Play the Royal Game of Ur Online

Mesopotamia, about 2600 BCE

This is the oldest board game we have real rules for, and it still plays great. It's a race game with a mean streak. You roll, you run, and you knock your opponent back to the start when you can.

A game takes about ten minutes. You can play the AI right now or send a room link to a friend.

Play Royal Game of Ur now, it's free

How to play Royal Game of Ur

  1. Each player has 7 pieces that start off the board. The board has 20 squares, and 5 of them are rosettes.
  2. Roll four pyramid-shaped dice and count the marked tips facing up. That gives you 0 to 4. A 0 means you lose your turn.
  3. Move one piece forward by the number you rolled. You can't land on your own piece.
  4. Land on an opponent and their piece goes back to the start. Pieces sitting on a rosette are safe.
  5. Landing on a rosette also gives you another roll.
  6. You need the exact number to bear a piece off. First to get all 7 off wins.

Want every detail? Read the full Royal Game of Ur rules.

A little history

In the 1920s Sir Leonard Woolley dug up the Royal Cemetery of Ur in what is now Iraq. He found several game boards buried around 2600 BCE, and the best known one sits in the British Museum today.

Nobody knew the rules until 1980, when British Museum curator Irving Finkel read a Babylonian clay tablet from 177 BCE. A scribe named Itti-Marduk-balatu had written them down.

There's more on the history page.

Strategy that actually helps

The middle rosette is the best square on the board. It's on the shared lane, it's safe, and it gives you another roll. If you can park a piece there and leave it, do it. Your opponent has to run past it every time.

Two is the most common roll, it comes up a little over a third of the time. So a piece sitting two squares in front of an enemy piece is in real danger, and a piece four squares away is mostly fine. Count before you move.

Don't rush one piece home while the rest sit at the start. Getting two or three pieces onto the board early gives you choices, and choices are what win this game.

Royal Game of Ur FAQ

Is the Royal Game of Ur free to play here?

Yes. You can play the AI or a friend in your browser without paying anything. Premium is optional and only adds cosmetics and extras.

How long does a game of Ur take?

Usually around ten minutes. Games against the AI can go faster once you know the board.

Is it pure luck?

No. The dice decide how far you can move, but you pick which piece moves, and that choice matters a lot. Better players win most of the time over a few games.

Are these the real ancient rules?

They follow Irving Finkel's reading of the 177 BCE tablet, which is the standard modern version. Nobody can be completely sure how it was played in 2600 BCE, so a few details are best guesses.

Ready to play?

Play the AI at your own level, make a private room for a friend, or hit Quick Match. It all runs in your browser on ancientboardgames.io.

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