Royal Game of Ur

How to play

The 4,500-year-old Mesopotamian race game. Each side runs seven pieces along its track — up your own row, along the shared middle lane, and off the far end — and the first to bear off all seven wins.

Each turn you throw four binary dice for 0–4 pips (tap ROLL), then move one piece that far; a throw of 0 or one with no legal move passes the turn. Landing on an opponent's piece in the shared lane sends it back to start.

The five flowered ROSETTE squares are special: land on one and you throw again, and the central rosette is safe — a piece there can't be captured. Bearing a piece off needs an exact throw.

Ways to play

• 🤖
  Against the computerPlay on one device against a computer opponent.
• 👪
  Play together, nearbyOne-on-one with someone in the same room, each on your own phone or tablet. No Wi-Fi or internet needed. In the Jambolaya app.
• 🎓
  Learn by playingA guided lesson on the real game teaches you the rules one step at a time.