tabletopgaming.co.ukAlthough the rules are simple the gameplay can
become quite tense and a game can last anything from
one to 10 minutes or more. Unlike the similar game of
Noughts and Crosses there is always a winner in Rota.
e impromptu nature of the game makes it a valuable
set of rules to have in your head; you can set up a Rota
game virtually anywhere and start playing. Today
counters can be made of anything: some shells at the
beach, a couple of stones, coins, chocolate buttons or
even Jelly Babies which the winner can eat as a reward.Words Phil RobinsonT
he game of Rota was played by the Romans
during their occupation of England from
43 AD to 410 AD, and any evidence of it
seemed to disappear shortly after they left.
e game’s Roman name is unknown but
the name ‘Rota’ was coined by the American translator
of Roman poetry Elmer Truesdell Merrill who wrote
an article about the game. Many of the surviving
examples of playing boards resemble a wheel and
‘rota’ is simply the Latin word for ‘wheel’. e game was
played spontaneously so the playing pieces were often
improvised and the board can be scratched into any
surface with relative ease. First you draw a circle, then
draw vertical and horizontal intersecting lines to form
a plus sign, nally adding diagonal intersecting lines to
form an X. All you need then are two sets of counters,
three of each opposing colour or type.
Rota is fun to play and once you know the rules you
are never without a game to play. It’s interesting to
note that there is a greater frequency of archaeological
nds of Rota playing pieces in the north of the UK
where Roman soldiers were stationed for periods of
time with little activity. Bored soldiers played games
and gambled to keep things interesting.
e original rules are not known for certain but a set of
rules has been recreated and it can be played in a similar
manner to Nine Men’s Morris. Roman poet Ovid wrote
about a game similar to Rota which contributed to the
reconstruction of the rules.
Players start with three counters each, none of
which are on the board to begin. e starting player
is chosen randomly and they then take it in turns to
place pieces on the board. ey can be placed at any
of the nine points where lines intersect: eight around
the edge and one in the centre. If a player gets three of
their counters in a row during this stage they win. is
can be straight across the centre or around the edge
of the wheel. If nobody wins at this stage then players
can move their counters along any one line to the next
intersection. Player cannot skip a turn, they cannot
occupy an already occupied section and they cannot
jump over counters or lines – they must slide from
one section to the next. is moving continues until a
player forms a winning line.3
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ROTA
Phil Robinson is a game
historian and the founder
of the Museum of Gaming,
an organisation that
explores and documents
the history of gaming
through its collections,
exhibitions and research.98 February 2019 tabletopgaming.co.uk
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