
Ludéum: Ancient Board Games
Ludus, Hnefatafl, Ur, & more
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About
Ludéum brings together 23 board games with centuries of history, from the Royal Game of Ur to Viking Hnefatafl. Ready to play on your iPhone and iPad.
• Realistic boards: wood, stone, terracotta and lapis lazuli. Drag the pieces, roll the dice and hear it all just like at a real table.
• Variants for every game: pick the rules you prefer.
• Play solo, with someone beside you or online: live or turn-based, at your own pace.
• Rivals from each game's era: Moctezuma, Aristotle and many more, from Easy to Hard.
• A tutorial in every game: learn by playing in a couple of minutes.
• Medals, achievements and tournaments: weekly and monthly challenges, plus Game Center leaderboards.
• No ads and no accounts: every game is free.
THE 23 GAMES
• Senet (Egypt, c. 3100 BC)
• Royal Game of Ur (Mesopotamia, c. 2600 BC)
• Pente Grammai (Greece, 7th c. BC)
• Latrunculi (Rome, 1st c. BC)
• XII Scripta (Rome, 1st c. BC – 6th c.)
• Three Men’s Morris (Rome, Imperial era)
• Hnefatafl (Scandinavia, 4th–11th c.)
• Nine Men’s Morris (Rome, Middle Ages)
• Shatranj (Persia and Baghdad, 7th–13th c.)
• Xiangqi (China, Tang dynasty – today)
• Shogi (Japan, Heian period – today)
• Oware / Mancala (Africa, traditional)
• Patolli (Mesoamerica, until 1523)
• Kōnane (Hawaii, before 1778)
• Tavli (Greece, Byzantium – today)
• Morabaraba (Southern Africa, traditional)
• Fanorona (Madagascar, 17th c. – today)
• Dominoes (Italy, 18th c. · the Americas)
• Cribbage (England, 17th c.)
• Briscola (Italy, 19th c.)
• Conquián (Mexico, 19th c.)
• Hanafuda (Japan, 19th c.)
• Tute (Spain, 19th c.)
VARIANTS: YOU CHOOSE THE RULES
Many of these games reached us with incomplete rules or in several versions. In Ludéum you pick the one you want: Ur with Irving Finkel's rules, 9 × 9 Tablut or 11 × 11 Hnefatafl, Oware or Kalah, Tavli as Portes, Plakoto or Fevga, Conquián with a Spanish or French deck, and more.
PLAY YOUR WAY
• Single player: every game has three rivals from its era, one per difficulty. Moctezuma awaits you at Patolli; Aristotle at Pente Grammai.
• Two players on the same iPhone or iPad.
• Online with Game Center: find an opponent or invite friends, live or turn-based.
LEARN WITHOUT READING A MANUAL
Every game has a short tutorial to learn by playing, an animated explanation and the full rules. Tap the "i" button to see its history and photos of real boards and pieces, and find out what is documented and what is still debated.
MEDALS, ACHIEVEMENTS AND TOURNAMENTS
• A weekly and a monthly challenge, with stamps for your yearly collection.
• Weekly tournaments: the Weekly League and the Game of the Week, with Game Center leaderboards.
• Medals and achievements for trying every game, playing online and beating the toughest rival.
MADE WITH CARE
• Two board styles, Illustrated and Realistic, plus backgrounds for every game.
• Natural sounds and original music for every game.
• Dark mode.
• With iCloud, your progress follows you to all your devices.
• Become a Patron with a single, optional purchase and get the Museum board, emblems, special pieces and dice. Every game is free to play.
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What's New in Ludéum
1.5
October 27, 2026
• 10 new games: Senet, Shatranj, Xiangqi, Shogi, Morabaraba, Fanorona, Briscola, Hanafuda, Tute and Dominoes. • Play four at a table: Tute and Dominoes in partnerships, with a partner from their era. • Help mode in Xiangqi, Shogi and Shatranj: see which pieces can move and which are under threat. • Ludéum is now also in Japanese. • Many improvements and fixes.
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Subscriptions & In-App Purchases
$6.99
Patron
Museum board, emblems, pieces and dice









