A 3D board in the browser
The original board from the British Museum, rebuilt in 3D. Orbit, zoom and play on any phone or laptop, without a download.
Our work · Royal Board of Ur
The Royal Game of Ur. 4,600 years old, now in 3D in your browser.
The oldest board game with surviving rules, brought back to life. We built Royal Board of Ur: free to play, no download or account, against friends or against a computer that has worked out the entire game.
- 4,600year old game
- 4rule sets
- 3Din your browser
- 100%mathematically solved
Mathematically solved
The game is 100% mathematically solved.
We calculated every possible position of the Royal Game of Ur, down to the very last one. For every situation on the board we know the exact chance of winning and the best move. So at the highest level the computer always plays perfectly. Still win? The dice were on your side. Lose? You learned from a flawless opponent.
Play the perfect opponentWhat is the Royal Game of Ur?
The Royal Game of Ur is a two player race game from ancient Mesopotamia. The oldest boards date from around 2600 to 2400 BC, which makes it one of the oldest board games in the world, and the oldest one whose rules have survived.
Sir Leonard Woolley excavated the Royal Cemetery at Ur, in present day Iraq, between 1922 and 1934. He found five boards of the same type, one of which is now in the British Museum in London. The game spread across the ancient Near East: boards have been found from Egypt to Sri Lanka, and similar boards were even buried with Tutankhamun.
We know the rules thanks to Irving Finkel of the British Museum. In the early 1980s he translated a clay tablet from around 177 BC, written by the Babylonian scribe Itti-Marduk-balāṭu. From it he reconstructed the rules most people play today.
The rules in short
- 01
The goal
Be the first to move all 7 of your pieces across the board and off it. Each player follows their own 14 square route, sharing a battle zone in the middle.
- 02
The dice
You roll 4 pyramid shaped dice, each with two marked tips. The number of marked tips facing up is how many squares you move: 0 to 4.
- 03
Capturing
Land on an opponent's piece in the middle row and it goes back to the start.
- 04
Rosettes
Land on a rosette and you roll again. The central rosette is safe: you cannot be captured there.
- 05
Bearing off
To take a piece off the board you need the exact roll.
(OS) Built by OneStone
What we built
Royal Board of Ur shows what we do for clients too: turn an idea into a fast, beautiful and smart web application that people enjoy using.
A mathematically solved game
Four levels, from beginner to unbeatable. For the top level every possible position has been calculated, so the computer always picks the best move.
Online play with friends
Private rooms with a code or invite link, plus a leaderboard. Sign in without a password, using a passkey or Google.
Four rule sets
Finkel (classic), Masters (tournament), Blitz (fast and risky) and Anunnaki Protocol, a wild reimagining of the game.
Multilingual and findable
Guides, strategy, history and dice odds in several languages, so players also find the game through Google.
Fast and ad free
Lightweight, served fast worldwide, without ads and without a required account.
Good to know.
Can I play the Royal Game of Ur online for free?
Yes. On royalboardofur.com you play free in 3D in your browser, without a download, account or ads. Against the computer, against a friend on the same screen, or online.
How old is the Royal Game of Ur?
The oldest boards are around 4,600 years old and date from 2600 to 2400 BC, from the Royal Cemetery at Ur in present day Iraq.
How many pieces and dice do you need?
Each player has 7 pieces. You roll 4 pyramid shaped dice, which together show 0 to 4.
Has the Royal Game of Ur been solved?
Yes, in Royal Board of Ur it has. We solved the entire game mathematically: the exact chance of winning is calculated for every possible position. The computer at the highest level therefore always picks the perfect move. Only the luck of the dice remains.
Can OneStone build something like this for my business?
Yes. Whether it is a game, a configurator, a client portal or a smart tool: we first build a free prototype, so you see what it becomes before you decide.
An idea that needs to land just as well?
We build apps, tools and websites that people love to use. You first get a free prototype or preview, within 72 hours.
