy to let him speak for himself:
I adore this man, and I'm quite happy to let him speak for himself:
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How to play.
Number of players: 2
Equipment:
Movement is determined by rolling four tetrahedral dice. Properly speaking, these are d2 not d4; they do not have numbers, but 2 points are coloured white, 2 are left blank. The number of white points landing up - 1, 2, 3, 4 or none - gives the number of spaces that can be moved. It should be noted that unlike numbered dice, the odds of getting these numbers are not the same - there is a 1 in 16 chance of throwing a four or a zero, a 1 in 4 chance of throwing a one or a three, and a 3 in 8 chance of throwing a 2. This weighting of odds does affect the game play.
You could play this using modern d4 (or any other even-numbered dice), where evens count as blanks and odds count as "white", or more simply play tossing four coins, heads is blank, tails is "white". The 1976 set shown above had 3 dice (as three tetrahedrons were excavated) with three blank sides and three sides with a gold dot; as long as you have an equal binary result, whatever you use should be fine.
Piece can come onto the board with any number and move is immediate. For example, if your first throw is a 1, your piece will land on the first square on your track. You can only move one of your pieces at a time and your turn ends once your piece has been moved, unless it lands on a rosette (marked with a cross on the diagram, and a flower-pattern on the original board) in which case you roll again. Any piece can be moved with the second roll.
Pieces cannot be stacked. When moving along the central track, if you land on an opponent's piece you can remove it from the board unless it is on the central rosette. You cannot land on your own pieces. This means there will be occasions when you cannot move any of your pieces and you will forfeit a turn. However, if you can move a piece, you must move a piece.
To take pieces off the board, you must throw an exact number required. For example, if your piece is on the last square, it can only be removed by throwing a 1.
Click here to play a computer version of the game.
Number of players: 2
Equipment:
- board,
- 4 tetrahedral dice OR four coins,
- 2 sets of seven counters.
Movement is determined by rolling four tetrahedral dice. Properly speaking, these are d2 not d4; they do not have numbers, but 2 points are coloured white, 2 are left blank. The number of white points landing up - 1, 2, 3, 4 or none - gives the number of spaces that can be moved. It should be noted that unlike numbered dice, the odds of getting these numbers are not the same - there is a 1 in 16 chance of throwing a four or a zero, a 1 in 4 chance of throwing a one or a three, and a 3 in 8 chance of throwing a 2. This weighting of odds does affect the game play.
You could play this using modern d4 (or any other even-numbered dice), where evens count as blanks and odds count as "white", or more simply play tossing four coins, heads is blank, tails is "white". The 1976 set shown above had 3 dice (as three tetrahedrons were excavated) with three blank sides and three sides with a gold dot; as long as you have an equal binary result, whatever you use should be fine.
Piece can come onto the board with any number and move is immediate. For example, if your first throw is a 1, your piece will land on the first square on your track. You can only move one of your pieces at a time and your turn ends once your piece has been moved, unless it lands on a rosette (marked with a cross on the diagram, and a flower-pattern on the original board) in which case you roll again. Any piece can be moved with the second roll.
Pieces cannot be stacked. When moving along the central track, if you land on an opponent's piece you can remove it from the board unless it is on the central rosette. You cannot land on your own pieces. This means there will be occasions when you cannot move any of your pieces and you will forfeit a turn. However, if you can move a piece, you must move a piece.
To take pieces off the board, you must throw an exact number required. For example, if your piece is on the last square, it can only be removed by throwing a 1.
Click here to play a computer version of the game.