Scientists have proposed a possible set of rules for an ancient board game that dates back more than 4,000 years and is among the oldest in the world.

Contribution accepted for publication in Journal of the British Institute of Persian Studies examines a game board discovered in a grave at the Bronze Age site of Shahr-i Sokhta (SiS) in Sistan, southeastern Iran.

The site preserves the remains of an important urban settlement, whose settlement dates back to the second half of the 4th millennium BC. AD to the middle of the 3rd millennium BC nl It is assumed that in this period it was one of the most important settlements in the region.

During an investigation in 1977, an Italian archaeological mission uncovered a wooden game board near the head of a person in the grave. Nearby were carved pieces – 27 in total – and cubes. Game features are assumed to be complete.

Radiocarbon work has shown that the game dates back to approximately 2600-2400 BC. nl This makes it a contemporary of the one example of a royal Ur game held in the British Museum, which comes from Mesopotamia (a historical region centered on present-day Iraq). ) and is considered one of the oldest game boards in the world.

More than 100 similar game boards of a partially similar type, made of various materials such as wood, stone and clay, have been found in the Middle East over a period of two millennia. This highlights their enduring popularity and widespread use in different eras.

Although the plates resemble each other, they have different patterns and show many variations. Archaeologists generally refer to this type of game as a “Game of 20 Squares” or “Game of 20”. The original name of this class of games remains unclear, and different cultures probably referred to them by different terms.

The earliest models are similar to the Ur game, having eight fields/spaces in the middle of the board. But newer versions have 12 squares in the middle. Among all examples, the Ur game shares a close resemblance to the SiS game in terms of board design, and complete sets are known in both cases.

For the latest study, the researchers reconstructed a complete set of the SiS board game to thoroughly analyze the board and each piece. The board is almost identical to the board of the Ur game, although the pattern of the SiS example is slightly different and also includes more figures, suggesting possible variations in the game.

The motif of the SiS plate is a snake biting or putting its head on its tail. The body forms a spiral pattern, delineating 20 squares or spaces.

“The head and tail of the snake are of particular interest because they may have symbolic meaning, such as the end point or direction of the end of the plate,” the study authors wrote in the paper.

While the exact rules of the game of 20 generally remain unknown, researchers have previously proposed some hypothetical rules for one variant—the Ur game.

“Scholars hypothesize that the basic Game of Ur is a racing game where each player has seven pieces of equal value. The main goal of the game is for players to move all of their pieces along a certain path around and off the board in order to score,” the authors wrote .

“The game is won by the first player to score using all of their pieces. However, the established rules for playing the Ur Game differ among different researchers.

SiS seems to be generally in line with this class of games, combining elements of luck and strategy. But no attempt had previously been made to devise a set of rules for the SiS variant.

In the latest study, researchers have reconstructed how the game of SiS might have been played in ancient times by adapting the supposed rules for the Game of Ur with the help of artificial intelligence. They concluded that the SiS variant appears to be a slightly more complex version of the Ur game.

Test surveys conducted with real players comparing SiS to Ur indicated that the game could be learned faster and involved fewer instances of early exit.

In contrast, the SiS game seemed to offer a better balance, with luck playing a less significant role than in the Ur game.

“It’s a more strategic game that makes it less repetitive and gives players more tension and a sense of accomplishment,” the authors said.

“Also, in SiS, the three parts of the game make more sense. Overall, SiS is a bit more advanced than Ur, but Ur is simpler and easier to spread within the community than SiS.” game.”

The latest study has the potential to reshape our understanding of ancient Near Eastern board games and opens new avenues for future discussions, but many questions remain.

“Overall, our understanding of any ancient board games, even the 20 Board Game, remains incomplete,” the authors wrote.