20 Squares
(É Er-bé-et-ta, Iseb, Aseb, Game of Twenty, Twenty Squares, Room Four)DLP Game
PeriodAncient
RegionNorthern Africa, Southern Asia, Western Asia
CategoryBoard, Race, Escape
Description
20 Squares appears for the first time at the beginning of the second millennium BCE. It seems to be derived originally from the the Royal Game of Ur, becoming particularly popular in Iran, the Levant, Egypt, and Cyprus in addition to Mesopotamia during the Late Bronze Age (1700–1050 BCE), and continued being played in Mesopotamia into the Seleucid period, at least until the second century BCE. It may have been called É Er-bé-et-ta, "Room Four," which is mentioned in cuneiform tablets.
Rules
3x4 grid with an extension of eight spaces along the central row. Played with two knucklebones, one small and one large. Five or seven pieces per player.
109 pieces of evidence in total. Browse all evidence for 20 Squares here.
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Sources
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