Masters Mehen Game – Ancient Egyptian Game of the Serpent – The oldest board game in the world – Board Game for 2 – 4 Players – Historical board game
£29.99 incl. VAT/Tax
- Replica Mehen game with a cloth board, lions, lionesses and coloured wooden playing pieces
- Probably the oldest board game in the world – lion pieces are based on Ancient Egyptian museum artefacts
- Mehen is a strategic race game for 2 – 4 players using a unique method for determining how the pieces move
- Historical board game with suggested rules and brief history of the game of Mehen by James Masters
- Presented in a convenient storage box, this game will make a great gift
A fun and fascinating Mehen game with model lion and lioness pieces based on those found in Egypt and held in museums around the world. The ancient Egyptian Game of the Serpent is not only mind-bogglingly old, our set of rules based on new research is also great fun to play.
Mehen represents this last, most important journey of the pharaohs. Small pieces representing the spirit of pharaohs race along the serpent track attempting to be the first to reach the head of Mehen while fighting off lions and the opponent’s pharaohs en-route. Movement of the pieces is controlled by a unique mechanism of guesses, bluff and brinkmanship making the game lively and amusing to play, as well as being historically fascinating.
Mehen or the Game of the Snake is probably the oldest board game in the world. The game was played by the Ancient Egyptians at the start of the Old Kingdom and possibly well before that with the earliest evidence dating back the pre-dynastic Egyptian period circa 3600 – 3300BC.
The rules provided with our replica game are based on new findings and are believed to be closer to those played 5000 years ago than any previously published. This game is for 2 – 4 players and is presented in a convenient storage box. Rules are included.
Masters Replica Mehen Game – Ancient Egyptian game of the Serpent. Expanion to 6 players. (4 player base game required)
£21.79 incl. VAT/Tax
- An expansion to the Masters replica Mehen game (4 player base game is required)
- An additional lions, lioness and 12 coloured wooden playing pieces enabling 6 players to enjoy the game
- A strategic race game for 2, 4 or 6 players
An expansion for the Masters replica Mehen board to enable 6 players to enjoy the game.
The 3rd dynasty ancient Egyptian tomb of Hesy-Re featured a wall of 3 ancient Egyptian games – Senet, Mehen and Men. The set of pieces for Mehen shows 3 lions, 3 lionesses and 6 sets of 6 marbles. Another find on the causeway of the funeral complex of Sahure depicts 6 players at a Mehen board. So it seems possible but not certain that the game could be played with 6 players, probably in two teams of three. Our expansion pack allows you to add a lion, a lioness and 12 extra coloured wooden cubes so that you can try out the 6 player version enjoyed by pharaohs Hesy-Re and Sahure.
Important: This is an expansion set – to use it, you must first own the base game for 4 players.
The replica lion pieces are based on those found in the tombs of Djet and Djer by Flinders Petrie. They are made from resin with felted bottoms.
Replica Mehen Game – Ancient Egyptian Game of the Serpent – Replica of the Oldest Board Game in World – Board Game for 2-4 players
£74.99 incl. VAT/Tax
- Replica Mehen game with a resin board, lions, lionesses and coloured wooden playing pieces
- Probably the oldest board game in the world – board and lion pieces are based on Ancient Egyptian museum artefacts
- Mehen is a strategic race game for 2 – 4 players using a unique method for determining how the pieces move
- With suggested rules and brief history of the game of Mehen by James Masters
- Presented in a sturdy green box with 4 lion/lioness pieces and 24 coloured wooden cube playing pieces
A stunning replica Mehen board with lion and lioness pieces based on those found in Egypt and held in museums around the world. The ancient Egyptian Game of the Serpent is not only mind-bogglingly old, our set of rules based on new research is also great fun to play.
When an ancient Egyptian pharaoh dies, their spirit must undertake a dangerous journey through the underworld via the coils of the snake God Mehen. Fighting off enemies en-route the objective is to be reborn through the head of Mehen into the afterlife where the dead King can be with the sun god Ra for eternity.
Mehen represents this last, most important journey of the pharaohs. Small pieces representing pharaohs race along the serpent track attempting to be the first to reach the head of Mehen while fighting off lions and the spirits of opponent’s pharaohs en-route. Movement of the pieces is controlled by a unique mechanism of guesses, bluff and brinkmanship making the game lively and amusing to play, as well as being historically fascinating.
Mehen or the Game of the Snake is probably the oldest board game in the world. The game was played by the Ancient Egyptians at the start of the Old Kingdom and possibly well before that. In 1895, Flinders Petrie found a Mehen board that dates back to pre-dynastic period in Egypt, circa 3600 – 3300BC – at least 300 years before the earliest evidence for Senet, the Royal Game of Ur or any other board game.
The Masters Traditional Games replica board is derived from those held at the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge and the Oriental Institute of Chicago. Both board and lion pieces are made from resin with felted undersides giving a nice feel to play. Although rules for playing Mehen are unknown, recent research by James Masters significantly reduced the possibilities as to how the game can have been played. The rules provided with our replica game are based on these findings and are believed to be closer to those played 5000 years ago than any previously published.
This base game is for 2 – 4 players. An expansion to 6 players is also available for those wishing to attempt to re-enact the Mehen game depicted on the tomb wall of Hesy-Re of the 3rd dynasty.