The Mehen Tablet and How to Play the Oldest Board Game in the World

About the Event

As the oldest known board game, the importance of mehen in ludological history cannot be understated, but until 2025, no comprehensive analysis of any mehen board had ever been undertaken. New technologies have appeared that give opportunities to better understand the genesis and evolution of this ancient game from the Naqada II Predynastic period to the end of the Old Kingdom of Egypt. The mehen gameboard held by the Petrie Museum, London, was chosen for this comprehensive study, encompassing the board’s acquisition history, materials, manufacture, chronology, and ludology.

The talk will begin with an introduction to the game of Mehen, its archaeological history and a disentangling of the numerous mistakes and misunderstandings about the game that persisted for more than 150 years.

The free lunchtime talk will consist of a 30 minute presentation followed by a 15 minute audience Q&A. Book now or simply drop-in to the museum on the day.

About the Speaker

James F. R. Masters is an independent scholar, creator of the Games Research Database at gamesboard.org.uk and author of tradgames.org.uk

His research focuses on medieval dexterity games and ancient board games. He is involved with projects relating to AI & computer simulations of ancient games and has published three articles on ancient Egyptian Mehen in peer-reviewed journals:

• 2024: Mehen, The Ancient Egyptian Serpent Game: A Reappraisal of the Evidence Set
• 2024: Mehen, The Ancient Egyptian Serpent Game: A Reappraisal of Game-Play Theories
• 2026: Petrie’s “Serpent Stone”: Investigating the Provenance, Manufacture and Playability of the Mehen Snake Game Board Held by the Petrie Museum

James maintains significant collections of British pub games, Bagatelles, Tomy pocket games and representations of ancient board games. He regularly plays Snooker, Skittles, Shuffleboard, nerdy modern board games and competes every year at the UK Crokinole Championship.

About Research in Focus

The Research in Focus series platforms current research into UCL’s Museums and Collections through a programme of regularly researcher-led public talks.

UCL’s museums and collections encompass artefacts, specimens, artist works and more telling the history of living species in global contexts spanning thousands of years. The collections are used for teaching, public engagement and research, all of which contribute to our understanding of the world around us.

The Research in Focus talk series provides a platform for researchers to share their investigative enquiries through public engagement. We are proud to showcase how knowledge production is supported across varied collections.

The museums and collections are:

• Grant Museum of Zoology
• Petrie Museum of Egyptian and Sudanese Archaeology
• UCL Art Museum
• Science Collection in the Object Based Learning Lab
• Pathology Museum at the Royal Free Hospital

The collections allow for interdisciplinary approaches as well as singular focus, reflected in the talks in this series. Criticality and recognition of local knowledge sources are encouraged, especially when working with contested histories and knowledge production through epistemological violence.

Access

The Petrie Museum of Egyptian and Sudanese Archaeology is located on a first floor, with lift access available to visitors via the adjacent Science Library. The nearest Changing Places toilet facility is located on the ground floor of the Science Library and is accessible via a radar key

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Finding us

We are located in Bloomsbury, in the heart of central London. The nearest tube stations are Euston Square (Metropolitan, Circle, Hammersmith & City), Goodge Street (Northern Line), Warren Street (Victoria Line), and buses 18, 30, 73, 134 and 205 stop 3-5 minutes away on Euston Road.