The Traditional Board Game Series Leaflet #35: The Royal Game of Ur THE R OYAL G AME OF U R Ending the game. Variations by Damian Walker 16. The first player whose Any form of binary lot may be pieces are all borne off the board used in place of tetrahedral dice; has won the game. coins are the most readily available substitute. FURTHER I NFORMATION The interested reader can gain more information about the Royal Game of Ur by consulting the following books. Bell, R. C. Discovering Old Board Games , p. 2. Aylesbury: Shire Publications Ltd., 1973. Bell, R. C. Board and Table Games from Many Civilizations , vol. 1, pp. 23-25. New York: Dover Publications, Inc., 1979. Botermans, J. et al. The World of Games , pp. 22-24. New York: Facts on File, Inc.. 1989. Murray, H. J. R. A History of Board-games Other Than Chess , pp. 19- 21. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1952. Parlett, D. The Oxford History of Board Games , pp. 63-65. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999. Copyright © Damian Walker 2011 - http://boardgames.cyningstan.org.uk/ Board Games at C YNINGSTAN Traditional Board Game Series (Second Edition) 4 Leaflet #35 The Traditional Board Game Series Leaflet #35: The Royal Game of Ur The Traditional Board Game Series Leaflet #35: The Royal Game of Ur with four corners; two corners are stead he may move one of his INTRODUCTION & H ISTORY marked. When throwing the dice pieces along its path by the number In 1926-7 Sir Leonard Woolley was some decorated with rosettes. Dec- the score is the number of marked of squares indicated on the dice. excavating at the royal tombs in Ur, oration on squares without rosettes corners pointing upwards, with 9. If the score of the dice was in modern Iraq, and found among varied from board to board, and none signifying a score of four. four, the player may after moving a other things the oldest full set of some had delightful animal scenes 4. Players decide at random piece, roll and move again. gaming equipment known to exist. engraved on them. who begins. 10. A piece must bear off by an exact throw. For example, if a This dates from about 2500 BC, No rules were found at the time Moving the Pieces comprised a board of twenty of the excavation, so a number of player's piece sits on the final squares, two sets of seven pieces, different historians and archaeolo- 5. The path of a player's pieces rosette of its path, a 1 is required to and six dice in the shape of pyram- gists devised their own interpreta- starts on his side of the board, in the bear off; if on the adjacent square, a ids. The game was afterwards giv- tions, and there are versions of this large block, at the square nearest the 2, and so on. en the name the Royal Game of Ur . game for sale. In more recent years, bridge. The piece moves toward the 11. Only one of a player's Other similar sets were found an almost complete set of rules on corner with the rosette, before mov- pieces may sit in a square at once; in the same archaeological dig, cuneiform tablets has come to light, ing to the adjacent square on the pieces cannot sit together in the some in a less well-preserved state. dating from the second century BC middle row and continuing till it same square. The games differed in materials and and telling us everything about the crosses the bridge. Once across the 12. If the roll of the dice gives quality of workmanship, but all game apart from the direction the bridge, it moves to the rosette on no valid move, then the turn is lost shared the same layout of squares, pieces travelled along the board. the opponent's side, then curves and the opponent's turn begins. In around the small block till reaching this case no further roll is granted, HOW TO P LAY the rosette at the player's own side, even if the dice show four. from which it is borne off. The path Complete sets of rules were pub- played on a board of 20 squares, ar- Catching Enemies lished by R. C. Bell in his book ranged in 3 rows of 8 with four is simpler than it sounds: see Illus- Board and Table Games from Many squares cut away (as shown in Illus- tration 2. 13. If landing on an opponent's Civilizations , and by Irving Finkel tration 1). Five of the squares are 6. In his turn a player first piece, that piece is removed from in his game for the British Museum marked. The board can be thought throws his dice. the board and must begin its jour- shop. The set of rules in this leaflet of as in three distinctive sections: a 7. If none of his pieces are in ney again. takes elements from these but intro- large block, a small block and the play, then he must 14. A piece duces some ideas by H. J. R. Mur- bridge between them. enter a piece on sitting on a special ray and David Parlett that make the 2. Each player starts the game the first, second, marked square is game more logical with seven pieces third or fourth safe; the opponent and elegant. in hand, the board square on the cannot land on it. being empty. board, according 15. The first Beginning the 3. Each player to the score of the four squares in a Game has three binary dice. Illustration 2: the direction of travel for the piece's path are 8. If he has black pieces, shown lined up here before any also safe, as the 1. The Royal lots in the form of Illustration 1: the empty board. Squares pieces already on have entered the board. The path for the opponent's pieces Game of Ur is marked with a cross here usually bear a pyramidal dice white pieces is a mirror image of this, rosette on the ornamented boards. the board, then in- starting and ending on the top row. never land there. 2 3.