📚Source Card #1
“Game boards from predynastic Egypt (c. 3000 BCE)”
Multiple excavations, Various museums including British Museum, Cairo Museum
Published: c. 3000 BCE (artifacts)
Used for: Board design, spiral layout, number of segments
HOW WE VERIFY
Mehen presents a unique challenge: while we have many physical game boards, no written rules have survived. Our implementation is based on archaeological evidence, comparative analysis with other ancient games, and scholarly reconstructions.
1
Physical Evidence
Study actual game boards from museum collections
2
Comparative Analysis
Compare with other ancient race games
3
Scholarly Input
Review academic reconstructions and theories
4
Playtest
Test for historical plausibility and enjoyment
CONTENT MARKERS
VerifiedVERIFIED - Confirmed by archaeological evidence
ReconstructionRECONSTRUCTION - Scholarly interpretation based on available evidence
DramatizationDRAMATIZATION - Artistic license for gameplay purposes
SimulationSIMULATION - Modern simplification for digital play
PRIMARY SOURCES
📚Source Card #2
“Ancient Egyptian Gaming Pieces: A Study of Stone and Ivory Artifacts”
Peter A. Piccione, University of Charleston
Published: 1990
Used for: Understanding piece types, including lion and ball pieces
📚Source Card #3
“The Royal Game of Ur and Other Ancient Board Games”
Irving Finkel (Editor), British Museum
Published: 2007
Used for: Comparative analysis with other ancient race games
📚Source Card #4
“Mehen: Serpent Game of Predynastic Egypt”
Timothy Kendall, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
Published: 2007
Used for: Rule reconstruction methodology and historical context
Reconstruction
IMPORTANT: RULE RECONSTRUCTION
Unlike the Royal Game of Ur, no ancient texts describing Mehen's rules have been discovered. The gameplay you experience here is a modern reconstruction based on physical evidence and scholarly analysis. While we strive for historical plausibility, the actual rules played by ancient Egyptians may have been different. This uncertainty is part of what makes Mehen fascinating — it's a game we can see but whose exact mechanics remain a mystery.
CHANGELOG
2026.01 - Initial release with basic race rules
Future - Additional variants including lion pieces