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Mehen

Mehen is an ancient Egyptian board game that was played from the predynastic period to the Old Kingdom (c.3000 – 2181 BCE). It is also called the ‘snake game’ because the board is shaped like a coiled snake. Its name comes from the snake god, called Mehen, who wrapped around Ra, the sun god, to protect him during his nightly journey through the underworld.

The game is for two players; we know this because scenes from the tombs of nobles show people playing mehen and other board games. The boards have sometimes been found with six lion pieces and many marbles.

It is possible that the marbles travelled along the spiral grooves, a hypothesis based on worn paint on some boards. Unfortunately, the rules for the game have been lost over the intervening 4000 years, so instead experts make their best guesses about how they think the game might have worked.