Duodecim Scripta

Ludus Duodecim Scriptorum, also known as Duodecim Scripta or the Game of Twelve Lines, is a Roman game. Boards and remains of the game have been found at dozens of ancient Roman sites across Europe testifying to the fact that the game was hugely popular across the Roman Empire.

Click on the picture to enlarge.

The game has been found in many forms, the simplest being a 3 x 12 grid. Some theories suggest that the game was banned by the authorities and to be found with a Duodecim Scripta board would have resulted in a hefty punishment. To combat this players of the game simply wrote six six-letter words on a table and used the letters as the playing squares - then if some soldiers searched a tavern or house, all they would find would be some words written on a tablet. The words inscribed on tables and tablets vary enormously. The famous example used in our board translates as a poem - "To hunt, To Swim, To Play, To Grin, This is, To Live". Another found in Rome translates as "Jump Up, Depart, You won't win, Push Off, Idiot!"

Exactly how Duodecim Scripta was played is not known but various Game historians have investigated the possibilities and this version of the archetypal Roman game includes a sensible interpretation of possible rules that are based on the ancient game of Alea played in the first century AD.

Duodecim Scripta is a race game for two players. Instructions are in English, Dutch, French, German and Italian and the game played properly can take up to an hour or so to play. This product is in the form of a wooden box with a drawer for the pieces - 15 white discs, 15 brown discs, 3 Roman dice and the rules.

Duodecim Scripta

Click on the picture to enlarge.

All material on this site - © Copyright Masters Games Ltd.