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The Game of Ur or "Royal Game of Ur" is one of the oldest games in history. It is a board chase game in the style of Parcheesi, Goose, and many other games.
The rules of this game are completely unknown, but we do know the rules of the game that was used around the year 177-176 BC in Babylon, where a tablet with cuneiform writing was discovered and with a board very similar to this one where the instructions were explained.
The British archaeologist Sir Leonard Woolley found several boards during excavations around 1920 in the city of Ur,
capital of the Sumerians in lower Mesopotamia, present-day Iraq. These boards are estimated to have been created 4,500 years ago and it is believed that they were placed in tombs so that the souls of the dead could have entertainment.
On all the boards found, squares decorated with rosettes appear, all following the same pattern. There are even boards that only have some spaces decorated with rosettes and the rest are empty.
This has raised the question of whether there were different rules of the games, whether these rosettes had any special meaning or whether the other images were merely decorative, but the most accepted theories are inclined to think that they did have some value.
The meaning of the rosettes has also been debated, they could be boxes to avoid, perhaps boxes that sent you back to start, or they could mean a fine of money, also, it has been suggested that they are safe boxes, like Parcheesi and this is stated in the instructions of the Royal Game of Ur of Ancient Games.
As the rules of the game are not clear, our game has been compiling the most widespread rules and those that make the game the most dynamic and fun.
One of these boards is preserved in the British Museum in London. It was made of wood inlaid with shell, lazulite and red limestone set in tar or pitch.
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