ENTER
Six pieces per side begin outside the board and enter from the outer end of the spiral. A cast determines movement.
LAB / 003
EXPERIMENTAL ARCHAEOLOGY / PLAYABLE HYPOTHESIS
MEHENTHE COILED ONE
PLAY ↓01
PLAY THE HYPOTHESIS
YOUR TURNCAST
ORIGINAL RTVAULT DIGITAL RECONSTRUCTION / NOT A FACSIMILE
MOVE —
02
OUR PLAYABLE MODEL
MOVE INWARD
Pieces travel along the coiled path toward the centre. The aim is to complete the route with all six pieces.
INTERACT
In this RTVault model, landing on an opposing piece returns that piece to the beginning. This interaction is speculative and clearly labelled as such.
FINISH
An exact cast is required to complete the route. The first player to finish all six pieces wins this experimental version.
Reconstruction warning: the board form and associated piece types are archaeologically attested; movement, interaction and winning conditions are modern RTVault conventions created for interactive exploration.
03
WHAT SURVIVES
COILED FORM / CENTRE TERMINUS
Surviving Mehen boards turn a coiled serpent into a circular segmented playing surface. Archaeological finds and tomb imagery also preserve associated playing pieces.
- FORM
- Coiled circular track
- PERIOD
- Predynastic–Old Kingdom
- PLAYING PIECES
- Multiple forms survive
- RULES
- Unknown
04
EVIDENCE / UNCERTAINTY
BOARD FORMHIGH
ASSOCIATED PIECESHIGH
GAMEPLAY RULESUNKNOWN
The British Museum records an Early Dynastic limestone Mehen board with the upper surface carved as a coiled serpent and the head positioned at the centre. The Metropolitan Museum of Art also discusses Mehen among early Egyptian board games and associated playing pieces.
RTVault intentionally separates these archaeological facts from the invented gameplay above. The playable version is an experiment in reconstruction, not a claim to reproduce a lost ancient rulebook.