Senet Unblocked

Senet appears in Egyptian tomb paintings, and real boards for it were buried with their owners so they could keep playing in the afterlife. Thousands of years later, it is still a lively race. Two players send five pieces apiece down a winding track of thirty squares, throwing sticks instead of dice, and the final squares are a gauntlet of lucky and unlucky houses. This unblocked version from the PaperGames project by Christopher Müller uses one widely accepted modern guess at the rules, with a computer opponent at three levels or a local two-player mode.

Moving Along the Snake

Setup. Three rows of ten form the track, which doubles back on itself at each end. The first ten squares hold all the pieces at the start, the two colors taking turns.

Throwing. Each marked stick facing up is worth one step; a throw with all four plain is worth six. A result of one, four or six lets you go again after moving, while two or three hands the turn over.

Moving. Pick one of the highlighted pieces and move it forward the full number. Land on a lone enemy piece and you swap places with it. A square holding two or more of their pieces is closed to you.

The special houses.

Square	Name	Effect
15	House of Rebirth	Always safe for the piece on it
26	House of Beauty	Every piece must stop here exactly before moving on
27	House of Water	Washes the piece back to 15, or to the very start if a rival holds 15

Bearing off. A piece exits only when the throw takes it exactly one step beyond the thirtieth square. Get your whole team out first to win.

Senet controls

To do this	Keyboard	Mouse	Touch
Cast the sticks	Tab to "Throw sticks" and press Enter	Click "Throw sticks"	Tap "Throw sticks"
Move one of your pieces	Tab or arrow keys to a highlighted square, then Enter	Click a highlighted piece	Tap a highlighted piece
Pick your color and the computer level	—	Pick a color and a level, then click "New game"	Pick a color and a level, then tap "New game"
Step back or give up	—	Click "Undo" or "Resign"	Tap "Undo" or "Resign"

Playing the Odds in Senet

The most useful idea is pairing. Two pieces on one square cannot be attacked, so shuffling your pieces forward in twos makes you much harder to slow down. A lone piece in front of an enemy is an invitation to swap.

Plan your arrival at square 26. Since it cannot be skipped, you want pieces waiting just before it with a good chance of the exact throw. Once there, small throws help you hop over the House of Water instead of falling in.

Extra turns are a resource. After a bonus throw, plan for the second move as well as the first. Often you can use the first move to set up a pair and the second to advance safely.

Attack late pieces. Trading places with a rival close to the exit sets them back far more than a hit near the start.

Keep one piece trailing. If the leaders are stuck behind groups or awkward houses, a straggler gives you a harmless move.

A Game Worth Rediscovering

Senet is easy to start and surprisingly tense at the end, where one bad throw can send a leading piece back to 15. Easy picks moves without much thought, while the two higher levels weigh progress, hits and safety. Undo, Resign and autosave make it relaxed to experiment.

For another ancient race with dice and rosettes, try the Royal Game of Ur. If you want a light family race instead, Ludo is a natural fit.