Mr. Brightside
May 17th, 2010, 10:31 PM
After watching an epidode of LOST last week I became intrigued by the board game they were playing, It was called SENET, This was what I discovered about it and a link to play the game online.
Senet may be the oldest board game in the world. It has been found in Predynastic and First Dynasty burials of Egypt,[2] circa 3500 BC and 3100 BC respectively. Senet is also featured in a painting from the tomb of Merknera (3300–2700 BC) . Another painting of this ancient game is from the Third Dynasty tomb of Hesy (c. 2686–2613 BC). It is also depicted in a painting in the tomb of Rashepes (c. 2500 BC).
http://heritage-key.com/files/PradPatel/images/senet-game-board.jpg
By the time of the New Kingdom in Egypt (1567–1085 BC), it had become a kind of talisman for the journey of the dead. Because of the element of luck in the game and the Egyptian belief in determinism, it was believed that a successful player was under the protection of the major gods of the national pantheon: Ra, Thoth, and sometimes Osiris. Consequently, Senet boards were often placed in the grave alongside other useful objects for the dangerous journey through the afterlife and the game is referred to in Chapter XVII of the Book of the Dead. The game was also adopted in the Levant and as far as Cyprus and Crete but with apparently less religious significance.
So are you under the protection of the gods?
Play Senet online (http://www.funmin.com/online-games/senet/index.php)
How to play Senet
Throw the sticks to see how many squares to move your piece forward.
If you throw a one, four, or six, you get an extra turn.
You can't land on one of your own pieces.
If you land on the other player's piece, you switch places with them. However, you can't switch with them if they have two or more pieces in a row.
If the other player has three or more pieces in a row, you can't pass them.
Some squares are ‘safe' squares and some are ‘danger' squares. You will learn what they are as you play.
The first player to get all of their pieces off the board wins the game
Senet may be the oldest board game in the world. It has been found in Predynastic and First Dynasty burials of Egypt,[2] circa 3500 BC and 3100 BC respectively. Senet is also featured in a painting from the tomb of Merknera (3300–2700 BC) . Another painting of this ancient game is from the Third Dynasty tomb of Hesy (c. 2686–2613 BC). It is also depicted in a painting in the tomb of Rashepes (c. 2500 BC).
http://heritage-key.com/files/PradPatel/images/senet-game-board.jpg
By the time of the New Kingdom in Egypt (1567–1085 BC), it had become a kind of talisman for the journey of the dead. Because of the element of luck in the game and the Egyptian belief in determinism, it was believed that a successful player was under the protection of the major gods of the national pantheon: Ra, Thoth, and sometimes Osiris. Consequently, Senet boards were often placed in the grave alongside other useful objects for the dangerous journey through the afterlife and the game is referred to in Chapter XVII of the Book of the Dead. The game was also adopted in the Levant and as far as Cyprus and Crete but with apparently less religious significance.
So are you under the protection of the gods?
Play Senet online (http://www.funmin.com/online-games/senet/index.php)
How to play Senet
Throw the sticks to see how many squares to move your piece forward.
If you throw a one, four, or six, you get an extra turn.
You can't land on one of your own pieces.
If you land on the other player's piece, you switch places with them. However, you can't switch with them if they have two or more pieces in a row.
If the other player has three or more pieces in a row, you can't pass them.
Some squares are ‘safe' squares and some are ‘danger' squares. You will learn what they are as you play.
The first player to get all of their pieces off the board wins the game