The 5,000-year-old Royal Game of UR!
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- Опубліковано 6 чер 2022
- Nearly 100 years ago, a British archeologist uncovered four game boards in the digs at the ancient city of Ur. These remain the oldest such sets ever found, and for decades researchers speculated on how the game might have been played. A popular rule set was published around 1970 by game historian R.C. Bell which became the standard for the reconstructed game.
Then around 1990, Irving Finkel, a curator at the British Museum, was translating an ancient manuscript from Mesopotamia. He realized that part of the document related the rules to a game remarkably similar to those unearthed in the 1920s. His hunch proved true, and the Royal Game of Ur now had actual rules to follow!
In this video, the R.C. Bell ruleset is explained. It's the most popular still today. The rules discovered by Dr. Finkel are quite complex, filled with references to ancient deities and giving pieces and spaces different powers within the game. The details can be found online if you like, but the rules by Bell are a lot more fun.
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This story is so interesting. Finding the physical board and all the pieces is amazing on it's own-- but what's even more fascinating is how the rules were found on a tablet. I mean, the rule book is the first thing that's lost or thrown away when it comes to any board game.
And I'm glad it did. I always saw this game in mesopotamia books in school and wished the rules were known. This finkle man is a hero
The most feasible explanation is they did put money on the table.
Those rules are a little more confusing compared to Irving's. I like Irving's better. After all he was the one who translated it.
What if pieces land on the same square? That would be some Pile up
@@tonymaurice4157
Much like backgammon, if the game piece lands on your opponent's piece their piece is removed from the board and has to start over.
I have been playing the RGoU for several years with both novices and experienced players. What I particularly like is that there truly are no "original rules" (Finkel's set were written 2 thousand years after the first known game). This affords interpretations and modifications to the commonly accepted rules and doing so allows the game to be played by experienced players whose opponents may even be young children. I play this with my grandchildren where movement of pieces are only blocked but not removed. We also sometimes play with only three pieces each to keep the game short and quick. Likewise, strategies can be very cutthroat and opportunistic and various aspects of gambling and scorekeeping can be employed.
This is our go to game.
BTW I do like your peg design as a means to enable play in the backseat during road trips.
Cheers
"House Rules Apply" is the by-word for these ancient games. Thanks for sharing your own variations!
@chalakmhammad6754 respectfully, friend, I'm not understanding your comment. Please expand. I am interested to learn more of your perspective.
@@wayne00k He's saying that with most Ancient game such as this, that use of "house rules' are very important component to the game, and getting the most enjoyment out of them. Especially when it comes to games where the rules aren't really completely known or can have be interpreted in many ways.
Or in other words these games are most fun and enjoyable when you customize the rules, for example like how you sometimes play with three pegs and/or pegs are only blocked and are not removed.
Hopefully that helps clear things up! (Oh and just in case, "By-word" is a word or expression summarizing a thing's characteristics or a person's principles.
For example: “Small is beautiful” may be the byword for most couturiers"
@@Aevilbeast thanks for your comment - but I was actually responding to someone whose comment has been deleted since.
But I think we remaining are all in agreement - cheers
Many say the original dice lot had four dice that would output zero or one each of them.
That means chances are: 1/16 for zeroes, 4/16 for ones, 6/16 for twos, 4/16 for threes and 1/16 for fours.
A single four sided dice has equal chances for each possible result, which is 25%. Let alone the lack of one possible result.
So, that four dice lot cannot in anyways be replaced by a single four sided dice.
You are very correct. The newer "deluxe" version of Ur that we produce includes stick dice. I do hope to offer tetrahedral binaries in our catalog someday as well. Thanks for visiting!
Yea after watching the rules it's too complicated for people to follow. I like Irving's better. YOU make the choice , not the dice.
You kind of look like Mr Irving 👍
I discovered this ancient board game from a video game I played. Characters in the video game were playing it, and by searching I landed on your video! Thank you for the interpretation!
Glad you enjoyed it. Hope you come back often!
Rimworld?
@@JoaoVitor-vj9kk yes!!
Great video! Where can i find these games to buy
The last link in the show notes will connect you to the Red Hen store. There they are!
@@DavidMMcCord cheers mate
Check out Irving Frinkel's version of the royal game of Ur youtube video. If he doesn't match your image of the perfect British Museum Antiquarian then you need to get your imagination checked.
Oh yeah - I'm a huge fan of Mr. Finkel! I have a couple of his books and subscribe to the British Museum's UA-cam channel just to catch his spots!
So you have to roll a 2 , not a 1, just to get on the board?
This is an interpretation of the rules proposed by R.C. Bell, adapted to the modern 4-sided die. There are many variations available on line if you'd like to try other rulesets for the game.
Dr. Jones?
😁
who the fook came up with these non sens rules and how??? xdddd and what about the 0? 🤔
You are correct about the Null role of the dice. This, and the varying odds of rolling certain outcomes can only occur when using the original, four tetrahedral dice.