BOARD GAMES OF ANCIENT PERSIA

Board Games!• Very popular during Ancient Persia

• Involved two players racing to the finish

• Borrowed games from different cultures

• Most games involved a board and where elaborately decorated

The picture shows board games found in Jiroft, Iran dating back to 3,000 bce

The Game of 20 Squares

• Possibly the most popular board game during Ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia and Persia

- How do you think we know this?

• Similar to the Royal Game of Ur

Palm Tree Game

• Also known as:Hounds and Jackals (Egypt)

the Game of 58 Holes

• Board games found in Persia often had a palm tree on them, which was a symbol of King Darius the Great

Palm Tree Game Rules1. Each player has five playing pieces.

2. Players share 4 throwsticks, which are to be thrown onto the table

3. To determine who will go first, each player will throw the sticks. The player with the highest number of points will go first and choose what color pieces they want to use.

4. To move a piece onto the board, a 1 must to thrown. THEN the player throws again to see how many spaces they get to move.

5. Only one piece is allowed per circle – you may have more than one piece on the board at a time.

How to score the throwsticks:

1 black, 3 tan = 1

2 black, 2 tan = 2

3 black, 1 tan = 3

4 black = 4

4 tan = 5

Palm Tree Game Rules6. If a piece lands on circle number 6, it jumps to circle 20. If

a piece lands on circle 20, it jumps back to circle 6. Circle 8 and 10 work the same way.

7. If a piece lands on a circle with the symbol the player gets to throw again.

8. For a piece to leave the board, you must throw the exact number.

9. The first person to get all 5 of their pieces around the board wins.

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Takhte Nard

• means “battle on a wooden board”

• oldest known backgammon found in the “Burnt City”

• Two dice, 60 pieces

• Game has it’s own built in table

Backgammon

Early forms of Chess have been found in Ancient Persian art and literature