Royal Game of Ur
The Royal Game of Ur is one of the oldest board games known, first found in royal graves in ancient Mesopotamia. Each player sends seven pieces along a winding course and tries to get every one of them off the far end first.
Dice drive the pace, but your choice of which piece to move matters just as much. This version follows the modern reconstructed rules. You can face the computer on three levels or a friend on the same screen, in an ordinary browser tab.
How to play Royal Game of Ur
Your seven pieces wait in a Start tray. Their route is 14 squares long: four private squares at the beginning, eight in a shared middle row, and two more private squares at the end. Only the middle row is where the two sides meet.
Press Roll dice to throw four dice that add up to anything from 0 to 4. Then move one piece that many squares, picking a piece already in play or bringing in a fresh one from Start. Every legal option lights up. You cannot land on your own piece.
Landing on an enemy piece in the shared row sends it back to its tray. Squares marked with a rosette give an extra roll and protect the piece standing on them. Pieces bear off only with an exact count, and the first player with all seven home wins.
Controls
| Action | Keyboard | Mouse | Touch |
|---|---|---|---|
| Roll | Tab to Roll dice, Enter | Click Roll dice | Tap Roll dice |
| Move a piece | Tab or arrows to a highlighted piece or Start slot, Enter | Click a highlighted piece or the Start slot | Tap a highlighted piece or the Start slot |
| Pick color and opponent | — | Choose black or white and a level, New game | Choose black or white and a level, New game |
| Undo or resign | — | Undo or Resign buttons | Undo or Resign buttons |
Tips
- Fight for the central rosette, the strongest square on the board. A piece there is safe, keeps your opponent off it and earns you extra rolls.
- Rival pieces up to three squares behind yours can strike on their next roll, with a gap of two being the most dangerous. Move threatened pieces first.
- Small rolls like 1 are often best spent bringing a fresh piece onto your private squares.
- Pieces waiting just before the shared row act like guards. They can jump on enemy pieces that pass by, so do not hurry them along.
- Since leaving the board needs an exact count, spread your front pieces at different distances from the exit.
If you like Royal Game of Ur, try these
SenetAncient race games pair well, and this Egyptian track uses thrown sticks and special houses that help or hurt.
BackgammonDice racing with hits that send pieces back shows up here as well, along with bearing off all fifteen checkers.
Questions
What can you roll in the Royal Game of Ur?
You throw four dice that each score 0 or 1, so the sum ranges between 0 and 4 squares. Two is the result you will see most often.
What does a rosette do in the Royal Game of Ur?
Landing on a rosette gives you another roll, and the piece on it cannot be captured. The middle rosette also sits in the shared row, which makes it especially valuable.
Does the Royal Game of Ur computer get harder?
Yes. Each of the three levels plays more carefully, and Hard also works out the odds of each open piece getting hit before choosing.
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