This is truly beautiful to see a game a never knew existed that is being played thousands of years after its existence. The makers of this game perhaps never realised how this game carried on throught history.
That was really really enjoyable! The game looks like something I would actually like to play, and that board you made is really something special. I've only found this channel, I think I'll stick around and see what other ancient games you recreate.
I stumbled across this game on RUclips today. What a game! I believe I've become addicted in just 20 minutes of watching. Now to make the board and find some buttons....
Very Neat! How long did it actually take to play the full game? (also did you make the dice too? I guess one can just take some d4s and paint them black with a white corner) It is odd that the board is so decorated but only certain spots do something. I wonder if there's some rules we've missed for those somewhere that just weren't recorded. And what is the complicated version of the game like? I watched the Tom Scott vs Irving Finkel (he's such an awesome character, isn't he?!) video and they mentioned a complicated version too but didn't go into it either.
We 3D printed the dice but yea you can take generic d4s and just paint them :). I need to do some more reading more on Irving Finkel's interpretation about the complicated one but it's all fortune telling spiritual stuff. Looks a bit crazy!
Congratulations on your win, Raven! Had time to catch up on a few fun things for today...only THIS is educational and fun! Loved it! But I think Geert got short changed! Because when you do the movie review videos, you have FOOD! Food related to the subject matter even! I'm sure you could suss out what people noshed on while they played these games! It would add another dimension. (And Geert deserves food too!)
Super cool! Thanks for putting in all the time and effort, I really enjoyed the building process and gameplay 😁. I think it'd be fun if you made a Senet board next, and came up with a theory/play what you think the original rules were!
@@DigItWithRaven I have a theory that all of the proposed rules are wrong, and that you enter the board from the heiroglyphic squares (bottom right rather than top right), and the goal is to reach the top-left of the board (ascension into the afterlife) rather than the bottom. If you look at King Tut's board, the heiroglyphs are facing right, which means you read the heiroglyphs from right to left... therefore maybe you also move your pieces from right to left. And also the reason the Ankh square is rotated is to convey unambiguously that you go through the Ankh square from the top of the Ankh to the bottom of the Ankh? (so left to right, not right to left.) This all is assuming that the orientation of the heiroglyphs are related to the direction of play. Anyhow this is just my BS hunch, I just wonder if there's anything to it. I don't have access to the information that serious egyptologists have, so they could have a really good reason for why they believe the rules are as they are. I also think the winning condition is maybe hinted at in the mural at Nefertari's tomb. Because she's a Queen, she is presented in the best possible light, and therefore she has potentially won the game in the mural. With her pieces all the way to the top-left side of the board from the viewer's vantage point? However I don't have any concrete rules of how to play (and I doubt we ever will since it's a mystery... much harder to figure out than 20-squares for sure.) I would guess maybe that landing on the Nefer square automatically promotes you to the Ankh square in this new version? I dunno. I wonder if it's even a race at all, but perhaps an asymmetric game where someone is trying to pass into the afterlife, and another is trying to test their worthiness by making the journey more difficult? That could fit into egyptian religious teachings, and be a way for the parents to teach their kids about their beliefs via fun and games.
The board looks very cool, damn I wish I had a laser cutter, lol. Also I kind of disagree with Finkel's path here since I think the true path will always have 3 squares between each 4th Rosette square (so that it's mathematically possible to enter and exit the board in a single turn by rolling consecutive 4s.) This is true of the later boards, including Egyptian Aseb, with the single channel, and I can imagine that particular board design evolved in order to be a little simpler to understand.
Am I missing something at the very end she said she needed two or three I thought only a three would win it for her don’t you have to have exact number????
It is a very old fashioned roll and move game, but it was actually quite fun! I can imagine it would be even more fun with betting and drinking involved, though!
Watch the rest of our Ancient Games Series here:
ruclips.net/p/PLckdsYfo5EkfHNIQI_Ux2BkNOcaILAiiA
As a board game nerd and a history nerd, I very much enjoy this series
As a board game nerd and a history nerd and a co-host, I very much enjoy this comment!
Ahh thanks! We worked so hard in it but it was so fun to make and play
@@DigItWithRaven it turned out amazing! I hope you guys make more episodes!
This is truly beautiful to see a game a never knew existed that is being played thousands of years after its existence. The makers of this game perhaps never realised how this game carried on throught history.
Thanks for bring this up I am from Iraq sumerian and we play this game alot
The game was giving me mancala vibes! I'm behind in the series so now on to the next video #bingeworthyseries
We definitely want to make a mancala board in the future! Glad you're liking the content!
I bought this game, it’s amazing! So fun. I’m actually a gaming board nerd. One of my college paper was on the ancient game it’s amazing
That was really really enjoyable! The game looks like something I would actually like to play, and that board you made is really something special.
I've only found this channel, I think I'll stick around and see what other ancient games you recreate.
Love this!! Looking forward to seeing the rest of the series!
Yaaay thanks! We're working hard on the next ones
I stumbled across this game on RUclips today. What a game! I believe I've become addicted in just 20 minutes of watching. Now to make the board and find some buttons....
Very Neat! How long did it actually take to play the full game? (also did you make the dice too? I guess one can just take some d4s and paint them black with a white corner)
It is odd that the board is so decorated but only certain spots do something. I wonder if there's some rules we've missed for those somewhere that just weren't recorded.
And what is the complicated version of the game like? I watched the Tom Scott vs Irving Finkel (he's such an awesome character, isn't he?!) video and they mentioned a complicated version too but didn't go into it either.
We 3D printed the dice but yea you can take generic d4s and just paint them :).
I need to do some more reading more on Irving Finkel's interpretation about the complicated one but it's all fortune telling spiritual stuff. Looks a bit crazy!
Oh and it took about 40 minutes to play the game all the way through 😊
@@DigItWithRaven did you get tired of the dice rolling at all? Seems like there's a heck of a lot of it! :)
Congratulations on your win, Raven! Had time to catch up on a few fun things for today...only THIS is educational and fun! Loved it! But I think Geert got short changed! Because when you do the movie review videos, you have FOOD! Food related to the subject matter even! I'm sure you could suss out what people noshed on while they played these games! It would add another dimension. (And Geert deserves food too!)
😅 Geert saw this and is now demanding game snacks! I'll see what I can do!
Look forward to seeing that! (Message to Geert: Got your back, bro!)
Beautiful board by the way.
Super cool! Thanks for putting in all the time and effort, I really enjoyed the building process and gameplay 😁. I think it'd be fun if you made a Senet board next, and came up with a theory/play what you think the original rules were!
Senet is the next one!! We've made the board, now it's just a matter of picking the best rules possible because some are so complicated!
@@DigItWithRaven I have a theory that all of the proposed rules are wrong, and that you enter the board from the heiroglyphic squares (bottom right rather than top right), and the goal is to reach the top-left of the board (ascension into the afterlife) rather than the bottom. If you look at King Tut's board, the heiroglyphs are facing right, which means you read the heiroglyphs from right to left... therefore maybe you also move your pieces from right to left. And also the reason the Ankh square is rotated is to convey unambiguously that you go through the Ankh square from the top of the Ankh to the bottom of the Ankh? (so left to right, not right to left.) This all is assuming that the orientation of the heiroglyphs are related to the direction of play. Anyhow this is just my BS hunch, I just wonder if there's anything to it. I don't have access to the information that serious egyptologists have, so they could have a really good reason for why they believe the rules are as they are.
I also think the winning condition is maybe hinted at in the mural at Nefertari's tomb. Because she's a Queen, she is presented in the best possible light, and therefore she has potentially won the game in the mural. With her pieces all the way to the top-left side of the board from the viewer's vantage point?
However I don't have any concrete rules of how to play (and I doubt we ever will since it's a mystery... much harder to figure out than 20-squares for sure.) I would guess maybe that landing on the Nefer square automatically promotes you to the Ankh square in this new version? I dunno. I wonder if it's even a race at all, but perhaps an asymmetric game where someone is trying to pass into the afterlife, and another is trying to test their worthiness by making the journey more difficult? That could fit into egyptian religious teachings, and be a way for the parents to teach their kids about their beliefs via fun and games.
Man that was awesome! Totally reminded me of Ludo. Can't wait to see what comes next!
Glad you liked it!! We're working on the next one now: Senet!
Very cool! I can't wait to see more games!
Thanks! We're working on the next one now
I love this game.
This looks like so much fun
It was! I definitely will be playing this regularly
Watch how we made the game here: ruclips.net/video/X9amlC17jyI/видео.html
This is very similar to backgammon, on cafes in Egypt everyone plays it too, it's either backgammon or dominoes the tile game.
wow the board really looks beautiful! Great video :D
Awesome job!!👏🏻❤️ Now I really want to play it!
I’m curious: how long did it take to play it all the way through?
Glad you liked it 😊! It was super fun and only took about 40 minutes to play all the way through
Dig It With Raven Oh nice! That's not bad at all! Much better than Monopoly!🤣
The oldest game in the world is: I'll show you mine if you me yours. 2nd - strip Ur. No directions needed.
The board looks very cool, damn I wish I had a laser cutter, lol. Also I kind of disagree with Finkel's path here since I think the true path will always have 3 squares between each 4th Rosette square (so that it's mathematically possible to enter and exit the board in a single turn by rolling consecutive 4s.) This is true of the later boards, including Egyptian Aseb, with the single channel, and I can imagine that particular board design evolved in order to be a little simpler to understand.
Am I missing something at the very end she said she needed two or three I thought only a three would win it for her don’t you have to have exact number????
THANKYOU...
3 out 4 Sumerians enjoy playing this game.
I need a 3D printer!!!!
They're waaaay too much fun! Haha
I'm starting to love the laser cutter too, despite its smell
Great looking piece, but the game itself seems rather boring. I suppose it would require some kind of betting or drinking mechanic attached to it.
It is a very old fashioned roll and move game, but it was actually quite fun! I can imagine it would be even more fun with betting and drinking involved, though!
@@DigItWithRaven I suppose, much like modern games played in pubs.
Exactly!
Her naem URUK not Ur
URUK IRAK