This game has been called the oldest game in history, dating back over 5,000 years. That’s probably not true, but it is very ancient. Remarkably, a version of the rules has been found that is almost as old as the gameboards that have been discovered. The two players use coins of stick dice to determine the movement of their pieces around a path on the board. Ending a turn on an opposing piece send them back to start, and there are safe spaces and extra-turn spaces, depending on which interpretation of the rules you wish to follow. The Royal Game of Ur is considered the “grandfather of backgammon” – which may not be really accurate, but it is in the same family of historic games.
This game can be played by 2 players ages 8 and up. One game of Royal Game of Ur takes about 20 Minutes to play.
