Rules

ASEB

Aseb, often called the Game of Twenty Squares, is an ancient Egyptian two-player race game played on a distinctive twenty-square board, and it is closely related to the Royal Game of Ur and sometimes linked with Senet. Archaeological finds described by one source place it in Egypt’s Middle Kingdom (c. 2055–1650 BCE), while another source describes it as the Egyptian version of an earlier two-player game dating back as far as 3000 BCE. The exact original rules have not survived, but modern reconstructions suggest that players moved five or seven pieces along a fixed path using casting sticks or knucklebones, trying to be the first to bear all their pieces off the board. Marked squares could act as safe spaces, grant an extra turn, or help block an opponent, giving the game a lively mix of chance and tactics. Aseb was also found in tombs, which suggests that, like other Egyptian games, it may have carried symbolic meaning beyond simple entertainment.

Rules

ASEB is a two-player race game in which both players guide their pieces along the same path across the board. The aim is to be the first to successfully move all five of your pieces through the board and off it using exact dice rolls.

Players: 2 players

What you need for each player: 5 pieces of the same colour.

Setup: Each player receives five pieces of the same colour. All pieces begin the game off the board, placed beside it. The ASEB board consists of 20 squares, arranged into three rows: a row of four squares at each end and a longer middle row of twelve squares. To decide who starts, both players roll the die once. The player with the highest roll takes the first turn.

How to Play

1. Board and Movement
Both players use the same S-shaped path that runs across the board. Pieces move forward along this path and may never move backwards. Only one piece may occupy a square at any time, and a player’s own pieces cannot jump over each other. Some squares on the board are marked with symbols (often called rosettes). These are safe squares and give special advantages.

2. Taking a Turn
On your turn, you roll the die and move one piece only, according to the number rolled. You may either bring a new piece into play from off the board or move a piece that is already on the board. Pieces must always move the full number of squares shown on the die. If no legal move is possible, the player loses their turn.

3. Dice Rules
The die works as follows:

Rolling 1 to 4 lets you move a piece that number of squares.
Rolling 5 allows you to roll the die again.
Rolling 6 allows you to roll again and take an extra turn.

4. Capturing Pieces
If your piece lands on a square occupied by your opponent’s piece, that opponent’s piece is captured and returned off the board to its owner’s reserve. However, pieces standing on safe squares cannot be captured.

5. Safe Squares
When a piece lands on a marked (safe) square:

It cannot be captured while it remains there.
The player immediately takes another turn.

6. Bearing Pieces Off the Board
To remove a piece from the board, it must land exactly on the final square using an exact dice roll. Once removed, the piece takes no further part in the game.

7. End of the Game
The game ends when one player successfully removes all five of their pieces from the board. That player is declared the winner.

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