Senet is one of the oldest board games in the world — Egyptian sets date to ~3500 BCE, well before written rules. Played on a 30-square board (3 rows × 10 columns), each side races pieces from start to bear-off while landing on (or avoiding) the special end-of-board "Houses". The exact rules are partially reconstructed from tomb paintings and scribal references.
Each player has 5 (or 7) pieces starting on alternating squares of the top row. Cast 4 binary throwsticks instead of dice — the result (0–4 or 5) determines your move. Land on a square holding a single enemy piece to swap places. The last 5 squares are special: the "House of Three Truths" requires an exact 3 to leave; pieces on the "Beautiful House" advance to bear off.
Tomb paintings, scribal references, and a 13th-century BCE papyrus describing late-period Senet. The specific values of throwsticks and special-square rules are partial reconstructions; multiple variants exist.
Egyptians believed playing Senet helped the deceased navigate the afterlife — many tombs include Senet boards as funerary equipment. The "Beautiful House" represents passage to the afterlife.
Same family of race games but with a single board column and special protected squares. Senet predates Backgammon by ~3000 years; modern reconstructions show how the family evolved.
10–15 minutes once the special-square rules are clear.
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