Mehen

Mehen is one of the oldest board games in the world, along with the Royal Table of Ur and the Aseb, or Game of 20 squares. It dates back to the Egyptian pre-dynastic period, datable to before 3100 BC and was played for centuries before decaying in favor of the more famous Senet, Aseb and Seejeh towards the end of the Old Kingdom, around 2300 BC.

Its real uniqueness, compared to other games even from later eras, was that it was multiplayer, with up to a maximum of six participants. Although we have no archaeological or historiographical evidence that allows us to go back to the original rules, specimens of the game have been found accompanied by six pawns in the shape of dogs, hippos or - more commonly - lions and many round pawns, mostly resembling small marbles. The use, of course, was not clear.

This game, being very old and having been played for nearly three millennia, has undergone heavy variations in the rules.

We therefore propose a simple and a complex game version, for the