The Ancient loved Egyptian Board Games and they loved to gamble. These two activities were combined in the numerous Egyptian Board Games which were designed specifically for adults. Board games were very common in ancient Egypt and people from all levels of society played them. Many game boards from ancient Egypt have been found by archaeologists. However, the rules explaining how to play these games have not survived. By studying game boards and other evidence, experts have made some educated guesses about how these games were played.
Senet was the most popular of these. It was played by two people, either on elaborate carved and inlayed boards like the one found in Tutankhamen’s tomb, or simply scratched into the earth. The oldest known representation of Senet is in a painting from the tomb of Hesy, from 2686 BC.
The Twenty Squares game
Aseb, ‘The Twenty Squares game’ (frequently misidentified as Tjau, ‘The Game of Thieves’ or ‘The Game of Robbers’) was played from 3000 B.C. until 400 A.D. and is one of the oldest known games. Aseb is an example of a game that seems to have ‘invaded’ Egypt from the outside and is certainly closely related to the Sumerian ‘Royal Game of Ur’ (and a possible Cretan relative known as the Knossos Game); it is believed to have been brought to Egypt from Mesopotamia by the Hyksos.
This is an excellent game, enjoyable and interesting to play. It was frequently put on the back side of Senet boards, and eventually combined boards were created. Further down the line, the merger of Aseb and Senet would lead to Backgammon.
‘Mehen’, which means ‘coiled one’ or as a verb, ‘to coil’, in ancient Egyptian was played on a spiral game board – most often explicitly in the form of a snake – with varying numbers of slots (playing squares), six sets of differently colored marbles (the playing pieces, with six marbles to a set), and six special playing pieces in the form of a dangerous, predatory animal – most often lions (but sometimes dogs or even hippos).
Multi-Player Egyptian Board Games
It is the only multi-player ancient Egyptian board game known – the others were contests between two players (or teams), while Mehen could accommodate as many as six contestants. Strangely, it also seems to have ceased being played in ancient Egypt from just after 2000 BC. (during the early Middle Kingdom).
Seega is an ancient Egyptian board game similar to checkers and Go where you attempt to capture your opponent’s pieces. Some Egyptologists have even likened Seega to Risk. Game play is on a 5 x 5 board. To start, players place two pieces on the board, one player on the X’s and other on the O’s (see picture). Then, each player alternatively places the rest of their 10 pieces on the board while leaving the center square empty. Dogs and Jackals (aka Hounds and Jackals) – Played with Dog and jackal heads on a stick. This game was featured in the 1950’S movie The Ten Commandments.
