Roman Bear Games
Reconstruction of a possible fragmentary board with possible opening position from a sandstone plaque dating to the 3rd Century Roman Empire in present-day Augst, Switzerland.
This design, more intricate than the prior, was found completely intact and is possibly also a Roman Bear Game, or, at least, the game can be played using it.
This version is known to still be played in modern times in Piemonte, Italy. It is also found among rock carvings there.
An alternate opening position for the same board.
Jeux des gendarmes et du voleur from Sologne, France.
This design from Greece was probably used to play a game known there as Chase the Hare. It has been reconstructed with the opening position shown here.
Possible Bear Game board from the Temple of Apollo at Didyma, Turkey.
A Roman Wheel Pattern like this is found at many archaeological sites of the Roman Empire. While it does not function well for a very complex Bear Game, it is likely to be derived from or ancestral to the pattern used in Bear Games.
Alternate Names
Bear Hunt, Chase the Hare. One existing variant of this game is known from Sologne, France as Jeux des gendarmes et du voleur (The game of policemen and the thief)
No. of Players
Two
Equipment
Several different boards have been used for the play of this game. Several different motifs have been found at archaeological sites and ancient rock carvings that have been hypothesized to be Roman Bear Games. Archaeologists often refer to them as Roman Wheel Patterns. They are often placed at an entrance or threshold. It is possible, however, that some of them were never intended to be used as games but were instead good luck charms, protective motifs or simply artistic designs. They have been found on both horizontal and vertical surfaces, indicating that at least some of them were not used as game boards. One of the wheel patterns is nearly identical, at least topologically equivalent, with another design known from the Orient used to play Sz'kwa and Watermelon Chess.
These games almost always utilize three white hunter counters and one black bear counter.
History
These games may not be as old as "Ancient Rome" and may rather be more appropriately called "Italian Bear Games". An easy conjecture is that the board game evolved from an older Wheel Symbol, religious or superstitious in nature, at some indefinite point in history, but this is only conjecture or hypothesis. Nevertheless, fun board games can be reconstructed and played on some of these patterns, even if this was not done historically.
Objective
The hunters should always be able to capture the bear. To give the bear player a win it is necessary to count the number of moves. If the hunters have not captured the bear after, say, forty moves the bear may then declare himself winner. Before the game commences, it should be decided how many turns the hunters have before being forced to resign to loss.
Play
One player controls the bear counter while the other controls the three hunters. With alternating turns, each player moves a single friendly counter along the marked lines to an adjacent and vacant intersection. The hunters attempt to blockade the bear counter so that it has no legal moves on its turn. Once they have done so, the hunter player wins the game, if he has not surpassed the previously agreed upon number of moves to do so. There are no jumping moves and no capturing in this game.
Variations
As shown above there are multiple boards that this game can and has been played upon. A win for the bear can also be decided to be after just about any number of moves.
I have found a variant utilizing one "hunter" for a game known as Police and Thief as a simple internet game. It uses the board and opening position shown below. Both counters move one space a time in any direction to a neighboring intersection. The policeman (blue counter) just needs to land on the thief to win the game.
Opening position for Police and Thief
Sources