Games

Senet

Throw the four sticks: count the coloured sides up (none up is 5) and move one piece that far along the S-shaped path. Land on a lone enemy piece to swap places; pairs are safe and threes block. Stop on square 26, avoid the water on 27, and leave with an exact throw. Play the computer or a friend.

About Senet

Senet was played in ancient Egypt for well over 2,000 years: boards have been found in tombs, including Tutankhamun's, and a painting shows Queen Nefertari playing it. The board has 30 squares in three rows of ten, and each player races five pieces along an S-shaped path and off the end.

Nobody knows exactly how the Egyptians played, because the rules were never written down or were lost. This game says so, and uses a modern set of rules based on the work of the historians Timothy Kendall and R. C. Bell: four throwing sticks, swapping places with a lone enemy piece, pairs that protect each other, walls of three, and special squares near the end such as the House of Happiness (26), where every piece must stop, and the House of Water (27), which sends a piece back to square 15.

Start with the short lesson, then play the computer at three levels or a friend on one phone. Every win against the computer opens a fact about Senet's history, and wins open new boards (limestone, ebony and ivory, blue faience, gold) and new pieces.

Best for ages 8+

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