THE ROYAL GAME OF UR: History and How to Play

● Today we explore the history behind the oldest board game known to date: The Royal Game of Ur. Our earliest boards to date range from c. 2600 to 2400 BC, but the game was probably played before in different forms. In this video, I cover the history behind it, how to play it, and how did we reach those conclusions.
● Do you want to know more about old games and how to play them? Follow me on Instagram (@ancientgaming_ludus) and stay tuned for more content!
DISCLAIMER: this video is for educational purposes and no copyright infringement is intended.
RESOURCES USED FOR THIS VIDEO
Published Resources:
● Bell, R.C. Board and Table Games From Many Civilizations. Dover Publications, 1960.
● Brumbaugh, R., S. “The Knossos Game Board”. American Journal of Archaeology, 79:2 (1975), 135-137. DOI: doi.org/10.230...
● Crist, W., Dunn-Vaturi, A. & de Voogt, A. Ancient Egyptians at Play: Board Games Across Borders. Bloomsbury Egyptology, 2016.
● Depaulis, T. “Board Games Before Ur?”. Board Game Studies Journal, 14:1 (2020), 128-144. DOI: doi.org/10.247...
● Finkel, I. “On the Rules for the Royal Game of Ur”. Ancient board games in perspective. London: British Museum Press, 16-32.
● Murray, HJR. A History of Board Games Other than Chess. Clarendon Press, 1952. [couldn’t get my hands on this one myself, and got Murray’s rules from other references, but this is the original source for his rules]
Online Resources:
● www.mastersofg...
● www.cyningstan....
● www.ancientgam...
● www.ancientgam...
● lsa.umich.edu/...
● en.wikipedia.o...
● skyruk.livejou... [if you want to play an interesting variation where all marked squares have gameplay purposes, this author devised a rule set just like that]
OTHER CLIPS USED IN THIS VIDEO
Middle East map (intro):
● pixabay.com/vi...
- Caelan (Pixabay.com)
Backgammon gameplay:
● www.pexels.com...
- Taryn Elliot (Pexels.com)
Irving Finkel & Tom Scott Video:
● • Tom Scott vs Irving Fi...
- The British Museum KZbin Channel ( / @britishmuseum )
Greek men playing tavli:
● • Karpathos - Tavli
- George Felix KZbin Channel ( / inkarpathosisland )
MUSIC
Intro: Hades - On the Coast
● • Hades - On the Coast
Play Hades on Switch: supergiant.game...
Play Hades on Steam: supergiant.game...
Play Hades on Epic: supergiant.game...
Get the full OST at: store.supergian...
- Composed by Darren Korb
Rest of the video: Relaxing Roman Music - Aetas Romana
● • Relaxing Roman Music -...
- Music by Adrian von Ziegler [this guy has AMAZING music, check it out!]
MENTIONS AND SPECIAL THANKS TO:
● Amadeo Santolini [thanks for the long-bridge board picture!]
- INSTAGRAM: @amadeo_oak
● Jake Sanders [thanks for the picture of your hnefatafl board replica, truly amazing!]
- INSTAGRAM: @jakesanders73
● Randi Lynn Reed [also thanks for the hnefataflt board!!]
- INSTAGRAM: @randilynnreedillustration
- KZbin (Randi Reed): ● / @randilynnreed
Until the next time :)!

[@tititiwon]

Finally a new video. I'm obsessed with this channel

[@BADDEC101]

those rules at around 9:00 sound more like 'party game' rules rather than divination or fortune telling. Like... 10) If player 1 is on a rossette 11) then, when he throws his dice, if he lands on another rossette, some woman needs to "love" the men in the room. What ever "love" meant would be up to the game players i suppose (but the rule for landing on the rosette would be different if they were not already on a rosette before hand). 24) If Player 2 sits on the 7th square 25) then, when he throws his dice, if he lands on a rossette, everyone gets a round on the house. That's what those rules sound like to me.

[@JamesBroadwater]

Interesting. Abraham was from Ur.

[@RepOfAntarctica]

I love the connection to the past, & how people so long ago were not that much different than us today, just with different accesses & knowledge of the resources around them. The only thing that has bothered me is that, for the recreated game, the rosettes mean something, but the other unique designs seemingly do not. Mechanically speaking, it does make sense, because having each square mean something would complicate the game too much. However, no one addresses whether they did mean something, so I remain curious. I don't know if the tablet dives into that, or if an academic article tries to addresses it, but it would be neat to discover why those design choices were made at the time.

[@pemirkovich9]

Nice reference to other games in how they can be similar but different. I am in fact convinced that the interpretation of how people play the game of Senet is just based on a bad assumption that it is a 30 square game with now bone yard (a place you put pieces that you bumped out of the game that you reenter them from) when in fact if you count that empty back row as the bone yard that you bump pieces to you are left with a 20 square playing area and something you could call "The Egyptian Royal Game of 20 Squares"

[@ancientgaming4698]

Thank you Philip :)! Indeed the game of Senet is one I can't wait to delve into. The point you make is an interesting one and one worth exploring, it's not the first time I hear an interpretation of Senet in light of a game of 20 squares, I hope I can find more about it when I jump into that video. I do like to think of Senet as the egyptian version of the game of 20 squares, despite the apparent complexity and themes behind it

[@rosarodriguezdelcerro8617]

Great!! Another interesting video!! Games are as old as the humanity..

[@zamorvex]

@@ancientgaming4698 thankyou so much for doing these videos, they are so informative and fun to learn about. im currently trying to learn and memorise hanafuda. but since i dont have the cards im making my own by drawing them on paper and using magic the gathering cards as backs so i can put them in sleeves. it makes shuffling so much easier and reduces the chances of the months stacking from bad shuffles. plus making the cards is so much fun as i love art, very theraputic. mabey one day if im ever lucky enough we can have a game. would be awesome. i hope your have a fantastic day x

[@nicholas1173]

10:14 there actually IS an electronic version. There a program called tabletop simulator and you can play any tabletopthing on it, including this. However only the classic board is on there. Im working on a mod for a 2nd millennium BCE board tho

[@OldBuggaboo]

Oh wow! These are really well done! Have you given any thought to streaming playing some of these ancient games or board games?

[@ancientgaming4698]

Thanks man! :) I actually have been thinking about it, I love doing history videos about them but playing them is something I do really enjoy as well

[@okiedouk]

Fun game

[@petartumbov1214]

I love this game, I want to buy it. However, I ma more keen for the rules of the British Museum then these rules.

[@ancientgaming4698]

You can find the game in amazon for around 50-60 bucks, but if you have the time and resources it is also an easy and fun crafting project! :D

[@danlaurel311]

funny the word backgammon was translated to pokemon instead, that literally threw me off a lot, as to how a digital game like pokemon be akin to an ancient game like this so old that probably most people i know I ask would never know this one, good thing I do have a backgammon game back in the days, so I have quickly catch that up one when I see the board layout in the video lol

[@JoannaJedrzejczyksForehead]

So this is the original game of Sorry.

[@meyo4158]

How could you mark sticks to play

[@bigfrankfraser1391]

i noticed your version of the game of ur has 3 dice, so is it safe to assume you have the first version released by the british museum, as since then they have brought out a newer better version

[@ancientgaming4698]

That is cool! how is the new one? I would like to craft one myself

[@bigfrankfraser1391]

@@ancientgaming4698 the new one is much better quality, and i compared the new one with the old version and honestly its worth getting the new one, even if the differences can feel only slight

[@FabioSpelta]

Thanks mate, great video and very nic channel. subscribed. In the explanation of the rules thoug you forget to say what to do when one rolls four dots. 1=1, 2=2, 3=3, 0=4. But 4 equals to what? Still 4? Thank you very much!

[@ancientgaming4698]

Thank you very nice Fabio :) currently working in the next one! The ruleset I cover in the video only uses 3 tetrahedrons, so it is not possible to roll 4 dots. There are other versions, like the one of Finkel, that use 4 dice. I personally do not like them because they open the possibility of obtaining a 0, thus skipping your turn. There are not historical references that suggest the 4 dice variant was preferred to the 3 dice one (the one in the British Museum has 3 actually), and not having a 0 moves roll makes much more sense mechanically wise

[@Teiwaz787]

Put your board games on a shelf! Bestia! Just kidding. Great content dude 👍

[@ancientgaming4698]

jajajajajaj the day they fall on my head, THAT WILL BE THE DAY

[@gsatchu111]

The game is quite fun right mixture of luck and strategy

[@ancientgaming4698]

and doesn't take too long to play

[@kishascape]

This is my favorite game, unlike senet which has guessed rules the rules for Game of Ur are mostly known with a couple tablets for them found. I have the same board as you and regularly play outside in the desert with friends.

[@haidarahmed1217]

لعبة جدا جميلة تلعب بطرق اربعة وسهلة جدا شكرا لك على هذا الفيديو

[@ancientgaming4698]

thanks to you Haidar :)!

[@haidarahmed1217]

@@ancientgaming4698 ❤️

[@kevinvu5432]

Do you have close captions in english?

[@Catcherinthecorn]

Loved the video. Keep up the good work.

[@ancientgaming4698]

Thank you :) already working on the next one

[@Catcherinthecorn]

@@ancientgaming4698 Glad to hear it

[@kronoscamron7412]

Senet is older tbh.

[@ancientgaming4698]

They are pretty close. As for archeological evidence, Senet is older, as for rules, it is the Royal Game of Ur. I wouldnt be surprised if we keep finding new evidence in the future

[@kevinmorrice]

true, but isnt game of ur is the oldest known boardgame with historically accurate rules