THE GAME OF SENET_ History and How to Play

Senet is an ancient Egyptian board game that was popular during the New Kingdom period, around 1333 BC. The game was often played by the pharaohs and other members of the royal court, and it was believed to have important religious and symbolic significance.

The game board consists of 30 squares, arranged in three rows of ten. The game pieces, called "men," were typically made of wood or ivory and were in the shape of cones. Each player had a set of at least five men, and the objective of the game was to move all of your men off the board before your opponent.

Players would roll four sticks, called "throwsticks," which were marked on one side and blank on the other. The number of marked sticks that landed face up determined how many spaces a player could move their men. There were also special squares on the board that could affect gameplay, such as "houses of rebirth" that allowed a player to bring one of their captured men back into play.

Tutankhamun, the famous boy pharaoh, was buried with several Senet boards and sets of game pieces, indicating that the game was still popular during his reign. Today, Senet is still played by some people, although the rules may have been modified over time. It remains an important artifact of ancient Egyptian culture and a testament to the enduring appeal of board games throughout human history.

TIMESTAMPS

0:00 Intro
0:48 First sources of Senet
2:48 The Old Kingdom & The Middle Kingdom
3:58 The Egyptian Soul (Ba) - with an Egyptologist
6:03 Was Senet an spiritual game (yet)?
7:31 The New Kingdom
7:48 The Game Texts
9:09 Analyzing a fragment of The Great Game Text
12:25 What do the symbols in the board mean?
13:38 The End of Senet
15:24 Rules Disclaimer
16:28 How to Play Senet
19:54 Outro