Ancient Games, Duodecim Scripta and Tabula

13/11/14

Today we played and discussed Duodecim Scripta, the game of twelve lines or twelve marks. At the start of the game the board is empty, the players then put their pieces onto the board by rolls of three dice and move them across the board and remove them. The goal of the game is to remove all of your fifteen pieces from the board first. Players can choose to move their pieces by the roll of each individual dice roll with three separate pieces moved or move one piece with the combined dice rolls. The players rely on luck rather than skill to progress faster in the game, although some skill in the movement of the pieces would be an advantage. This however is made pointless due to the stacking mechanic in the game, in which a player can stack their pieces up. This gives the pieces stacked power over any stacks with lesser pieces than itself, making it more power and being able to walk over the opponent with ease.

When I played the game I simply aloud my opponent to get a few pieces off the board and then stacked my entire army of pieces and took all of his pieces before he could reach the end, it made it very easy to win the game. Perhaps a limit on the amount of pieces a player is able to stack would make the game more balanced and enjoyable, although it was fun dominating the game play.

We also played Tabula which is referred to as an improved Duodecim Scripta. It came about after Duodecim Scripta started to become less popular among the Romans. Tabula is considered the precursor to the modern day backgammon. The players goal is to remove all of their pieces from the board first. Pieces are placed on the board and move along it in a certain way. The rules were reconstructed by Louis Becq Fourquieres from an epigram described by a student in Asia named Agathias of Mygrine. Overtime Tabula became popular through out Europe and has been enjoyed since the middle ages.