Twenty squares
A race over twenty squares
Two players, seven pieces each, and four throwing sticks instead of dice. Your pieces come in on your own side, run the middle lane you share with your opponent, and leave at the end of the path. No Egyptian rules have come down to us, so what you play here is a modern reconstruction, with its sources on the rules page.
How would you like to play?
Against the computer
Three levels, from beginner to expert.
- OnlineA random opponent at your level, or a private room for a friend.
- Two players, one deviceYou and a friend on the same screen, taking turns.
- The journeyTwelve stages, each with its own opponent and challenge.
- Today's puzzleA set position and known throws: find the way to win.
- Interactive lessonLearn the rules step by step by playing them.
In a minute
- 1Each player has 7 pieces waiting off the board.
- 2Throw 4 sticks: the throw is the number of light faces, from 0 to 4, and a 0 moves nothing.
- 3In the middle lane you can hit an enemy piece and send it back off the board; landing on a mark earns another throw.
- 4The first to bear every piece off the end of the path wins.
Your record
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Board
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About the rules
No Egyptian text explaining the rules of twenty squares has survived. What you play here is a modern reconstruction: the race, the capture in the shared lane and the extra throw on a mark are today's common reconstruction for the Royal Game of Ur, set on the Egyptian board. Each of the four ways to play has its source on the rules page.