It is the year 20 BC.  Emperor Augustus has brought peace to a young Roman Empire.  Two friends sit upon the steps outside the amphitheatre, locked in concentration over a stone board upon which glass pieces have been placed, trying to gain an advantage over one another.  They’re playing Ludas Latrunculorum, a game already hundreds of years old, which enjoys a high level of popularity within the Empire.

 

Now you can play what the Romans played on your Macintosh computer.  Using the latest in Artificial Intelligence, we’ve recreated this ancient game for your enjoyment.  It’s completely free, and is licensed under an Open Source license.

Latrunculi for Mac OS X is available in both G4 and G5 optimized versions.  Additionally, both versions are built as Universal applications, so they’ll also run natively on the new Intel-based Macs.