Tom Scott vs Irving Finkel: The Royal Game of Ur | PLAYTHROUGH | International Tabletop Day 2017

this board game is at least four and a half thousand years old and it was played in the Middle East by the Sumerians who probably invented it and the thing is you might think it's so old that is irretrievable to us that we've got no idea what it was like playing it what the rules were like or whether people enjoyed themselves but all sorts of evidence has come to light so that we know how this game was played and we can play it now with a great deal of excitement sometimes it brings out violence sometimes it brings out savagery and have to say that this does occasionally occur so we've decided to bring in a member of the public I can't remember the cat's name I'm Tom Scott I make videos about science technology in the world who's ever played this game before I have never played this game before I'm going to give them a very Swift overview of the world wolf hopefully Marxism and then I'm going to play a course and play very gently at first because I don't want to do it on sick but if I have exciting informations has got the hang of it I'm going to wipe the floor with you that it wouldn't do it all for me to discover these rules and after all it's my game and I work at rich MIDI and so there I have to win so there's not going to be any funny business with some sort of sleight of hand or any of that kind of stuff just follow carefully you'll see who is in superior player right from [Music] I think we have to start there I think shaking her shake that's yet one always Darwin out the urban pet I have to tell you a few things about this game I can afford we start firstly this is a replica I was going to ask otherwise we couldn't even look at it later not snobby a little bit worried about on his foot gloves on that you should do but never mind ok that's the first thing second thing is the original was made in about 2500 BC so four and a half thousand years ago or more yeah very smart object when it was discovered they found pieces and guys and for a long time nobody had any real idea how to play it but they made things up and they made things up and then something interesting turned up which is this thing here this is a clay tablet written in Knable writing is you obviously know this was written in the second century BC so mild afterwards by a Babylonian astronomers whose best friends were Greek astronomers and he wrote this tablet including giving the rules for how to play in his day all that time afterwards so to see the oldest book of rules in the whole world that's one thing second thing is that we can see that in this very late version it's a very complicated game indeed and we're not going to do that now because if I may put it this way you are really to be sneaking a beginner we don't wanna confuse you on the screen that fast so I thought what we would do is start off with the simple straightforward game stripped down to the bare minimum I'm still kind of astonished there is something that all just sitting there is quite remarkable I agree me this tablet was written to explain a complicated version the game that everybody already knew right it's the familiar old game with new rules with betting and things like that in it betting is a drink and winning other interesting matters so they don't tell you here the route because everybody knows that already right however on the basis of this thing itself anybody's played in game like Ludo or anything like that it's pretty obvious that you must be like this you can't be really anything else so if you make that assumption you can make a really good friendly normal game like that but also you can transpose that under these rules and also play the more complicated game okay so what this is is the following it's a Raceway okay you have seven I have a Devon PS so this is your route you come in here you turn the corner go along there you come out there and you come off okay I do obviously the same thing on my side yes and this is the idea you want to get all your pieces a on the board really round the track and see off the end before I do okay what makes it interesting is the following see that here we are at war so if you travel along here harmony and peace will you get a piece on here I have a lucky strolling land on that square you have to come off again and I reso are on that okay next thing is that these squares here give you a second throw and also you are saving this square here so if you sit there no one can land on it or knock you off and if you roll along there you just don't get along go just try to jump over it but you can't land on that square okay why someone bit now you know if are something else have a look people always say they are pyramids but actually are tetrahedrons there's a little triangle based on where basic episode and they have two of the four corners marked with a white blob yes so when you throw four of them it's a random number of white blobs that sticks up and that how you get your score and if you throw four with no white mark then it you lose that there is the other so the thing is this is quite exciting I hope you're braced for it because it's like a window or an antiquity because this is a two-player rate scheme and before chess and before that gammon came in the world everybody played this game it lasted for 3,000 years and for that reason one imagines it must have been a good game and it is a good game and how do we know because you never know who's going to win until the last minute so you can come out here and think you're going to be off the end be the winner the long icon when you start again that's a really excellency and all the games are different they're really exciting so someone who's never played if you fall against someone you say for about forty seven years no disadvantage of Elephant Island it's entirely random it's the roll the die and of course we have to play speaking Sumerian so your throat sounds 0:04 before it once quite a view to pick up as regular dice those all right one two excellent so I start so keep doing with one one stone two places yes okay yes you can subdivide the score now that I don't think 1-1 to ideal bring it oh you'll see so far nothing to get too excited about same magician okay okay no I'm trying to the math snail and work out what the probability of getting each number is because presumably it's more likely three uh now do i yes I put another one on the board because then I'm not into conflict with you yet it's a good of course we're going to do you could if you want to already venture onto the main track and go how to get them all out that Piper strategy I could but then you get even if you get out first takes out got a chance of landing on so this is actually an interesting thing because it's not just a game of luck no restruck Tavares you're absolutely right I said it was completely random earlier yes deities there is a matter of session I kind of went into the sink it was going to be mostly random and it's really not it's it's like backgammon it's like a gate it's like there's a series of strategic decisions it's the kind of game I love because you can explain the rules in five minutes and then there's some actually quite serious decisions you have to make that affect the game and you know thing about example backgammon the everybody plays backgammon today and the balance between luck and control and skill in is about 50/50 yes and this game already had some kind of balance it's not quite the same so backgammon is a kind of better version of this game but never dates at the you've exactly grasp that sunbaes out of like one of my best you decide to do that let's go ahead well the thing about backgammon is that how do you pick those dice up is fiddly the thing I've backgammon is it's made significantly more interesting by the doubling dice yes at the point where you start betting what I can't move that out so okay let's salad they post it all right so I need to get you've got to who can land on I've got to okay so I go here I get another phone all the reject it's one of those that said this is the railing to get it oh I should have moved the other one because another frog is the moment three three unlucky so I can't go here because one's here so I'm going to have to go one two three which in fact if you in a bedroom yep so I need a one now ideally but any numbers good that's a three not ideal nothing will um yalla rosette so let's oh let's keep one two three that one there okay it means you can see I'm got two stones about to hit me too okay I'm going home I hope not taking this personally or anything like that no no I'd be I'd be doing exactly the same thing if I hope you pick up these dice Larry up its formed wasted using for so idly media wanting to be fallen under the rosette and you roll again Oh already Oh master pretty good too gagging on that okay I've got literally only possible move I could I could do with often there isn't any choice since three I'm going to do one two three which puts you well outside where I can possibly do I know if you get a double in Miami so I cut myself off with this earlier I was trying to work out what the mess was why didn't I put another one on the board that um what the mass was on probabilities because you've got you're essentially flipping four coins there yeah so statistically zeros and fours are going to be unlikely and two so going to be most likely I think I'm going to leave this in kind to you uh I can remarry forms but on mathematics is completely out of my week I'm immediately looking at statistics and numbers when I play something like this because I'll write till Tuesday most common thing so I don't want to have my piece there because most likely get knocked off which it appears is are absolutely no match for someone who literally decided it also gave themselves and rather include you discover that my opponent who looks like a fairly civilized person losing fact mathematic be capable because none of my friends can count beyond two hands or fingers I'm among them when I went to school the teacher wrote to my parents in that saying I needed to be sedated before class because I behaved so badly and I'd never been able to count above ten on my own one two three really that was a terrible move I wasn't even thinking on that call 1 2 3 could you get a water or three now I'm in trouble I'll have to do my best and that was really off okay I'm the Mideast all right usually difference between the coloreds clearly yes one guess dull boring gray and the other one darker dull boring gray I was wondering whether that was historically accurate is that just cuz the stones faded over time it's just because they didn't write comments no not a moment for that really very rash move very very soon ah despite making some quite poor moves I am you're getting when I've got quite a lot of luck on the side of the basic scenes I really have one nice work 112 points uncertain lot off the board that is back here isn't it that's one way you can see at school yeah you're playing about an innocent I'm a little over the number of ways you presume Lee know to cheat about this game well you know some actually there are lots of games where if you can treat properly people's minds go easy on me no you mean knocking you off yeah actually I did [Laughter] the moment I'm just seeing what would be appropriate you know because it's not really fair if you can slash through the game in the first thing you know and I think you're cheating or something when actually of course or just being very good at it so I'm all the rosette so I genuinely slightly annoyed you've got easy on me there I realize I'm going to lose probably one of the happiest I want again one let's move that out of immediate now I keep that there alright strategically this is the best square on the board because if I if I come up here you bid for the end yeah anytime I overtake you I'm vulnerable to you knocking me off and behind us the further up you are to be knocked off more irritating alpha Lila bond is definitely on board definitely three I keep looking out despite despite you you know not going easy on me I keep looking out I won't leave you don't I know that this the number of times you roll her have just escaped by the skillet II literally gaze keep one generation yeah you would have wasted technique at this sucker home I'm playing a quiet domestic strategy myself because I don't think would be fair to be violent as one ought to be we in aggressive and shoot for the end of this early stage I'm just testing the mettle of my opponent he's doing well the world for beginning I have confidence did in perhaps a few years he will become bound belt or something to that kind oh right right three young bomb gone off the board here yes you I was real Bahrain's has goes had a contempt contemptible flick of the finger to not although I need to get that down as well in Taiwan let's go on the board right one two three okay I'll put that here so the ball gets quite crowded quite quickly can do I assume that the the numbers are set up non-geographic I'm sitting the numbers are set up so with that inevitably we will move towards the end yes I think you do to do it before your parent reunited that's you yeah that was not wholly they've got what is she's not that is not her right I just flicked it contact your stay off the board mum to moment here let's get that out the range it's unlikely you're going to throw a four or two cues I'm gonna try and get that one home I think sounds like a challenge mm-hm well this isn't looking great charlie on issues about the other two to is I think two of the most likely number to come up there so one cool I'm going to leave that there come on the new p3 no let's get one safe I can do that look wait so I've moved that's the right thing I don't know I could have done three here then the second role but they might have off black yes yeah I think getting them home when you can yeah it's like children always a good idea servings already got one home he's got five on the board and all his opening four spaces are full so he's got to start getting stuff out which I guess is good for me because then I'll be behind him and can take him but I I don't fancy my chances how they list as I mean in a superficially winning position at the moment if you were going to make an early judgment because I've got all those pieces on the board that as my colleague said they're in a brother safe position I read want you to start coming out of that little little hidey hole that you were so what do we got here - doing our taste of coffee we'll hear something like about this board when they found original yes and it was made of wood and all the wood had Lockheed but they could see that they'd been a draw in this thick end where all the Dyson pieces have been kept originally it was stored in a little draw this is also a more yes yeah Marquess but as soon as things you move out I should be able to hit you as soon as you as soon as I move out 1 2 3 testing may not have been a good strategy this is where the three will be predict yelling was that well we will have to give it the extra wiggling under the way in order to see aah laughs actually that's a shame because yeah mmm there's not what you can do with a round it man that's the last thing you wanted if I go there you're going to get one for certain so if I put four I think I'm going to go like yeah one stood idly staid and vulnerable it is it is but I don't want to this is going to sit there for the time being three good I can't live that one off I can't move that one on I can't move a new one on so it's one of these has to move three I might as well take you off the board I would do the same well I think it's time we got insane moving all right change too [Music] [Applause] [Music] Irving is significantly ahead of me now I like it is going to take a lot of luck to pull this back it's possible but this is not looking great yes little piece yes no yes it is right under here yeah yeah in that you have a to bury that is that instead of gives me an idea of an offensive move yes very sensible I hope you're not taking this domination person I'm not variously happen to anyone playing playing against a three one of the Hills right yes I'm gonna move mother I don't know I don't know you are there other are corrected out This Means War I heard that uh-huh I get the feeling it that this might not end well for me now the really good thing about this game is you can never be complacent because just when you think you've got it in the bag bang bang bang and you have to go all over again and I think that's one of the good things about it so you never know you're going to win until you won this is a good message for life no one's actually are led to death playing this game but you have a thank you the first time people have been murdered the chess boards and ungracious losses example - I think canceled five versus three whole degree now looking good specialist definitely amount to I need to get something out go there get the rosette get a little bit because no matter what I roll I can put a little on the board one that'll do oh yeah that's okay sure yes that's I'm sorry to do that now on place I don't need to get anything off yet are Carbajal two three four I think this is that's a death blow right now did the role here yeah successfully on a new big pieces I mean I do want to sort of speak disparaging of your own no no anything like that you that's fine let's put a two there in terms I have to get past me you didn't forget heart you only had a good once though all you have to do is get past those defenses once and with that for you stand a very good chance particular if I then get all there's a three arm could be good for you I don't know it's not looking great ah that one like a yeah sexual - it is it is now the question can you get four can you get past all that because you're not the rola double there's no rossette for you to land on whatever happens one or three engineering one or a 3-1 or a 3-1 or a 3-0 that is a lot of those they don't see one of your kidneys maybe it's not a great technique it's not widely followed your answers generally one to result either I get a for your number and music should be coming in now at any minute any minute the trumpets I will endure for the odds are really really slim because it's probably gonna be a - it's not will be anything on the outsides but I can help I never believed in that I want a four thing because this is a very ancient game and the gods of Mesopotamia who of course used to watch this game in the past if you just said that out loud you wanted before the last thing you would have got it would be a fall so I don't think it's a good idea to irritate them by making that kind of statement you think privately to ourselves you want to fall and then you throw the fall that's the best way or doing clearly come on home oh yeah not bad under pressure under pressure I was going to take a contemptuous as a potential split for that weeding that was morning writing 1 4 1 1 in 16 chance about making I feel better a little bit a little bit 2016 yeah yeah three well it does have this balancing mechanism that if I'm several stones behind then I send a much better chance of knocking yours off the board in x200 unless you put yes what three very found me that one safe that one's safe that one's safe and you've got to move your head because you clean in can you I need you to can I do it no literally audience statistics up it's all very well and good but when it comes to it where does it get you that's my question I never use mathematics or statistics or calculation or anything at all like that because I can't do it so I just hope for the best and I do that because the odds of you throwing a wanna slim and that one's safe huh mmm-hmm but bond like dancing under technique the cooling of the cool what's that that's a trait most important thing what to Charles is the killing now how I'm going to if I not be held to damn it good right this is literally to move hard okay I've just got to now I need to get all the now restart rates before you not lost yeah this is a classic kind of conclusion to that one Facebook get that one out the way three oh I can't move I can't leave that one off that one's blocked by that light was blocked by that all that was bad choices one right this is really this is exactly what I mean substandard ao3 male not good positions women get one of these too oh that's true after you broke out your yeah awful signature throw we glitch and we really need it yep yep two months or two oh well it's all down to this isn't it one or for my past half I think that is almost certainly the game but now faces let's give it a try go if I get force or waste you need three any of the others yep that's a 3-1 oh that's I say let's get that yeah nuptup okay our duck sliders over to join us just a moment you promise put them in each round will be no custody don't graduate like everything they're great it has a great opponent let me say let me think I did not expect a board game from four and a half centuries ago to be that compelling it can't end guy and Clara's like yeah and maybe is it nice age things are really often the conclusion here you can have one there let's get one and one you have to make it 3 & 4 & 3 & 4 & 3 & 4 for ages it works it's okay I don't play this anymore well it's a really good question it's a very good question and what we need is a bit of publicity and some kind of not an electronic form so you think that'd be a good idea and then people all over the world will buy one of these walls from the British Museum and they'll go home and there'll be new domestic happiness excitement not sure lovely domestic happiness if it comes like clubs or bizarre it does always it always thought it's rather extraordinary I'm really glad we had a game together yes marvelous Thank You Malcolm any time you're passing through in the evening and you fancy an average you may have noticed that we were talking about this game using a replica which really looks like the original with dice which look like the original and so forth which is good fun to use this rather exciting well we used to make that replica but actually at the moment we haven't got any more but we are thinking perhaps we should do a new version so that millions of people around the world can enjoy this marvelous game in the correct way in the correct landscape so just as matter of interest if you thought that was a good idea tell us in the comment section

Channel: The British Museum

Views: 2,003,695

Rating: 4.9706759 out of 5

Keywords: British Museum, History, board games, tabletop, day, Tom Scott, Geek and Sundry, Ur, Ancient, Game of, 20 squares, playthrough

Id: WZskjLq040I

Length: 25min 33sec (1533 seconds)

Published: Fri Apr 28 2017

Reddit Comments

[u/Sorael]

Now I want an Ur board.

[u/Mox_Fox]

Wow, I heard of this through Rimworld. Had no idea it was real!

[u/Unsound_M]

"I can't remember the chaps name."
The game isn't even on the table yet and the trash talking is already savage.

[u/mjTheThird]

Who don't want to play 4500 year old board game with a wizard?! And also have an office style interview made into a documentary!?

[u/jartavious]

Auto upvote for Finkel, as he is a priceless character with an amazing knowledge of his subject material.

[u/SamBkamp]

finally Tom Scott getting some love on this sub!

[u/Schaedlich]

I bet Ea-Nasir would frequently cheat at this game!

[u/viettran184]

Somebody needs to make a sport anime out of this

[u/HeyMrBacon]

I swear I watched this here last week. However, its a great watch, so check it out if you havent seen it yet.