Rules

Mehen

Mehen was an ancient Egyptian board game played on a board shaped like a coiled snake, with the path leading from the tail on the outside to the head at the centre. The snake was not just the board itself, but also a symbol of protection and a sacred journey, reflecting the belief that Mehen, the serpent god, guarded Ra during his passage through the underworld. In this way, the game may have represented a spiritual voyage towards sacred life or the afterlife, rather than being only a form of entertainment. Although the exact rules have been lost, archaeologists have found boards, marbles and lion-shaped pieces that show how important and meaningful the game once was. Mehen appears to have fallen out of use around 2300 BCE, at the end of Egypt’s Old Kingdom.

Rules

Objective: Move your buttons from the first square to the centre, then back again. Once one of your buttons returns safely, your lion (big button) enters the game and can eat your opponent’s buttons on its way back. The winner is the player whose lion has eaten the most opposing buttons.

Players: 2 players

What you need for each player: 4 small buttons, 1 big button (lion), and a die.

Setup: Each player keeps their 4 small buttons and 1 lion off the board at the start.

How to play

1) Starting the game
The youngest player goes first. To place a button onto the first space on the board, that player must roll a 2 or 3. If they roll anything else, they miss their turn. The other player then does the same.

2) Get all 4 small buttons onto the board
Players keep taking turns until all four buttons are on the first square. The lion stays off the board for now.

3) Move towards the centre
Once your regular buttons are on the board, move them along the spiral towards the centre. You may choose which button to move on each turn. More than one button may share the same space. You must always move according to the number shown on the die and the spaces on the board. If you need one step to reach the centre or leave the board, keep rolling until you get a 1.

4) Turn around at the centre
When one of your regular buttons reaches the centre, start moving it back towards the first square.

5) Bring in the lion
When one of your regular buttons has completed the full journey back to the start, you may place your lion onto the board.

6) Lion movement and capturing
The lion moves at double speed. If you roll a 4, move the lion 8 squares. Move your lion along the same path. When the lion reaches the centre and begins its return journey, it may eat an opponent’s button by landing on the same square. Lions cannot eat other lions.

7) Safe buttons
Any regular button that makes it all the way back to the start without being eaten is safe and leaves the board. When a lion leaves the board, it can enter again, replacing one of the buttons that has already left the board.

Winning: The winner is the player whose lion has eaten the most opponent buttons.

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