Mehen

Basics:

This ancient Egyptian game is nearly 5000 years old. Dating back to before 2700 B.C, it's said that this is either the first or one of the first games ever to be banned from use by the reining government. This game, like many others of it's time, has been separated from it's original rules throughout the course of time. Fortunately, Nubian nomads played an extremely similar game.

Rules:

In essence, Mehen is a race game. Two or more players throw sticks to determine how many spaces they move their game pieces, which happen to be marbles. The object of the game is to race to the center of the circular game board, which is an eyeball meant to symbolize the sun god Re. Once a player has been through the game once, it doesn't end. They reenter the game with a lion piece that allows them to move at double the speed of regular marbles. Any marble that the lion passes is eaten by the lion and is removed from the board. This kind of in-your-face tactic encourages longer gameplay and keeps the player entertained longer through a system of rewarding the winner. The overall end winner is determined by how many marbles the player has brought home safely.

After careful observation, this game's rules are strikingly similar to the more recent game “Sorry!”.

You must throw a 2 to get a piece onto the game board, and you can only enter and exit the center eyeball with a 1. When you bump another players marble, their marble is moved to the position that your marble started at before the turn began.

History:

Mehen got it's other name, The Forbidden Game of the Snake through the other meaning of Mehen, which is the name of a snake god in Egyptian mythology. The game board could be circular based on what Egyptian folklore said about Mehen. Mehen was said to coil around Apep to protect Re during his journey through the night. The circular game could represent the snakes body around the eye in the center, which symbolizes Re.

Game Art:

The game board itself is very minimalistic yet oddly interesting at the same time. The design of the board is incredibly simple, but it works because the game isn't about the appearance, it's about the strategy and thought behind playing.

Game Design Elements:

This game has an astoundingly deep possibility for strategy for such simple rules. Having multiple pieces allows for a vast array of possibilities when a player is moving a piece. The requirement of rolling a 1 or 2 to either enter the game or enter or leave the main circle gives the game an element of chance, which increases anticipation throughout the game. I also personally believe that having a centralized objective point or end point creates tension and excitement by unifying and bringing all the players and their pieces together in a short distance from each other.

Sources:

http://www.mobygames.com/game/ancient-egyptian-mehen-the-forbidden-game-of-the-snake

http://www.digitalegypt.ucl.ac.uk/naqada/gameboard.html

http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/4148/mehen