HOW TO PLAY UR

The Royal Game of Ur

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GOAL

Race your 7 pieces from start to finish before your opponent.

HOW TO PLAY

Roll the dice, select a piece, and move it forward along the path.

WIN CONDITION

First player to move all 7 pieces off the board wins.

FULL RULES

Reconstruction
1

Setup

Each player starts with 7 pieces off the board. The board has 20 squares arranged in a distinctive shape with private lanes for each player and a shared middle row.

2

Turn Order

On your turn: (1) Roll the four pyramid dice, (2) Count the marked tips (0-4), (3) Move one piece that many spaces, (4) If you rolled 0, your turn is skipped.

3

Movement

Pieces enter from your private starting area, travel through your lane, cross the shared middle row, and exit through your end zone. You need an exact roll to bear off a piece.

4

Captures

In the shared middle row, if you land on an opponent's piece, it is captured and sent back to start. You cannot capture pieces on rosette squares.

5

Safe Zones

Your private lanes (start and end zones) are safe - only your pieces can occupy them.

6

Rosettes

Landing on a rosette (star) square grants an extra turn. The center rosette in the shared row also provides protection from capture.

7

Victory

The first player to bear off all 7 pieces wins the game.

HISTORICAL VARIANTS

Dramatization

Finkel Rules

British Museum interpretation

The standard rules as deciphered by Irving Finkel from ancient Babylonian tablets.

Speed Ur

Tournament version

Faster gameplay with automatic dice rolls and a time limit per move.

Corrupted Mode

Museum OS variant

Glitched rules with random events. The AI may occasionally 'cheat' - part of the lore.

Play UR