Ancient Roman Board Game

4 days ago

Ludus Coriovalli is an ancient Roman asymmetric board game where four Hounds try to block two Hares from moving.
The game was lost for over 1,800 years until AI reconstructed its rules from wear patterns on a carved limestone found in Heerlen, Netherlands.
Researchers used microscopic analysis and AI simulations to match physical traces on the stone to a playable blocking game configuration.
The game is set in Coriovallum, a Roman town in Germania Inferior, now beneath Heerlen, which was a major pottery production center.
AI-driven rule testing involved 1,000 simulated rounds per ruleset, identifying nine blocking game configurations, with the four-versus-two format most fitting.
Gameplay occurs on a 19-node graph: Hounds start at the top to surround Hares, while Hares aim to survive 150 turns or achieve threefold repetition.
The website allows playing against AI (three difficulty levels) or local PvP, supports multiple languages, and requires no registration or downloads.
Privacy policy notes use of Google AdSense with cookies for ads, no personal data collection, and game data stored locally in the browser.

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