iPhone App: Senet
Have you ever played backgammon?
Well the ancient Egyptian game senet is much like backgammon. The word ‘senet’ in the ancient Egyptian language means passing and is an apt description of the game which involves moving the pieces around the board in am ‘S’ shaped path. The board is made up of 30 squares arranged into three parallel rows of ten squares. Each of the two opponents move their pieces along the path by throwing sticks to determine how many spaces they can move.
The exact rules of the game play have been lost as the game died out thousands of years ago but the rules have been reconstructed based on serious studies of archaeological evidence.
Peter A. Piccione, a doctoral candidate at the Oriental Institute, University of Chicago and epigrapher for the Institute’s Epigraphic Survey at Luxor writes:
For almost a century, Egyptologists have struggled through fragmentary and incomplete evidence in an attempt to decipher the long-lost rules of senet. Several far-fetched reconstructions of the game surfaced but eventually sank under the weight of newer archaeological information. Recently, however, after several years of study incorporating new data, I have been able to substantially reconstruct both the methods and larger meaning of senet, so that the game can be better understood and even played again today.
This research demonstrates that the stratagems of the game reflect nothing less than the stratagems of the gods, and that senet, when properly understood, can reveal essential Egyptian religious beliefs about the afterlife. At the most, the game indicates that ancient Egyptians believed they could join the god of the rising sun, Re-Horakhty, in a mystical union even before they died. At the least, senet shows that, while still living, Egyptians felt they could actively influence the inevitable afterlife judgment of their souls – a belief that was not widely recognized by Egyptologists.
The earliest known reference to Senet can be found on a wall painting in the tomb of the Third Dynasty Pharaoh Hesy from about 2650 BC. A scene from the tomb of Nefertari ( 1295-1255 BC) shows her playing a game of Senet.
Faience Senet board by Keith Schengili-Roberts, some rights reserved
In the Louvre is a wooden senet board dating to 1300 BC:
Photo by Gérard Ducher, some rights reserved
Now you can play this ancient game on a modern game board – the iPhone, iPad or iPod touch.
Senet Deluxe is a truly unique strategy game. It features great animation, a soundtrack, an intelligent adversary, enforceable backwards moves,
highlighting for acceptable moves, game statistics and online help. Be prepared to spend many hours with the most popular game of the antiquity.
Here’s a video from the developer showing some of the games features:
(if the video gets stuck at the beginning jump ahead a bit by clicking on the red time line)
Download the app by clicking on the App Store icon below:
Haven’t got an iPhone but would still like to play an electronic version of Senet? You can play Senet online at the British Museum’s website:
Click to play Senet at the British Museum
