The oldest complete board game ever found is getting a proper UK release. Cambridge-based publisher The Game Intelligence is bringing Shahr-i Sokhta to UK Games Expo 2026, in what they are calling the first scientific reconstruction of the game in over 50 years. It is 4,700 years old, played on a life-size wooden board, and predates chess by roughly three thousand years.
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Start organising for freeThe original was unearthed at Shahr-i Sokhta, the Burnt City, in southeast Iran in the 1970s, complete with all 27 pieces and four dice. It is a strategic race in the same family as the Royal Game of Ur: each player tries to get all their pieces off the board first, using dice rolls and a smart split between fast runner pieces and slower blockers that can lock down key squares. Computer scientist Sam Jelveh and archaeologist Hossein Moradi spent years modelling possible rule sets from the physical evidence, and The Game Intelligences edition draws on that scholarship to ship a playable ruleset, period-appropriate components, and packaging that nods to the archaeology.
Two editions are on offer. The Museum Edition is the straight-up historical experience. The Premium Edition adds an optional digital twist by connecting to DeepTGi, an AI assistant from the same Cambridge team, which can teach the rules, suggest moves, or let you play remote opponents through a hybrid physical-digital board. If you ever wanted to argue strategy with a Bronze Age scholar, this is your chance.
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Set up your group for freeThe Game Intelligence will be demoing both editions across the weekend at the NEC Birmingham, 29 to 31 May 2026. Going? Find your fellow UKGE travellers.
Sources: UK Games Expo | Persian Wonders | Archaeology Magazine
