Malak Amal

Malak Amal (məlɔk əˈmɔl/ mah-LAHK AH-mal; born July 23 2002), is an Egyptian-American software developer and board games enthusiast who specializes in researching, playing, and developing strategies for the Royal Game of Ur. Since 2019, they have managed royalurmasters.com, a site hosting online matches of the Royal Game of Ur.[1] Additionally, Amal is Hope’s Peak University’s first Ultimate Royal Game of Ur Player.[2]

Early Life and Career

Amal was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin to a financial analyst father and a nurse mother as an only child.[3] They graduated from Lincoln High School in Milwaukee with honors and an associate occupational (AOS) degree in applied computer technology.[1][3] While attending high school, Amal was the president of the Board Games club and the much smaller Royal Game of Ur club.[3] Amal spent one year as a junior software developer at Atomic Donut Studios before leaving to attend Hope’s Peak Academy.[1][4]

Royal Ur Masters

Launched by Amal in 2019, Royal Ur Masters is a site that hosts online matches of the Royal Game of Ur.[1] Since November 2019, Amal has hosted and participated in bi-monthly tournaments with their growing online community of fellow fans of the game. The site also allows players to face off against Amal’s “Challengers”, automated opponents of varying difficulties.

For the most part, Malak has avoided allegations of cheating for their extensive knowledge of the game’s strategy alone. The RUM site, attached to Amal’s blog, contains exhaustive papers describing the deceptive balance of luck and skill involved in the game. They have also debunked cheating accusations by livestreaming physical dice rolls over the course of a tournament.[5]

Tournaments

All figures correct as of January 3rd, 2023[6]

Tournament Placement # of Competitors
November 2019 1st 12
January 2020 1st 18
March 2020 [DNP] 35
May 2020 2nd 57
July 2020 1st 60
September 2020 2nd 82
November 2020 2nd 127
January 2021 4th 305
March 2021 2nd 436
May 2021 1st 673
July 2021 3rd 886
September 2021 [DNP] 1,335
November 2021 2nd 1,455
January 2022 1st 1,623
March 2022 2nd 1,640
May 2022 1st 1,765
July 2022 1st 2,027
September 2022 3rd 2,387
November 2022 1st 2,545
January 2023 1st 2,588

Acceptance to Hope's Peak University

Amal caught the attention of Hope’s Peak scouts not long after uploading a video to YouTube titled “Lucky Losing Streak: Making an unbeatable Ur-bot” based on their blogpost of the same name.[5][7][9] It is the highest viewed video on their relatively small channel, and according to Amal, is perhaps the best display of their talent not only in playing the game, but making the game “unplayable for [themself]” in the process.[8] In an interview with Amal, they stated, “The strategy behind the game is a complex web of statistics, board-management, and forethought. Hand that to an algorithm that thinks ten or even twenty moves ahead of you, all the while calculating every one of your moves on top of that, and you better hope Gad likes you.”[3]

Amal is currently a third-year student at Hope’s Peak University, where they have expanded their studies.[2]

References

  1. Royal Ur Masters. “About Me”
  2. Hope’s Peak University. “Hope’s Peak University Student Roster”
  3. Chelsea Jones. “A Meeting With Ancient Board Games’ Biggest Fan”
  4. Royal Ur Masters. “Quitting Atomic Donut: What’s next?”
  5. @AMalak on YouTube. “Rolling dice for the non-believers”
  6. Royal Ur Masters. “Past Tournaments”
  7. Royal Ur Masters. "Lucky Losing Streak: Making an unbeatable Ur-bot"
  8. YouTube Statistics. “@AMalak”
  9. @AMalak on YouTube. "Lucky Losing Streak: Making an unbeatable Ur-bot"
Name: Malak Amal
Ultimate: Royal Game of Ur Player
Age: 21
Birthday: July 23, 2002
Pronouns: They/Them
Class Number: 126
Nationality: American
Height: 175 cm, 5'9"
Weight: 59 kg, 130 lbs