Gameweave

The Royal Game of Ur

A two-player race game from ancient Mesopotamia, played for more than 4,600 years. Be the first to run all seven of your counters along the track and off the far end.

The board

Twenty squares in an hourglass: a 3×4 block, a 3×2 bridge, and a 3×2 block. Five of the squares carry a rosette.
The middle row of eight squares is shared. The outer rows are private — the top row belongs to Bitumen, the bottom row to Shell, and neither player may enter the other's row.
The two cells in the hourglass gap of your own row are your off-board holders: the left one is your start pile (seven counters at the beginning), the right one is home, where counters land once they have run the track.

The dice

Four tetrahedral dice, each with two of its four corners marked. Throw all four and count the marked corners pointing up:
Marked corners
You may move
0
nothing — the turn is lost
1
1 square
2
2 squares
3
3 squares
4
4 squares
Because each die is effectively a coin, 2 is the commonest throw and 0 and 4 the rarest.

The track

Every counter crosses exactly fourteen squares, and leaves the board on its fifteenth step:
1.
Start — four squares down your own side of the 3×4 block, away from the bridge.
2.
The shared row — turn into the middle row and run all eight of its squares. This is the only ground both players walk.
3.
Finish — turn back onto your own side of the 3×2 block for two squares, then off the board.

Your turn

The first player alternates between games: Shell opens the first game, Bitumen the next, and so on.
Throw the four dice, then move one counter forward by exactly the number of marked corners.
•
Entering needs no special throw. A throw of 2 puts a new counter on the second square of your track.
•
No stacking. You may not land on a square one of your own counters already occupies.
•
Bumping. In the shared row, landing exactly on a square held by your opponent sends their counter back to their start pile. It must run the whole track again.
•
Passing. A throw of 0, or a throw no counter can legally use, ends your turn.

The rosettes

The five rosette squares are the tactical heart of the game.
•
Throw again. Landing exactly on any rosette earns you another throw and another move, immediately.
•
Safe haven. The rosette in the middle of the shared row protects whatever stands on it. An opposing counter cannot be bumped there, and so cannot be landed on at all — the square is closed while it is occupied.

Coming home

Bearing a counter off needs the exact throw. A counter on the last square of your track leaves on a throw of 1; a larger throw cannot move it, and you must find another counter to play or pass.
The first player to bring all seven counters home wins.

Notes on this implementation

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The board is a 3×8 lattice. Columns 4 and 5 of the two outer rows are not board squares — they are the start and home holders, drawn as recessed trays.
•
The Throw the dice control throws all four dice at once; the number of marked corners is shown beside the tray. While your throw is waiting to be spent the control stays on the board, dimmed — hover it, or press and hold, to be reminded why. When a throw cannot be used, a No move — pass control appears in its place.
•
To move, press the square holding the counter you want to run, then press the square it can reach.