What was the most popular board game in ancient egypt

Games were for all, some favored by adults, others by children and some by all ages. Games of all kinds of indoor games, outdoor sports, and informal games were played by many Egyptians. Board games were very popular in ancient Egypt and were a favorite leisure time activity as well. Senet was one of the most popular and was played by two people. The game was played both on elaborate boards as well as by simply scratching marks on ground.

Many representations in tombs illustrate the game of Senet being played by people. Also, many boards, counters and throw sticks have been excavated intact from a number of archaeological sites. The board game had thirty squares in rows of three having ten in each.

The Game of Senet had symbols representing good or bad fortune and good luck in the game was considered a blessing from the gods. As mentioned, the board game senet was the most popular indoor game played in ancient Egypt. Boards of all kinds ranging from simple ones to elaborate ones have been excavated from various sites and many etchings also illustrate show how popular the game was during this era. Twenty squares was another popular board game that came from Asia.

Many boards of this game have also been discovered. Most games were played by two people. They played games requiring agility and strength , they were addicted to board games that tested their strategy and skill and their children played with toys and played swimming games in the Nile. Images of ordinary Egyptians dancing in circles have been discovered in tombs thousands of years old. It is not always apparent whether a toy or game was intended to be just a toy or a game or whether it was a magical item such as dolls or figurines used for religious or magical purposes.

In its game form, the squares are simply spaces on the board delineating the places for the game pieces with no link to the Apophis legend aside from its serpentine design. Board games were very popular in ancient Egypt with different types being in widespread use.

Board games catered to both for two players and multiple players. In addition to the utilitarian game sets used by everyday Egyptians, lavishing decorated and expensive sets have been excavated in tombs across Egypt, These exquisite sets feature inlays of precious materials including ebony and ivory. Similarly, ivory and stone were often carved into dice, which were common elements in many ancient Egypt games.

The game required both a dash of strategy and some higher level playing skills. In Senet, two players faced each across a board divided into thirty playing squares.

The game was played using five or seven game pieces. Thus the mystical objective behind a game of Senet was to be the first player to successfully pass into the afterlife unscathed by bad fortunes encountered along the way.

Senet proved to be one of the most enduringly popular board games, which has survived from ancient Egypt board. Lion-shaped pieces and marbles appear to have been used to play, but how they were used remains a mystery. Sign in. Back to Main menu Virtual events Masterclasses. Home Period General ancient history Ancient board games: which ones did people play for fun in the past? Here, we explore some of the most popular board games from history that captured the imagination in earlier civilisations, starting with… Advertisement.

A man moves his piece on a Xiangqi board. Mehen, the snake game, was played on a spiral circuit. More on: United Kingdom. Each turn, you and your opponents may research new opportunities by drawing tiles, bidding on items up for auction, or invoking the power of the gods to claim crucial elements of society.

Your influence among royals rises and falls as your bidding power changes with the number of Sun Disks you have—the currency with which you bid. Tiles placed along the auction track include civilization, monument, pharaoh, gold, river, god, and disaster. If you bid on the auction track and win, you must take them all, good or bad.

Auctions may be held at your request, or when a Ra tile is drawn and added to the Ra track. Once Ra is invoked, you and your opponents each have one opportunity to bid for items revealed on the board. An epoch ends either when all players have spent their Sun Disks or when tiles along the Ra track reach the last space. At this point, players score their pharaoh, gold, god, river, and civilization tiles, placing tablets facedown to track points secretly.

You discard flood, gold, god, and civilization tiles after scoring, so players must reclaim them during each epoch. However you can keep tiles with scarab icons, allowing players to build up a stock of pharaohs, Nile tiles, or monuments.

All remaining tiles are scored at the end of the third epoch, and the player with the most points wins the game!