What games did the ancient Egyptians play?

The ancient Egyptians didn’t spend all their time working or preparing for the afterlife. They also liked to play lots of board games - especially the adults!

Board games were all played with ancient Egyptian versions of dice called throw sticks or knuckle bones. This was because they were all games of chance. For the ancient Egyptians, the element of chance symbolised that their fate was in the hands of the gods.

Click on the market stall to learn about four ancient Egyptian games

Take a look at some real ancient Egyptian game pieces

A photo of an ancient Egyptian game box with playing pieces and knuckle bones for diceThe Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

The ancient Egyptians played Aseb on one side of this box and Senet on the other side. Look closely at the picture and you can see some knuckle bones. The ancient Egyptians would use these as dice.

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Name that game

Make your own Mehen board

Make your own Mehen board
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Make your own Mehen board

Download our ancient Egyptian Mehen board game and play the game yourself!