How to Play Senet PDF

AESenet.qxd 20/11/2012 13:14 Page 23 HOW TO PLAY SENET Many readers of AE will have heard of the ancient Egyptian game senet, which is depicted on many tomb scenes and for which actual game boxes have been preser...

AESenet.qxd 20/11/2012 13:14 Page 23 HOW TO PLAY SENET Many readers of AE will have heard of the ancient Egyptian game senet, which is depicted on many tomb scenes and for which actual game boxes have been preserved. But how many of you can play it? Ian Johnstone tells you how. A senet box now in the Musée du Louvre, Paris. See another view of the same box in the Per Mesut article in this issue. Photo: RBP. S enet is possibly the oldest board game in the world, It may have been the most popular game in ancient been played since the earliest times in Egypt. Egypt, played by all levels of Egyptian society from com- Having been found in burials of Predynastic and moners to nobility, and took on religious significance in First Dynasty tombs, it is still played today and has even later times. By the New Kingdom it had come to repre- been featured on television – being played in the series sent the journey of the dead. It was believed that a suc- Lost. Paintings of the game being played have been found cessful player was under the protection of the major gods in several tombs, including that of Queen Nefertari in of the pantheon and many sets have been found in the Valley of the Queens (see below). graves. The game is referred to in Chapter XVII of the Book of the Dead. The exact rules for the game are unclear. Timothy Kendall and R.C. Bell have studied the evidence and both have come up with sets of rules. These are very sim- ilar but have small differences. The rules that follow are a consensus of opinion. SETTING UP The game was played by two players each having usual- ly five playing pieces. Some sets found have had six or seven pieces per player. These were cone-shaped (nor- mally white) for one player and reel-shaped (normally black or another colour) for the other. They were known as ibau in Egyptian – ‘dancers’. The gameboard is made up of thirty squares arranged in three rows of ten: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 Nefertari, Rameses II’s principal Queen, playing senet; 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 a scene from the walls of her tomb in the Valley of the Queens. Photo: RBP. The aim is to get your five pieces around the board and ANCIENT EGYPT October/November 2012 23 AESenet.qxd 20/11/2012 13:25 Page 24 off at square thirty before your opponent. The pieces throw again and use this to move any of his 5 pieces. The move around the board in a reversed S shape (see below). player moves the piece the number of squares shown by the dice sticks. If a player scores a 1, 4 or 5 he may throw again. If the player throws a 2 or 3 then he moves a piece accordingly and hands the sticks to the other player. The second player may then throw and move his piece on square 9 that number of places. He does not need to wait until he, too, throws a 1. Each player’s turn ends when he throws a 2 or a 3. If a piece lands on a square that is occupied by an opponent’s piece, then the opponent’s piece is considered to be under attack and is moved back to the square vacat- To begin the game the pieces are placed on squares 1 ed by the piece in play. No player can have two of his to 10 with the white pieces (cone-shaped) occupying the own pieces on the same square. odd-numbered squares and the black pieces (reel-shaped) If two pieces belonging to the same player occupy con- occupying the even-numbered squares. secutive squares e.g. 16 and 17, they protect each other The movement of the pieces is determined by the and cannot be moved back by the opponent. The oppo- throwing of four two-sided dice sticks. The scores are as nent may pass them if his score is large enough. If three follows: pieces belonging to the same player occupy consecutive One flat side up 1 squares: e.g. 16, 17 and 18, then the opponent may not Two flat sides up 2 move them or pass them. Three flat sides up 3 Any throw that does not allow a forward movement Four flat sides up 4 must be used to move a piece backwards. If no move- Four round sides up 5 or 6 ment is possible then that player’s turn ends. You can decide on 5 or 6. In England we always use 6 Square 27 shows the sign for water. This is a trap. Any as it half of 12, our dozen. I see no reason for believing piece landing on this square is automatically moved the ancient Egyptians counted in 12’s like us. In fact we back to square 15. This is the ‘rebirth square’ and that know they numbered in 10’s, so it seems better to use this piece starts its journey again from there. If square 15 is score as a 5 – half of 10 and the number of digits on a already occupied by a piece moving forward, then the hand. piece being moved back goes back to square 1 to restart there. STARTING Squares 27, 28 and 29 are ‘safe’ squares. Pieces on The first player to score a 1 moves the coloured piece these squares cannot be moved off by another piece and from square 10 forward onto square 11. He may then may stay there for as long as their player wishes. A less elaborate senet box, now in the British Museum. Photo: RBP. 24 ANCIENT EGYPT October/November 2012 AESenet.qxd 20/11/2012 13:27 Page 25 A scene from the Late New Kingdom Satirical Papyrus (now in the British Museum), showing a game of senet between a lion and an antelope. Photo: JPP. BEARING OFF A player may not begin to move his pieces off the board at square 30 until all of his pieces are out of the first row of squares – past square 10. It is not necessary to land on exactly square 30 before bearing a piece off. Players may bear off from squares 26 onwards if their score is large enough. If a player throws a number higher than is required for a piece, then he may use the extra value to move another piece. Scores may only be split like this when associated with bearing a piece off the board. If any pieces have been moved back to row 1 for any reason, then bearing off must wait until those pieces are in row 2 again. The first player to bear off all his pieces is the winner. This is a game of luck and chance, but it also involves strategy and forward thinking. And a willingness to look for chances to thwart your opponent! Good luck, and enjoy. Ian Johnstone Ian is a primary school teacher who has had a lifelong interest in all things historical. He runs a business taking living history theme days to primary schools. Egypt is one of these days. He has taught the rudiments of senet to hundreds of children and adults over the years. FURTHER READING Bell, R.C. The Boardgame Book, 1979 Marshall Cavendish Ltd. London Kendall, Timothy, Passing through the Netherworld: The Meaning and Play of Senet, an Egyptian Funerary Game, 1978 Belmont, The Kirk Game Company. ANCIENT EGYPT October/November 2012 25