HEAD TO HEAD
Royal Game of Ur vs Senet
c. 2600 BC
ERA
c. 3100 BC – 400 AD
Mesopotamia
ORIGIN
Ancient Egypt
2 players
PLAYERS
2 players
Board, dice, 14 tokens
EQUIPMENT
Board, pawns, sticks
20-square board
PLAYING AREA
3 × 10 grid board
15–30 min
DURATION
varies
None
GOVERNING BODY
None
No
OLYMPIC
No
Different Similar
ROYAL GAME OF UR IN ONE LINE
The Royal Game of Ur is an ancient Mesopotamian race board game played by two players. Players roll tetrahedral dice to race seven pawns along a twenty-square board, capturing opponent pieces and landing on safe rosette squares.
SENET IN ONE LINE
Senet is an ancient Egyptian grid board game played by two players moving pieces according to casting sticks. Because exact original rules were lost, modern play relies on scholarly reconstructions of its race-style mechanics.