Inaugural game night at Maxwell Museum celebrates Mesopotamia

To promote the community well-being, and fun while drawing in new museum visitors, the Maxwell Museum of Anthropology at The University of New Mexico is hosting its first ever board game night Thursday, Sept. 26, from 7 to 10 p.m. Pizza and soft drinks will be offered.

Join the museum's staff composed of UNM and Central New Mexico Community College students, staff, faculty, and the public in general for the board game night in honor of the temporary exhibit, Cuneiform and Cultural Heritage: Writing, New Ways of Being, and Displaced Artifacts, on display at the Maxwell until Dec. 7. Registration through the Eventbrite Page is encouraged but not required. Free pizza and soft drinks will be available while supplies last.

Tables and chairs will be set up in the Maxwell galleries for gamers 18 years and older to play one of the oldest board games in the world, the Royal Game of Ur. The game was played in Mesopotamia more than 5,000 years ago. It is a two-player strategy race board game.

Curated by the Maxwell's Director and UNM Professor of Archaeology Carla Sinopoli, this exhibit features cuneiform tablets dating between 4,100 and 1,600 years ago from Mesopotamia in modern Southwest Asia, home to the world's first cities, states, and writing systems.

Students, staff, faculty, and the public are invited to play Ur. Or bring your own favorite board game to share with your friends and others.