Giza, Egypt – Ezzat Studios today is pleased to announce Egyptian Senet 1.0.2 for iOS, an update to its award-winning board game, first played in ancient Egypt more than 5,000 years ago. Players compete against the game’s AI, taking turns, as each tries to move their seven pawns across and off the gameboard, successfully completing their soul’s journey through the underworld realm of Osiris. Four casting sticks serve as dice, allowing throws between one and five. Although gameplay is fairly straightforward, various rules govern movement of the pawns. As an aid to formulating a winning strategy, the game automatically flashes all the player’s pawns eligible to move, given the board position and number thrown. Senet is imbued with profound symbolism, and it is not unusual for one side to gain an overwhelming lead, only to lose in the final moments of play.
Feature Highlights:
* Play against the computer to move all your pawns off the board
* Players move the brown pawns, while the game moves the blue pawns
* Game board of 30 squares in this turn-based game
* Players use casting sticks, which act like dice, determining the number of squares a pawn can move
* Senet is a challenging game that combines luck and strategy
The game board consists of 30 squares, arranged in 3 horizontal rows of 10. Pawns move from left to right through row 1, then drop down and move from right to left through row 2. Dropping down again, pawns move from left to right along row 3 and finally, off the board. The game uses the rules developed by Timothy Kendall in his 1978 work, Passing Through the Netherworld : The Meaning and Play of Senet, an Ancient Egyptian Funerary Game.
The game includes five special squares, governed by their own rules, each containing a hieroglyphic. Square 15 is the House of Rebirth; square 26 is the House of Beauty; square 27 is the House of Water: square 28 is the House of the Three Truths; square 29 is the House of Two Truths; and square 30, the last, is the House of Horus, the Egyptian falcon-god and lord of the sky.
Egyptian Senet for iOS features authentic photos of ancient Egyptian temples, plus artistically crafted graphics and animation of an ancient stone game board and pieces, set in an echoing, tomb-like chamber. Ritualistic music plus sound effects of stone pieces moving recreate the atmosphere of predynastic Egypt. The app includes complete instructions for play.
“After performing the ‘opening of the mouth ceremony’ on your mummy, you start your afterlife journey to pass through the underworld realm of Osiris, challenging a virtual soul inside a hidden tomb within the Luxor temple, on the west bank of the Nile river,” stated Mohammed Ezzat of Ezzat Studios, based in Giza, Egypt. “Senet is a mystical game from more than 5,000 years ago, and it is the earliest known precursor of board games like backgammon, checkers, and chess.”
Language Support:
* English, Czech, Dutch, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Simplified Chinese, Spanish, Swedish, Traditional Chinese, Turkish
Device Requirements:
* iPhone 3GS/4/4S/5, iPod touch (3rd/4th/5th generation), and iPad
* Requires iOS 4.3 or later (iOS 5 tested)
* Universal app optimized for display on all iOS devices
* 38.9 MB
Pricing and Availability:
Egyptian Senet 1.0.2 is $0.99 (USD) and available worldwide exclusively through the App Store in the Games category. Review copies are available on request.
Egyptian Senet 1.0.2
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Based in Giza, Egypt, Ezzat Studios was founded by Indie developer Mohammed Ezzat in 2013. Ezzat Studios publishes games for iOS and Android. Copyright (C) 2013 Ezzat Studios. All Rights Reserved. Apple, the Apple logo, iPhone, and iPod are registered trademarks of Apple Inc. in the U.S. and/or other countries. Other trademarks and registered trademarks may be the property of their respective owners.
