The 5,000-year-old Royal Game of UR!

Nearly 100 years ago, a British archeologist uncovered four game boards in the digs at the ancient city of Ur. These remain the oldest such sets ever found, and for decades researchers speculated on how the game might have been played. A popular rule set was published around 1970 by game historian R.C. Bell which became the standard for the reconstructed game. Then around 1990, Irving Finkel, a curator at the British Museum, was translating an ancient manuscript from Mesopotamia. He realized that part of the document related the rules to a game remarkably similar to those unearthed in the 1920s. His hunch proved true, and the Royal Game of Ur now had actual rules to follow! In this video, the R.C. Bell ruleset is explained. It's the most popular still today. The rules discovered by Dr. Finkel are quite complex, filled with references to ancient deities and giving pieces and spaces different powers within the game. The details can be found online if you like, but the rules by Bell are a lot more fun. Purchase a copy of UR today! https://newventuregames.com/products/... ...OR the DELUXE version: https://newventuregames.com/products/... Thanks for watching! As usual, please leave us your comments, questions, or suggestions. Be sure to subscribe to discover more about games and gaming, and visit my other NewVenture links: https://www.NewVentureGames.com   / newventuregames   See it on BGG: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/1...