Royal Game of Ur

The Royal Game of Ur is a board game whose origins probably lie in Mesopotamia.

History

During excavations at the Royal Cemetery of Ur in the Sumerian city today (South ) Iraq, the British archaeologist Sir Charles Leonard Woolley found in the 1920s, several game boards like appearance. This v. to about 2600 BC have been dated one of the game boards will be on display in the British Museum in London.

There is also the limestone gate of a palace in major Šarrukin, a former royal capital of the Assyrian Empire, now located near the northern Iraqi city of Khorsabad. In this gate a version of the game field was carved 2,700 years ago.

A version of the game still exists today among the Jewish population of Kochi, a city in southern India.

The Royal Game of Ur is possibly in conjunction with Senet, the most important game in the Ancient Egypt.

Game rules

Modern rules for this game were developed based on a Babylonian clay tablet, the BC dates from the year 177 and is preserved in the British Museum. On this board may be the then applicable rules of the Royal game of Ur or similar games have been described. It is the only evidence of ancient rules of that time. The fact that these rules correspond to the original rules, is doubted, as they are more than 2000 years younger than the game boards obtained.

In the royal game two parties need to " roll into " their pawns on a fixed path in the board, " roll out " at the end with a matching throw again. At the board includes seven pieces each in the colors black and white and four dice in the form of a tetrahedron. The dice each have two small notches on the four corners. Displays such a notched corner upwards, shall be considered as a counter. For a move all counters of the four dice are added together. The playing pieces are moved according to the number rolled eyes in a specified track on the game board, wherein the central axis is used by both players and the game partner each other there, " throw out " can. Played only forward, already occupied playing fields can not be filled by a second token. Where a stone on a flagged with a star field, the same player may roll again. However Enemy figures may not be thrown out on the star fields.