Game of Ur
£69.00
Sold
Introducing the Oakes & Oakes Game of Ur. Which has been renamed Needle Eye. One of the oldest games ever to be discovered, after Senet.
Stripping back the design, the board has been handmade from solid oak and walnut wood complimented by circular Totems. Seven walnut and seven oak hand embellished with red and blue painted pips.
Replacing the rosette symbols seen on the ancient boards, this set draws inspiration from the Sumerian Goddess, Star of Ishtar. Branded by hand these squares symbolise safety for the Totem that lands on it. Also granting the player another role of the dice.
There are two variations of this set. One with Oak squares branded with the Star of Ishtar (this set), and vice versa with Walnut (see last photograph with the bags). This set maybe found in the Oakes & Oakes shop.
As wood is a natural material textures and colours will vary from the product photographed. Please note that branding of the Star of Ishtar is produced by hand, these impressions will also vary slightly.
Each set is accompanied by an Oakes & Oakes storage bag made from 100% cotton.
Contents
1 x Oak & Walnut board measures 24 x 9 x 2.5 cm
1 x Oak Totems (red pips)
1 x Walnut Totems (blue pips)
3 x Pyramidal dice
1 x Oakes & Oakes how to play
1 x large cotton bag
1 x small cotton bag
Watch Tom Scott vs Irving Finkel - https://youtu.be/WZskjLq040I to get an idea of one way of playing the game. The Oakes & Oakes rules vary slightly however it can be played whichever way the players prefer!
Some history behind the Royal Game of Ur
Between 1922 & 1934 the English archaeologist Sir Leonard Woolley unearthed a game board during his excavations in a tomb at the Royal Cemetery of Ur. The city of Ur was an important Sumerian city-state in Mesopotamia, which is located near Nasiriyah in southern Iraq.
This game board dated between 2600-2400 BCE is now on display at the British Museum & has become commonly known as the Royal Game of Ur or the Game of 20 squares. Rules have been hypothesised by H.J.R Murray, Robert Charles Bell & most recently or most famously by Irving Finkel. The boards found in Ur were accompanied by small round counters, each with five dots on them, seven light and seven dark. Also found were six pyramidal dice each with two dots on the two of the four corners. The game was popular across the Middle East as boards have been found in Iran, Syria, Egypt, Lebanon, Sri Lanka, Cyprus and Crete. Although boards with various patterns have been found, the only consistent factor has been that five of the squares on the board have rosettes inscribed on them & the consensus has been that these squares have a special significance.
Oakes & Oakes has renamed the game, designed a new play field pattern & counters. Select rules from the different theories on how to play have been collected. Our version of the Royal game of Ur is now called Needle Eye.
Free first class tracked royal mail postage.
Stripping back the design, the board has been handmade from solid oak and walnut wood complimented by circular Totems. Seven walnut and seven oak hand embellished with red and blue painted pips.
Replacing the rosette symbols seen on the ancient boards, this set draws inspiration from the Sumerian Goddess, Star of Ishtar. Branded by hand these squares symbolise safety for the Totem that lands on it. Also granting the player another role of the dice.
There are two variations of this set. One with Oak squares branded with the Star of Ishtar (this set), and vice versa with Walnut (see last photograph with the bags). This set maybe found in the Oakes & Oakes shop.
As wood is a natural material textures and colours will vary from the product photographed. Please note that branding of the Star of Ishtar is produced by hand, these impressions will also vary slightly.
Each set is accompanied by an Oakes & Oakes storage bag made from 100% cotton.
Contents
1 x Oak & Walnut board measures 24 x 9 x 2.5 cm
1 x Oak Totems (red pips)
1 x Walnut Totems (blue pips)
3 x Pyramidal dice
1 x Oakes & Oakes how to play
1 x large cotton bag
1 x small cotton bag
Watch Tom Scott vs Irving Finkel - https://youtu.be/WZskjLq040I to get an idea of one way of playing the game. The Oakes & Oakes rules vary slightly however it can be played whichever way the players prefer!
Some history behind the Royal Game of Ur
Between 1922 & 1934 the English archaeologist Sir Leonard Woolley unearthed a game board during his excavations in a tomb at the Royal Cemetery of Ur. The city of Ur was an important Sumerian city-state in Mesopotamia, which is located near Nasiriyah in southern Iraq.
This game board dated between 2600-2400 BCE is now on display at the British Museum & has become commonly known as the Royal Game of Ur or the Game of 20 squares. Rules have been hypothesised by H.J.R Murray, Robert Charles Bell & most recently or most famously by Irving Finkel. The boards found in Ur were accompanied by small round counters, each with five dots on them, seven light and seven dark. Also found were six pyramidal dice each with two dots on the two of the four corners. The game was popular across the Middle East as boards have been found in Iran, Syria, Egypt, Lebanon, Sri Lanka, Cyprus and Crete. Although boards with various patterns have been found, the only consistent factor has been that five of the squares on the board have rosettes inscribed on them & the consensus has been that these squares have a special significance.
Oakes & Oakes has renamed the game, designed a new play field pattern & counters. Select rules from the different theories on how to play have been collected. Our version of the Royal game of Ur is now called Needle Eye.
Free first class tracked royal mail postage.
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