How to Play Ancient Egyptian Games

Senet

• 1

  Make a Senet board from heavy white paper. Divide the board into 30 squares, or Houses, in three rows of 10 squares each. Number the squares consecutively 1 to 30, with 1 on the top left and 30 at the bottom right, with the direction following that of a backward S. Pieces will move left to right in the first row, right to left in the second row and left to right in the third row.

• 2

  Mark one side of four tongue depressors, or throwing sticks, with a star or other symbol. The original Senet sticks were rounded on one side, so you could tell which side they landed on when you threw them. When you toss your throwing sticks, you can call the star or symbol side "face up."

• 3

  Put the 14 playing pieces on the game board, alternating the two colors, starting with square 1 and ending on square 14.

• 4

  Throw the sticks to determine your move. Count how many sticks land "face up," or star-side up. This is your roll. If no sticks land "face up," your roll is a 5, and you lose a turn. If you throw a 2 or 3, you may advance that many squares. If you roll a 1 or 4, you must roll again until you throw a 2 or 3.

• 5

  Switch places with your opponent's piece. If your piece lands on a square occupied by your opponent's piece, send his piece back to the square from which your piece started. If your opponent has two pieces next to each other, those pieces are safe from being switched. Playing pieces that occupy squares 26 (House of Happiness), 28 (House of Spirits) or 29 (House of Double) are always protected from the switching rule.

• 6

  Move so that three of your pieces land in adjacent squares. This blocks your opponent's pieces from moving past.

• 7

  Advance each piece to the "good" square -- the House of Happiness, or square 26 -- with an exact roll. From that point, move your piece past the "river" (square 27) onto square 28 or 29, with an exact roll. If you land on square 27, you must go back to the House of Rebirth (square 15). From square 28 or 29, your piece is in place to bear off, or leave the board, again with an exact roll of 2 or 3. The first player to bear all his pieces off the board wins.

Aseb

• 8

  Make an Aseb game board. Draw 20 squares in three rows, with four squares on one side and four on the other side of a central row of 12 squares.

• 9

  Mark one side of six tongue depressors, or throwing sticks, with a star or other symbol. When you toss your throwing sticks, you can call the star or symbol side "face up." The number of face-up sticks is your roll. If no sticks land face up, you lose a turn. If you throw a 2 or 3, you may advance that many squares. If you roll a 1 or 4, you must roll again until you throw a 2 or 3. Your first piece can enter the board only by tossing a 4 or a 6; subsequent pieces can enter the board with any throw. Each player has five pieces. The pieces enter the board on the row of four squares that faces the player and traverse the row of four and then the row of 12.

• 10

  Send your opponent's piece back to the beginning if your piece lands on a square occupied by her piece. Your opponent will have to bring that piece back onto the playing board with her next throw.

• 11

  Advance your playing pieces through the sequence of squares. The first player to bear all her pieces off the board wins.