The Royal Game of Ur was developed by lead programmer Kylie Gilde, and was released on Steam on Monday April 8th, 2024! The store page is live on Steam, you can download this game for free from the Ur store page!
Check out our free assignment templates for how to use this game in your class, below under Educational Resources!
Read more about the game on the following posts:
Educational Resources
Educational Resources and teaching templates will be available here. Check back!
Lesson Plans:
- Ur – Lesson Plan 1 – Object Biographies: Random number generators between humans, gods, and prophecy. (Age: College Level Assignment)
- Ur – Lesson Plan 2 – Royal Game of Ur: Serious games in mobile contexts. (Age: College Level Assignment)
- Ur – Lesson Plan 3 – Myth and Gaming (Age: High school +)
- Ur – Lesson Plan 4 – Materiality and Art (Age: Middle school +)
Historical Sources:
- “Enmerkar and the lord of Aratta: translation.” https://etcsl.orinst.ox.ac.uk/section1/tr1823.htm
- “Representing the Argonautica.” https://readux.io/collection/argonautica/
- “What is the Story of Jason and the Golden Fleece?” from https://www.theoi.com/articles/what-is-the-story-of-jason-and-the-golden-fleece/
- “Wen-Amun,” from https://www.livius.org/articles/person/wen-amun/
- Bendlin, Andreas (Erfurt) and Hurschmann, Rolf (Hamburg), “Board games”, in Brill’s New Pauly, Antiquity volumes edited by: Hubet Cancik and Helmuth Schneider, English Edition by: Christine F. Salazar, Classical Tradition volumes edited by: Manfred Landfester, English Edition by: Francis G. Gentry. First published online: 2006. First print edition: 9789004122598, 20110510
- British Museum. Collection webpage for Royal Game of Ur, game-board. The British Museum collection #120834. Available at: https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/W_1928-1009-378 Accessed on [10/2021].
- Finkel, Irving L. 2007. “On the Rules for the Royal Games of Ur,” in Irving L. Finkel (ed.) Ancient Board Games in Perspective. Papers from the 1990 British Museum Colloquium, with additional contributions London: British Museum Press, p 22-32.
- Katz, Dina. “Ups and Downs in the Career of Enmerkar king of Uruk.” In: O. Drewnowska and M. Sandowicz (eds.) Fortune and Misfortune in the Ancient Near East. Proceedings of the 60th RAI at Warsaw, 21-25 2014. Pp. 201-210. https://www.academia.edu/30993506/Ups_and_Downs_in_the_Career_of_Enmerkar_king_of_Uruk
- Kurke, Leslie. 1999. “Ancient Greek Board Games and How to Play Them.” Classical Philology 94.3: 247-267.
- Winand, Jean. 2011. “The Report of Wenamun. A Journey in Ancient Egyptian Literature,” in Ramesside Studies in Honour of K. A. Kitchen. https://www.academia.edu/14114304/The_Report_of_Wenanum_A_Journey_in_Ancient_Egyptian_Literature
About the Game Ur
The Royal Game of Ur, also known as Twenty Squares, has a history that stretches over five millennia! Its earliest boards date back to 2500 BCE and examples have been found across the Mediterranean. This game is a 3D computer gameplay experience that takes you into the ancient world. The game board, pieces, and dice are 3D reconstructions of actual ancient examples from museums. This historical game is harder than it looks!
This is a race game: speed is of the essence! It brings to a board game the ultimate skill for the merchants, traders, bandits and pirates who drove their fleets and caravans around the ancient world. The goal is to get your counters from start to finish around the board, before your opponent does.
Prove your strategic skill! How will you play out your strategies: do you want to put all of your pieces on the board at once, or focus on moving a single piece along? With a good throw of the dice, would you rather move your own counter ahead, or take one of your competitor’s off the board? Watch out, this game was used for ancient divination: you may see a glimpse of your future as you play!
Project Team:
- Kylie Gilde – Lead Programmer, Freelance Programmer
- Dr. Sandra Blakely – Project Director, Emory University, Department of Classics
- Dr. Joanna C. Mundy – Project Manager, Digital Projects Specialist, Emory Center for Digital Scholarship
- Kevin Dressel – Technical Architect, Shiny Dolphin Games LLC
- Dr. Joy Li – Game Development Collaborator, Kennesaw State University, Assistant Professor of Computer Game Design and Development
- Craig Brasco – Visual Interface Collaborator and Illustrator, Kennesaw State University, Assistant Professor of Art | Graphic Communications
- Evie Wang Edmundson – Freelance Composer and Producer
- David Herrod – Student Game Design and Programmer, Kennesaw State University (2020)
- Josh Winston – Trailer, Digital Scholarship Associate, Emory Center for Digital Scholarship
Thank you to the ECDS students and volunteer Michael Burcham for testing.
