Ludus Latrunculorum
Roman Empire · Strategy
Ludus Latrunculorum
Roman Strategy Game · ~1st century BC
How to Play
Ludus Latrunculorum is a 2-player strategy game of capture and encirclement played on a grid board. Eliminate enough enemy pieces — or trap their Dux — to win.
- Pieces: Each side has regular latrones (soldiers) and one Dux (commander). The Dux is marked with a crown symbol on the board.
- Movement: Soldiers slide any number of squares horizontally or vertically (like a rook in chess), but cannot jump over pieces. The Dux moves the same way.
- Capture — Custodian rule: A piece is captured when it is sandwiched between two enemy pieces on opposite sides (horizontally or vertically). The board edge also counts as a hostile partner — a piece trapped against the edge by one enemy is captured.
- Safe sandwich: You may move a piece between two enemies without being captured — only a piece that ends its turn sandwiched is taken.
- The Dux: The commander cannot act as a capture partner when trapping enemy pieces — only regular soldiers may form the sandwich. The Dux itself can still be captured normally.
- Winning: The game ends when one side captures enough pieces to leave the opponent unable to make meaningful threats, or when the Dux is captured. The side with the most captures wins.
- Controls: Click a piece to select it (highlighted in gold), then click a destination square to move. The AI plays as Black. Toggle vs AI off for a local two-player game.
About Ludus Latrunculorum
Ludus Latrunculorum ("Game of Brigands" or "Game of Mercenary Soldiers") was one of the most popular strategy games of the Roman Empire, played from at least the 1st century BC through the 5th century AD. Roman legionaries carved boards into stone steps at forts and forums across the empire — from Hadrian's Wall to the deserts of North Africa.
The game was referenced by Ovid, Martial, and Varro, who praised it as a game of intellect and military virtue. Boards carved into stone steps at Roman forum sites have been found across Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa, testament to how widely the game was played.
The Dux ("commander") piece is explicitly mentioned in ancient sources as a special piece distinct from regular latrones (soldiers). The commander moved differently from ordinary pieces, though the exact rules for the Dux have been reconstructed from fragmentary sources. The custodian capture rule — surrounding a piece on two sides to remove it — is the game's defining mechanic, mirroring the Roman military practice of encirclement.