---
title: "The Royal Game of Ur - Play online for free"
description: "Play the Royal Game of Ur, one of the oldest board games in the world, online for free. Roll the dice, land on rosettes and race friends or bots home."
canonical_url: "https://game-circle.de/games/royal-game-of-ur"
locale: en
meta:
  author: GameCircle
  keywords: "Games, Online, Multiplayer, Browser Games"
  "og:description": "Play the Royal Game of Ur, one of the oldest board games in the world, online for free. Roll the dice, land on rosettes and race friends or bots home."
  "og:title": "The Royal Game of Ur - Play online for free"
---

> Index of every page on this site: [llms.txt](https://game-circle.de/llms.txt)

# **The Royal Game of Ur**

One of the oldest board games in the world, right in your browser. Roll the dice, land on rosettes and send your opponent's pieces back to the start. Play for free against friends or the bot.

2 - 2 Players

Bots available

**Open Lobbies**

Loading lobbies...

## **Leaderboard**

| Rank | Player | Rating | Games | Win Rate |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |

No entries yet.

## **How long should the game be?**

The classic game uses seven pieces per side. With fewer pieces a round is over quickly, great for a short break or for learning.

**Over 4,500 years old**

## **A game from the royal cemetery**

Leonard Woolley found the board in the 1920s in the royal tombs of Ur in what is now Iraq. We know the rules from a Babylonian clay tablet that Irving Finkel of the British Museum deciphered. This version follows his rules.

**Engine Support**

### **Play against bots**

Challenge strong bots and improve your gameplay. Adjust the bot strength to your level!

- ![bot]()

  **bot****Easy****Medium****Hard**

## **How the game works**

A race with dice. The first to get all pieces across the board and off it wins.

1. **2****1**### **Rolling**

   You roll four small pyramids. Each shows a marked or a plain tip on top. The marked tips count, so you move 0 to 4 squares.
2. StartHomeStartHome**2**### **Enter and move**

   A new piece starts on your own lane and then runs through the middle row. You can't land on a square with one of your own pieces.
3. StartHomeStartHome**3**### **Capture**

   Both sides share the squares of the middle row. Land on an opponent's piece there and it has to go back to the start.
4. StartHomeStartHome**4**### **Rosettes**

   Land on a rosette and you roll again right away. The rosette in the middle is also safe, nobody gets captured there.
5. StartHomeStartHome**5**### **Going home**

   At the end every piece runs back onto your own lane and leaves the board. You need exactly the right number for that.
6. StartHomeStartHome**6**### **Winning**

   The first player to bring all pieces home wins the game.

## **Not every number is equally likely**

Four dice with two sides each make 16 combinations. Only one of them is a 0 and only one a 4, but six add up to a 2. That's why two squares in front of an opponent's piece is the most dangerous place to stand.

**37.5 %**

**0****1****2****3****4**

*Chance of each roll*

Chance of each roll

| 0 | 6.3 % |
| --- | --- |
| 1 | 25 % |
| 2 | 37.5 % |
| 3 | 25 % |
| 4 | 6.3 % |

## **Three tips to get started**

### **Hold the center**

The central rosette is safe and blocks your opponent's way. A piece there is often worth more than a quick step forward.

### **Mind the distance**

Two squares in front of an opponent's piece is the most dangerous spot. Four squares ahead it only hits you with one of 16 combinations.

### **Don't bet on a single piece**

With several pieces on the board you have more options after every roll and are forced into bad moves less often.

## **What you can do here**

### **Play the bot**

Three levels. The hard bot works out how likely a capture is.

### **Time control**

With or without a clock, from bullet to relaxed.

### **Move list**

Every roll and every move is recorded. Use the arrow keys to go through the game again.

### **Finkel's rules**

You play by Irving Finkel's reconstruction, the best known version today.

### **Spectate**

Follow running games live.

### **Rated games**

Rated games count for the leaderboard. Or just play for fun with friends.

### **Chat**

Talk to your opponent during the game.

### **Invite friends**

Create a lobby and send the link. That's all it takes.

## Sitemap

See the full [sitemap](https://game-circle.de/sitemap.md) for all pages.