BONUS: Egyptian Museum Fun

 I'm on sabbatical this semester, studying the lives and works of three mathematicians whom I call "The Sorcerer Mathematicians of the Renaissance."  One of these mathematicians was deeply involved in alchemy, so I decided to visit the Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum in San Jose, California today.  I had heard that they have an alchemy wing, and if I'm going to understand John Dee's life and work I need to know more about alchemy than I currently do!  But what does this have to do with gaming?  Well  .  .  .  as I was walking the grounds I came across a large outdoor game board for the ancient Eyptian game of Senet.  I always get very excited when I stumble across a game when I am least expecting it!  We do have this game (smaller version!) "on our shelves," but it is one we haven't gotten to yet in our "count."


 After walking the grounds - including their labyrinth (this is quite a cool place!) - I went back inside to continue my tour, and I noticed a Senet game board.  It's the wooden board in front of the white display area, and it dates to the 18th Dynasty of Egypt.
 Other ancient gaming pieces can be seen on the white-stepped display behind the Senet board.  The piece on the top right is a limestone gaming piece carved in the shape of a cynocephalus ape.  The piece that really caught my eye is the fifth from the left on the second step down, as it looks like like  a modern pawn from a game like Balderdash or something.
 We don't know exactly how Senet was played because, as the note with this display states, "everyone knew the rules from childhood, and there was no need for a rulebook."  Little did they know that this knowledge would be lost and that many thousands of years later inquiring minds would want to know.  Apparently it lives on to some extent in the game of Backgammon.  I just think it's cool that gaming, which I and my family love, is something that's been integral to the human race for as far back into history as we can determine.
On the wall just opposite the Senet board and game piece display is a replica of a tomb relief showing Queen Nefertari playing Senet.  It seems that Senet was considered practice for the trials that might come in the afterlife, and it was played by people at all levels of society - rich and poor, children and adults, royalty and peasants.  I feel as a gamer that I am in good company!

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