Play the Royal Game of Ur online

Shadow & Lamp is a free online version of the Royal Game of Ur, also called the Game of Twenty Squares. It's one of the oldest board games known: boards about 4,500 years old were found in the Royal Cemetery at Ur, in today's Iraq. Here it's staged as a shadow-puppet play, with a ram and a lion like the animals on the Standard of Ur.

Play against the computer at three levels, or send a friend a link and play together in real time. There's nothing to download and no account to make, and it works on phones, tablets and computers.

How to play the Royal Game of Ur

1. Each player has seven pieces. The goal is to move all of them along your path and off the board before your opponent does.
2. Roll four pyramid dice. Each die has two of its four tips marked; count the marked tips pointing up. You'll roll 0 to 4, with 2 the most likely.
3. Move one piece that many squares: four on your own row, eight along the shared middle row, then two back on your own row and off. Removing a piece needs an exact roll.
4. Landing on an opponent's piece in the middle row sends it back to the start. You can't land on your own pieces.
5. Rosettes (the flower squares) give you another roll. The rosette in the middle row is also safe: a piece there can't be captured.

Tips to win

• Hold the middle rosette. It's safe, it gives an extra roll, and it blocks your opponent from landing there.
• Don't sit just ahead of an enemy piece. One to three squares ahead is where you're most likely to be hit, since rolls of 1, 2 and 3 are the most common.
• Use extra rolls to chain moves. Landing on a rosette and then moving a second piece to safety is a strong turn.
• Keep a piece ready to enter. Having new pieces on your private row gives you options when a roll doesn't fit your leaders.

Questions

Is Shadow & Lamp free?

Yes. It's free to play, with no ads and no sign-up.

Which rules does it use?

The popular modern rules reconstructed by Irving Finkel of the British Museum, based on a cuneiform tablet: seven pieces each, four binary dice, extra turns on rosettes and a safe central rosette.

Can I play against the computer?

Yes. Easy is carefree, Normal plays safe and loves rosettes, and Expert weighs every possible roll two turns ahead.

How do I play with a friend?

Choose "Play a friend" to get a link. When your friend opens it, they take the other troupe.

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