Wooden Senet Game

Handmade 2 player board game about the Egyptian afterlife – with built-in storage for the game pieces and instructions.

Senet is one of the oldest known board games, and was played by the ancient Egyptians over 5000 years ago. Folks of all walks of life enjoyed this game, from the ordinary citizens to the pharaohs themselves. Several versions of this game have been discovered that spanned the various dynasties, and it evolved along with the culture.

The scarab pieces included in this set are cast copies of an original piece that I carved by hand. They are made of cement and gypsum cement – a material that has been in use since ancient Egyptian times. Each piece is hand painted with gold embellishments to bring out the engravings. The color options are based on colors that were used in Egyptian art.

“Lacquer Black”: inspired by ancient Egyptian sculptures such as the shrine of Anubis from King Tut’s tomb. Metallic black is a similar look with a metallic twist.
“Ivory”: Egyptians used ivory in sculpture and relief carvings – usually from hippopotamus, but occasionally elephant tusks.
“Egyptian Blue” : Artifacts with this color range (in my eyes) from a vivid cerulean hue to a soft periwinkle tone, depending on the artist recipe, the material it was used on and how it aged over the centuries. The color of these pieces is on the lighter side to give them a more aged look.

This game also includes wooden throwing sticks, which are the traditional counters that ancient people used before dice became widely used. They are engraved on the flat side.

The engraved, hand painted game board/box holds the pieces, throwing sticks, and instructions inside. The edges are a glossy black, inspired by the frequent use of black lacquer in ancient Egyptian art and statuary. The interior of the box is lined with soft velvet.

There were many different versions of Senet played throughout Egypt’s history, with different symbols on the board. This game set is based on a version that uses the symbols for the life (Ankh), House of Happiness, House of Waters, House of Three Truths (three ibis), The House of Re-Atoum (Isis and Nephthys), and House of Re-Horakty (Horus).

What’s included: Game board/box, 14 playing pieces (7 for each player), 4 throwing sticks, and printed booklet with the history and instructions for the game.

Dimensions: The board measures 14″ long by 4″ wide.