Ur Game

[saharda]

Here's something of direct practical use. My wife got me the royal game of Ur for my birthday. Unfortunately there is more than one mode of play and the rules are badly written.

[saharda]

The rules as we understand them are as such. . .

Who moves first:
Each player starts with seven pieces and four dice

Dice are rolled to see who goes first (four sided dice with pips on half of the corners.) the person who rolls the highest goes first. Ties are settled by re rolling.

The player who goes first rolls their dice to see how fat they can go. They place a piece as many places as they roll. One pip means that they can place only, two pips means that they can place and move once etc. The place each player places is the center of their side. That is their square one. Pieces are placed dots up when they enter the board.

Dots up means that the piece can be moved again. If two pieces are on the board and one is dots up and the other is dots down the player who owns those pieces must either move the one with dots up or place a new piece. If the player can do neither he can't move that turn.

When a dots up piece is moved it is turned dots down. Only dots up pieces can be moved, and when all pieces of one color are dots down they are reset to dots up.

Players can move forwards (towards the other player) diagonally forwards or sideways. They can't move back or double back. (Left forward and then right is doubling back.) If a player moves a piece to a location where the opponent has a piece they take that piece off of the board and give it back to the opponent. Pieces that are on the little resets are not able to be taken like this.

The goal is to get ones pieces to the other side of the board into the opponent's start square. The first player to get all seven pieces to there opponent's start wins.

We suspect, but aren't sure that the players aren't allowed to move their pieces sideways near the opponent's goal.

We got those rules from reading the instructions and then going on line to the Oriental institute web page to figure out what the instructions left out.

There's also another mode of play where key places are gone for and the number of pieces used is different. This set of rules is less clear and we only have guesses on how it is played.

[waradmarduk]

Where did you get that set from? I have the British Museum set and the rules from there are based on Assyrian ones found on a tablet. The game I know is like backgammon where you bring pieces on the board and have to go through the shared centre of the board to take them off the other end. You can only move one way. If you want I can dig the game out and forward the instructions, can't do now reeeally busy.

[saharda]

Oriental institute of Chicago. I am reading the rules from the British museum now and I can see that the way that the rules are described are completely different. We were piecing the game together based upon the descriptions that the oriental institute gave in two different sets of instructions with no diagrams. The way we were playing it there was a lot more strategy involved in just how the pieces were moved. We weren't even close it looks like.

I might keep the rules as an alternate way to play, but I want to get the other modes of play down first. It was a really challenging way to play, and my wife has won exactly as many games as I have at this point. (I beat her regularly at go, ceega, and most other strategy games. To the point that it is like pulling teeth to get anyone to play me.)

[saharda]

My wife just told me that the rules we have are based off of a british museum version and a tablet found since then. She also says that parker brothers made a set of rules. There are also incomplete rules that incorporate the zodiac, but it's less clear whether the new tablet clarifies that method of play.

The rules we were using are a combination (the wrong combination) of several of the versions as the sets don't say which rules go to which version.

[madness]

It might be worth checking out:

Harold J. R. Murray
A History of Board-Games Other Than Chess
ISBN 0198274017

Irving L. Finkel
Ancient Board Games in Perspective
ISBN 0714111538

For their take on the game of Ur (plus many other ancient games).

[madness]

Andrea Becker concludes in 'The Royal Game of Ur' in Irving L. Finkel's Ancient Board Games in Perspective that the game board was used for divinatory purposes, rather than as a race game.

Of the five game boards (three complete and the halves of two more) found in the Royal Cemetery of Ur, plus one found at Shahr-i Sokhta in Iran, each have little in common and have their own individual style. Their differences mean that deducing any kind of game rules from them is not without difficulty. Becker decides instead to compare the boards to the popular divinatory method of examining a sheep's liver.

This method involves examining, on average, twenty parts of the liver. Clay liver-models were made, not only for the purpose of training young diviners in the art but also to record the results from an actual liver. The questions and answers in a liver-divination were

arranged symmetrically along a central axis, counting not only the single unit (i.e. each answer) but also the sum of answers on each side. When the outcome of a divination was abstracted into positive and negative, the result was an artificial grid of plus and minus, producing a 'body' of 4 x 3 or 5 x 3 and a kind of 'neck'.

Ancient Board Games in Perspective, p. 13

This produces a form that resembles the game board. There happens to have been an object discovered during the excavations at Kamid el-Loz (Lebanon), being a crude, red-painted liver model, with the Game of Twenty Squares incised on one side.

img529.imageshack.us/my.php?image=28my2.jpg
Fig. 2.8 Clay object combining a game board and liver model (KL 70:700); after Meyer 1982: Abb. 5.1.

It is also not a coincidence that three of the five graves with gaming boards also contained saws. The saw is the symbol of Shamash, whose number is 20, and is the lord of divination.

[us4-he2-gal2]

Nice work Madness! Yes indeed the Ur Game hum.. This is really an un-expected line of inquiry, not only that someone should focus so intensely on an obscure aspect of Mesopotamian culture (the best kind of focus there is), but that the game may turn out to be something completely different then had been assumed. WOnderful ;] An early divination piece, maybe we could consider it the most ancient of ancient forerunners to the weegie board?

[madness]

Irving Finkel, in 'On the Rules for the Royal Game of Ur' in Ancient Board Games in Perspective, rejects the idea that the game board was used for divination: "On the contrary, the known distribution and occurence of twenty-square grids throughout the ancient Near East (and elsewhere) points overwhelmingly to its primary use as a game board played for entertainment." He proposes a set of rules for the game based on a first-millenium tablet.

This unusual tablet laying in the ruins of Babylon was found in 1880. It was then taken to the British Museum and is now known as BM 33333B. This tablet, composed on 3 November 177-176 BC by the Babylonian scribe Itti-Marduk-balāţu, contains the rules for the Game of Twenty Squares.

A similar tablet was also found, dating several centuries earlier than BM 33333B. Unfortunately, the tablet was stored in a photographer's studio at the outbreak of the First World War - both studio and tablet were destroyed. A photograph of the tablet had survived, however, and was copied and published by Jean Bottéro. This second tablet allowed the obverse of BM 33333B to be restored.


BM 33333B


Obverse

I	Pegasus	One who sits in a tavern
II	Aries	A beer vat(?) will turn away
III	Pleiades/Taurus	I will pour out the dregs for you
IV	Gemini	You will find a friend
V	Cancer	You will stand in exalted places
VI	Leo	You will be powerful like a lion
VII	Virgo	You will go up the path
VIII	Libra	Like one who weighs up silver
IX	Scorpius	You will draw fine beer
X	Sagittarius	You will cross the ditch
XI	Capricornus	Like one who owns a herd
XII	Aquarius	You will cut meat

Reverse

COLUMN I

1 UD.GAL bird: shining piece(?)
2 Raven: shining piece(?)
3 [Rooster]: shining piece(?)
4 [Eagle]: shining piece(?)
5 [Swallow]: 'lazy' piece(?)
6 Five flying gaming pieces
--------------------
7 An ox astragal, a sheep astragal,
8 two (that each) move the pieces
--------------------
9 If the astragals score 2,
10 the Swallow sits at the head of a rosette (or: at the first rosette).
11 Should it (then) land on a rosette, a woman will love those who linger in a tavern;
12 regarding their pack, well-being falls to them.
13 If it does not land on a rosette, a woman will reject
14 those who linger in a tavern; regarding their pack,
15 as a group well-being will not fall to them.
--------------------
16 If the astragals score 5,
17 the Storm-bird sits at the fifth house.
18 Should it (then) land on a rosette, there will be enough food for the pack.
19 If it does not land on a rosette, starvation for the pack.
--------------------
20 If the astragals score 6,
21 the Raven sits in the sixth house. Should it (then) land on a rosette,
22 there will be enough food for the pack. If it does not land on a rosette, starvation for the pack.
--------------------

COLUMN II

23 If the astragals score 7,
24 the Rooster sits in the seventh house.
25 Should it (then) land on a rosette, there will be an abundance(?) of fine beer for the pack.
26 If it does not land on a rosette,
27 [there will be a deficiency of] fine beer for the pack.
--------------------
28 If the astragals score 10,
29 the Eagle sits in the tenth house.
30 Should it (then) land on a [rosette], their pack
31 will eat its fill [of meat].
32 If it does not land on a rosette, there will be a deficiency of meat.
--------------------
33 Written, checked and collated [against its original],
34 Iddin-Bēl, son of Murānu,
35 [descendant of ...]. Handwriting of Itti-Marduk-balāţu.
36 [He who fears B]ēl and Bēltiya,
37 [Nabû(?), Tashmēt]u and Nanaya of Ezida,
38 must not efface the handwriting!
39 [Babylon; m]onth of Arahsamnu, 3rd day,
40 [Year 13]5 of Seleucus the King.


The UD.GAL bird in line 1 is later translated as 'Storm-bird' as in line 17.

On line 7-8 the text tells us that two astragals are used as dice. Sheep astragals were commonly used as dice in antiquity, however the usage of an ox astragal here is unexpected, as it is simply not practical to use it as a die, being much larger than that of a sheep. Finkel suggests that the reason for the ox astragal is that it can be used as a 'double-or-quits' die.


Finkel offers his best idea as to how the game is played:


Fig. 3.5 The route of play.

Playing the Game of Twenty Squares
To conclude, it is appropriate to offer some remarks as to how this race game for two players could have been played in the first millennium BC, applying the preceding interpretation of the rules tablet to the board plan in use at that time.

A THE ROUTE
As suggested at the outset of this article, it may be proposed that the route is that represented in Fig. 3.5, although it must be clearly stated that there is no evidence on the point.

B EQUIPMENT
1 Board with later lay-out showing a central run of twelve squares.
2 Five different pieces for each player, each inscribed or otherwise marked to represent the Swallow, the Storm-bird, the Raven, the Rooster and the Eagle.
3 One four-sided die, with the faces marked 1, 2, 3 and 4.
4 One four-sided die, with two faces marked 'yes' and two 'no'.
5 Twenty-five counters for each player.

C GOAL
The goal is to enter all five pieces onto the board according to the required throws, and negotiate them round the track and off the end. The opponent's pieces are to be knocked off whenever possible. In order to win the maximum number of counters, pieces are to be landed on a rosette wherever possible.

D PLAYING THE GAME
1 Both players put ten counters into the Pool. The numbered die is thrown, and the player with the higher score takes 'white' and plays first.
2 Taking alternate turns the players try to launch their pieces on the board. A throw of 2 from the die launches the Swallow, which probably first enters at 4, a rosette square, understanding the rule as referring to 'the first rosette', although possibly on re-entry it could be placed on the square before any chosen rosette square (as discussed above). To launch the other pieces, 5, 6, 7 or 10 must be thrown for the Storm-bird, Raven, Rooster and Eagle respectively. This is achieved by throwing the four-sided die to produce a primary score of 1, 2, 3 or 4. The 'yes'/'no' die is then thrown. If 'yes' turns up, the score from the first die is converted as follows: 1 = 5, 2 = 6, 3 = 7 and 4 = 10. This will allow another piece to be entered, starting from squares 5, 6, 7 or 10 respectively. If the 'no' face turns up, the throw is lost.
3 Pieces must be entered in the correct order on the track, but once on can be moved off on a subsequent throw before the others are entered, to prevent being knocked off by the opponent's newly-entered piece using the same starting square.
4 As the pieces move round, throws of the numbered die are used, converted if required by the 'double-or-quits' die, in order to negotiate the pieces onto the rosettes while en route. If this is accomplished, counters are won from the Pool each time to the value of the piece concerned, i.e. 3 for the Swallow, 4 for the Storm-bird, Raven and Rooster, and 5 for the Eagle.
5 Moves must always be made if there is space. If a piece is forced to pass over a rosette without landing on it the corresponding number of counters must be paid into the Pool.
6 A piece landing on a square occupied by the opponent knocks off that piece, which must start the route over again after throwing the specific starting throw needed.
7 Pieces on a rosette square are safe from being knocked off. Perhaps two of a player's men can share a square and immunity from capture.
8 Exact throws are needed to move the pieces off the end.
9 A penalty may be exacted by the winner for each of his opponent's pieces that are still on the board after he has got all his pieces home.

Ancient Board Games in Perspective, pp. 26-27

[us4-he2-gal2]

Wonderful reading Madness! I applaud especialy your determination and follow-through - to buy a book such as "n Ancient Board Games in Perspective," is an impressive statement. It says theres nothing we can't learn and know about I think ;] Its also very pleasing to read Finkel's work on this, as I had long labeled the Ur Game as something that would never be explained!

Finkel also is no stranger to divination, the man who handles the liver on you-tube, and writes what is almost a singular work on Mesopotamian Necromancy - if he states the game is not a thing of divination im inclined to side with him. In addition, his translation of the tablet dealing with the game of 20 squares, and particularly his interpretation of the significance of the rosettes in those instructions in relation to the rosettes on the board seem quite convincing.

You have dug rare up from the dust of academia here Madness

[adante]

Play the game online. Very similar to backgammon from what I can see. Who knows, may have been the forerunner to the game.

www.mesopotamia.co.uk/tombs/challenge/cha_set.html

[saharda]

May 18, 2008 5:34:22 GMT -5 us4-he2-gal2 said:

Nice work Madness! Yes indeed the Ur Game hum.. This is really an un-expected line of inquiry, not only that someone should focus so intensely on an obscure aspect of Mesopotamian culture (the best kind of focus there is), but that the game may turn out to be something completely different then had been assumed. WOnderful ;] An early divination piece, maybe we could consider it the most ancient of ancient forerunners to the weegie board?

Not so obscure really. It could be used for divination. There were several forms of the game. The board was so easy to construct that we have versions carved into the sides of statues.

As a method of divination I should point out a general philosophy behind divination that was common in many parts of the world. If the gods are everywhere and behind everything then their will can be made known in every aspect of reality. By learning the connections between the will of the divine and seemingly random aspects of the mundane world we can learn to predict the future. These relations are commonly called portends.

By analyzing animal entrails we see a distinct connection between the health of the entrails and the predictable future of the nation. We do this today, but call it something different. It is no longer a portend but a symptomatic indicator.

[saharda]

""On the contrary, the known distribution and occurence of twenty-square grids throughout the ancient Near East (and elsewhere) points overwhelmingly to its primary use as a game board played for entertainment." He proposes a set of rules for the game based on a first-millenium tablet."

An important counter argument is that the Mesopotamian loved to have many differing forms of divination and that the board had many different games played upon it. (As is evidenced by the fact that there are differing common forms of the board among other things.) Think about the chess board. You can play chess on it, checkers, shogi, and several other games. the Go board (another game I adore) is likewise versatile. Decks of cards are perhaps the best parallel. Think about how many games you can play with a standard deck of cards.

[us4-he2-gal2]

Irving Finkel on Israeli National News

www.israelnationalnews.com/Radio/News.aspx/1904

With thanks to Sasson and AGADE: Keeper of the Babylonian Section of the British Museum, Irving Finkel, appears on an the Israeli National News internet radio station to talk about Sumerology and in particular, about new findings of his about the Ur Game. Finkel is a very animated and of course learned scholar and to me a fascinating character - we have benefited at enenuru from his rare understandings of divination ad especially necromancy (see here the necromancy thread). Of course his interest and insight into the intriguing game of Ur is demonstrated in the posts above on this same thread - the primary topic of his radio discussion is to discuss how a near survival of the Ur Game has been found among Jewish peoples from India, still being played today! (thus Israeli News is interested).

To listen to Finkel, click the link above - a page at isrealnationalnews.com will load. I have been unable to listen to this file live or in streaming mode, if you also have this problem, click the DOWN ARROW which is immediately next to the read "PART 1 - LISTEN NOW" text. This file is 16 megs.

7:00 mins: Finkel starts talking
7:00 - 31:00 mins: Finkel talks about Sumerology and Cuneiform
31:00 Finkel talks about the Ur game.

[enkur]

Well the common playing cards derive from the divinatory tarot cards - they could be used for both divination and play, so why not this interesting 20-squared system to have been used for both purposes?

[af]

Hi all
Recently I've made a copy of the Ur game. It's very interesting, but I'm still not sure about the rules. The rules I use are the compilation of many versions.





I use 14 pieces and 3 dices, each dice with 2 marked corners. Dice are rolled to see who goes first, the person who rolls the highest goes first. The aim is to get all 7 pieces to the finish point. I use this route.



Players throw the dices by turn. When a piece lands on a rosette (flower), a player gets extra turn.
0 marked corners = miss a go
1 marked corner = move 1 square
2 marked corners = 2 squares
3 marked corners = 3 squares

Enter the board at any number, if the first square is free. Exact throws are needed to get pieces off the board.
A piece landing on a square with enemy piece sends it to the river (and this piece needs to start the route again).

[us4-he2-gal2]

Af:



Your version of the Ur game looks fantastic! A hand made replica of the Royal game of Ur - how many of those are there in the world today? I can't figure out how you've made the different squares match each other so well, each rosette for example is the same and perfect. Perhaps the use of a stamp?

I'm also wondering how the dice work I suppose they are just like modern dice but 4 sided. Both the dice and the game pieces are great - look just like they do in the picture of the game that was dug up!

[/url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Royal_game_of_Ur,at_the_British_Museum.jpg]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Royal_game_of_Ur,at_the_British_Museum.jpg[/url]


In any case if your are stuck on some problem about the rules you can ask here - Madness seems to understand the game quite well or at least has access to some great notes on the thing. This is definitely a great example of enthusiast art - it's as rare and eccentric as a Frank tablet! Maybe we can add it to enenuru.net art section?

[af]

Bill, I used very thin brush, that's why the images match each other so well, without stamps.
It is a good idea to add it to enenuru art section!
Dices are really 4-sided and have the shape of tetrahedron. Every time you throw the dice, it can only fall in such way, that only one of its corners may be on top.

[sheshki]

I totally agree, its a wonderful work, Af, and yes, this should go into the Enenuru art section. That reminds me that Enkurs pictures also need to be added. Will do in the next days. Af, send some pictures please...the ones you want to be online (e-mail adress is in the profile section).