Ludus Latrunculorum was one of the ancient Roman's favorite strategy games. There are no definite rules that have been discovered, so I cover three of my favorite variations of rules that have been developed by historians. And I take a look at how scholars react when someone disagrees with their findings.
Free Ludus Latrunculorum board PDF: www.thegamingbench.com
Ludus Latrunculorum build video: https://youtu.be/oQ2qQ-yxYzY
PHOTO CREDITS
Inscripción honoraria romana depositada en el Museo Arqueológico nacional en MadridCC BY-SA 4.0
Caligatus
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Caligatus
MUSIC CREDITS
Master of the Feast by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1400019
Artist: http://incompetech.com/
Brandenburg Concerto No4-1 BWV1049 - Classical Whimsical by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1100303
Artist: http://incompetech.com/
REFERENCES
Publications
Bell, R.C. Board and Table Games from Many Civilizations, Dover Publications, 1979
Parlett, David. Parlett’s History of Board Games. Echo Point Books & Media, 2018
Salamallah the Corpulent. Medieval Games. Raymond’s Quiet Press, 1982
McCord, David. Peg Pastimes – 40+ Historic Strategy Games from Around the World. Red Hen LLC, 2022
Atkins, Robert Wayne. Ancient Board Games and Solitaire Games from Around the World. Grandpappy, Inc. 2018
Pritchard, David. The Family Book of Games. Brockhampton Press, 1995
Kowalski, Wladyslaw Jan. “Board Games of the Ancient World.” Art and Culture Magazine August 2004
Austin, R.G. “Roman Board Games.” Greece & Rome October 1934
Videos
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dY0bKI0M4AI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NKgrp4Th55Y
WEBSITES
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ludus_latrunculorum
https://www.wikiwand.com/en/articles/Ludus_latrunculorum
https://www.hs-augsburg.de/~harsch/Chronologia/Lspost01/LausPisonis/lau_lud1.html
https://zenodo.org/records/1428594
https://web.archive.org/web/20081003114509/http://www.aerobiologicalengineering.com/wxk116/Roman/BoardGames/latruncu.html
https://web.archive.org/web/20040822085942/http://www.ukans.edu/history/index/europe/ancient_rome/E/Roman/Texts/secondary/SMIGRA*/Latrunculi.html
https://web.archive.org/web/20081003114509/http://www.aerobiologicalengineering.com/wxk116/Roman/BoardGames/latruncu.html
http://www.cyningstan.com/game/68/ludus-latrunculorum
http://www.mastersofgames.com/rules/Ludus-Latrunculorum-Rules.pdf
https://web.archive.org/web/20060915044905/http://www.personal.psu.edu/users/w/x/wxk116/roma/latruncu.html
https://archive.org/details/onlatinlanguage02varruoft/page/550/mode/2up?view=theater
Timecodes
00:00 - Intro
00:35 - Board & pieces
01:05 - Rules
07:02 - History
08:54 - Trouble with translations
10:16 - In Praise of Piso
12:05 - Breaking down poem
15:33 - Academics being petty
19:39 - Strategy (or not)
19:57 - Wrap-up