Royal Game of Ur: Rules and How to Play
The Royal Game of Ur is a 15-minute race game for 2 from ancient Mesopotamia. Throw four tetrahedral dice, move your seven pieces and bring them all home first. Free in your browser, no sign-up.
Setup
- 2 players. On your own, play against the computer.
- Each player starts with seven pieces in the waiting area. The board has three rows of eight, and the middle row is shared.
How to play
- On your turn, throw four tetrahedral dice. The number of white tips facing up, 0 to 4, is how far you move.
- A waiting piece enters on that square of your column, from the first to the fourth. A piece already on the board moves that many squares forward.
- You may not land on your own piece. A throw of 0, or a throw with no legal move, passes the turn.
- Tapping a piece previews where it lands. Tap it again, tap the target square or press Move to confirm.
Winning and scoring
- Landing on a rosette — the fourth and fourteenth squares of your own column and the eighth in the middle — earns another throw.
- Landing on an opposing piece in the shared column sends that piece back to the waiting area. A piece on the central rosette is safe, so you cannot move onto it.
- Bearing off needs an exact throw. The first player to bring all seven pieces home wins. A player may also resign.
Defaults on this site
| Item | Default on this site |
|---|---|
| Players | 2 players (set automatically by the party size) |
| Turn time limit | None by default (the host can set 30 or 60 seconds) |
| If someone drops mid-game | Reopening on the same device returns you to your seat. If you do not return, the CPU plays in your place. |
| Draws | In ranked play, a draw counts as halfway between a win and a loss for your rating. |
| Source of the rules | Based on the standard reference rules |
Rules supervised by Qdan, Inc. (based on the standard reference rules)
House rules
Defaults follow the standard reference rules. The party can change these.
| Name | Description | Default | Changeable |
|---|---|---|---|
| Swap first player on rematch | Play again switches who moves first. | On | Can be changed |
Terms
- Waiting area
- Where pieces sit before they enter the board. Captured pieces return here.
- Shared column
- The eight squares of the middle row, the only place where both players use the same squares.
- Rosette
- One of the five marked squares. Landing on one earns another throw.
- Central rosette
- The eighth square of the shared column. A piece there cannot be captured and cannot be landed on.
- Exact throw
- The precise number needed to bear a piece off. A larger throw cannot move that piece.
FAQ
What happens on a throw of 0?
Nothing moves, so the turn passes. The throw stays on screen.
What if I land on a rosette?
You throw again straight away.
Can I bear off with a larger throw?
No, the throw has to be exact.
Play now with these rules
Last updated 2026-09-21 · Run by Qdan, Inc.