Interesting. Apion's description of the pessoi game mentioned in the Odyssey: flicking pebbles toward the Penelope-pebble convinces me more than translating pessoi as draughts. The problem with Apion's description is:
- There were 108 suitors (we know this from the Odyssey 16.245-254 [1]).
- All that Homer told us is: They were gladdening their hearts at pessoi in front of the doors, sitting on the hides of oxen which they themselves had slain (the Odyssey 1.106-108 [2]).
- You can't have 108 sitting men play the same game of marbles.
IMHO, pessoi was a 1:1 game and it was not a board game.
I've played Senet regularly for over 15 years. I was working over the holidays on a GNOME Senet game which I hope to put out there soon. I think it strikes a fun balance between chance and strategy. It probably won't appease chess die-hards on the complexity front, but for casual gameplay it's nice.
thank you for introducing me; i've never realized just how old some board games are. Even in rural eastern europe, my extended family has been playing "Nine Man's Morris" for decades, which I now know was likely a cultural custom there for centuries because of its history. I just thought it was some game they made up lol! Extremely cool
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[ 3.3 ms ] story [ 21.8 ms ] threadLike you wouldn't call (Kievan) Rus' "ancient Russia"
- There were 108 suitors (we know this from the Odyssey 16.245-254 [1]).
- All that Homer told us is: They were gladdening their hearts at pessoi in front of the doors, sitting on the hides of oxen which they themselves had slain (the Odyssey 1.106-108 [2]).
- You can't have 108 sitting men play the same game of marbles.
IMHO, pessoi was a 1:1 game and it was not a board game.
[1] https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Hom.+Od.+16.24...
[2] https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Hom.+Od.+1.106...