Egyptian tomb board game

The ancient Egyptians loved to play games, just like we do today. Over the past two centuries, archaeologists have discovered different types of toys that the Egyptians played with during their lifetime. Many of these finds included board games that probably were played by people of all ages and wealth. You can find several examples of these board games at The Met, like the game of Hounds and Jackals in gallery !

This board game is shaped like an axe-head or a shield and features a large palm tree on the top surface. Surrounding the tree are 58 holes arranged evenly around the edges. In some of the holes, there are playing pieces with the heads of two different types of canines: hounds and jackals. Middle Kingdom, Dynasty Reign of Amenemhat IV, ca. Ebony, Ivory, Board: H.

Harkness Gift, Archaeologists found this game in the tomb of an official named Reniseneb. This game is probably played liked today's Chutes and Ladders. The course probably started in the middle of the board, underneath the palm tree leaves. The two players would race each other, moving their pieces down and around the outer edge and up to the larger hole at the very top. To move, the players would roll knucklebones. Like dice, knucklebones tell the players how many spaces they can advance.

Each side represented a different numerical value. As each player moved, their hound or jackal would be affected by the links between the holes and the hieroglyphs on the game board. Email: Password: Remember Me for 30 days. Sign in with Google. Sign in with Facebook. Forgot Password. Email: Reset Password. Card Game. Party Game. View All. Mystic Egyptian Tomb. Description Discussions Marketplace Description From the back of the box: Dig and find the treasures buried in the mysterious egyptian tomb.

Game Discussions Add Comment. Please enter at least one item. Please enter the link of the website. Please enter the email address. Please enter the link of the image. Please enter the link of the video. From Egypt, Abydos, Cemetery D. Faience, modern wood. Restored box: L. This game box has 30 squares for the game senet. What do you notice about the tiles on the game board?

The original tiles and fragments were found in an ancient Egyptian tomb along with game pieces shaped like cones and spools.

They are made of faience fay-AHNCE , a ceramic material that was often produced in a blue or blue-green color that symbolized life. Conservators have filled in missing tiles and parts of tiles with modern material. You can see the difference, because the color of the original faience appears darker while the modern ceramic material is a lighter blue. The conservators also used modern wood to reconstruct the box that held the tiles.

Grid for senet with the squares numbered 1— Illustration by Emily Sutter. The game was complicated. Two players determined their moves by throwing casting sticks or bones. A game piece started at square 1 on the upper left and zig-zagged across each row and down to the next, until it crossed square 30 on the bottom right. Each player could make moves to advance a piece and pass other pieces on the board. Each player could also block other pieces from moving forward or force their opponent backwards.

Top of the senet board The last five squares squares 26—30 are usually decorated. On the board above, two marked squares are preserved and a third one is fragmentary. Square 26 is usually marked with the sign for "good" nefer. Landing in this special square gave the player a free turn. It seems that the players had to reach this sign before they could move on to win the game. Square 27 on this senet board depicts a water hazard. If a game piece landed on this special square, it was removed from the grid before it could cross the final square on the bottom right.