Senet

The game Senet was a very popular ancient Egyptian board game for both the higher and lower levels of society. The game is a type of "race" game, where two opponents attempt to remove all of their pawns from the board before the other player. The board has 30 squares, and the players normally have five to seven pawns. The movement is determined by casting sticks, or dice.

Rules

The game board is made up of 3 rows of 10 squares, through which all of the pawns must follow in a reversed S like curve. The game is set up with the pawns alternating along the first 14 squares. Square 15 was considered the starting point. The movement of the pawns is determined by casting sticks, or dice, and you can move either forward or backwards if it is permitted. You cannot land on your own pawn, however, if you land on an opponents pawn you may switch places with them. The only time you can't switch pawns is when the opponent has two or more pawns lined up in a row. If your opponent has three or more pawns lined up in a row, you cannot pass them. The final 5 squares have special symbols with different meanings. Square 26 is a square that all pawns must land on before they can leave the board. Square 27 forces you to go back to the starting square (square 15). Square 28 means you must throw only a three to leave the board. Square 29 means you must throw only a two to leave the board. Square 30 means you must throw only a one to leave the board

History

The game Senet has been known to have been played as far back as 3100 B.C.E in Ancient Egypt. Many Senet game boards have been found in both the Pharoahs tombs and in the common peoples graves, indicating that it was well known by all egyptians. Sadly, the exact rules of the game are unknown, but through the study of pictures and a few references, scientists have guessed the rules to this popular game.

Game Design Elements

Senet is a game where your choice of player doesn't matter. Senet is a kind of "race" game, where the objective of the game is to remove all of your players from the board before your opponent removes all of his. The original position of the pawns start from 1 and alternate until they reach square 14. Players can pass one another so long as there are not more than 3 of the same pawns in a row. Players can also "capture" and switch places if a player lands on an opponents square. The movement of the player is determined by casting sticks or dice.

Art

For the most part, the game Senet has a fairly simply layout, consisting mostly of thirty plain squares. Only 5 of these squares have different egyptian symbols on them, each of them serving a different purpose for the game.SenetSenet

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References

• "Senet for Windows." Senet. P.S Neeley, Web. 1 Feb 2010. <http://www.xmission.com/~psneeley/Shareware/senet.htm>

• Soubeyrand, Catherine. "The Game of Senet." Game Cabinet. Web. 1 Feb 2010. <http://www.gamecabinet.com/history/Senet.html>.

• " Senet." CCGs.com. 2003. Astral Castle, Web. 1 Feb 2010. <http://www.ccgs.com/games/senet.htm>.

Links

• • http://www.gamecabinet.com/history/Senet.html here are some rules for the game Senet.

• http://www.ccgs.com/games/senet.htm

• Senet