Set up & win
Two sides, five pieces each. They start on squares 1–10 in alternating colours; the House of Light goes first. Follow a snaking path through three rows of ten squares. The first player to bear off all five pieces wins.
ANCIENT STRATEGY. REBORN.
Your move.
Your legacy.
A game that has stood the test of time.
Reimagined for your next great move.
For iPhone · Free with in-app purchases
HOUSE OF SHADOW◆HOUSE OF LIGHT
Timeless strategy2 game modes3 AI difficulty levels1 device. 2 players.
THE GAME
Ancient roots.
New rivals.
Senet originated in ancient Egypt and is one of the world’s oldest known board games. Senet Reborn brings its enduring appeal to your iPhone, with a clear board, atmospheric sound and room for thoughtful decisions.
House of Light or House of Shadow? Choose your side. Think ahead. Find your way across the board.
Find your play style ↘HOW SENET WORKS
30 squares.
Your path to victory.
The rules shared by Classic and Flow in Senet Reborn.
Throw & choose
Four casting sticks determine movement: each light side counts as one step; no light sides means 5. Choose one of your pieces and move the full distance. After a legal move with 1, 4 or 5, throw again. Flow has an exception on square 26.
Swap & protect
Landing on an unprotected opposing piece swaps your positions. A square occupied by your own piece is not a legal destination. Two or more of your pieces on consecutive squares along the path protect each other from capture.
Block & move back
Three opposing pieces in a row block passage. If none of your pieces can move forward, you must make a legal backward move. If neither is possible, your turn ends and any extra throw is lost. Pieces on squares 28–30 cannot move backward.
The special houses
Square numbers follow the path. These effects apply in both modes; bearing off depends on the mode.
15 · Return
A safe square and the return point after landing in the water.
26 · Mandatory stop
Safe from capture. Every piece must land here exactly before moving on; it cannot be skipped.
27 · Water
The piece immediately returns to square 15. If occupied, it goes to the nearest free square before it.
28–30 · Endgame
Squares 28 and 29 are safe from capture. Square 30 has no inherent square protection. Your mode determines the route to the finish.
TWO PATHS TO VICTORY
Your game. Your rules.
Tradition or a new rhythm.
Choose how you play.
Classic
Historically researched. Tactically played. Gather your pieces in the last row and master the precise 3–2–1 endgame.
For those who think aheadFlow
No collecting requirement, flexible bearing off and three effects to choose from on a 5. A modern evolution of Classic.
For those who love momentumCLASSIC & FLOW COMPARED
Two modes.
Clear rules.
The concrete differences between the two rule sets.
| Rule | Classic | Flow |
|---|---|---|
| Collecting your pieces | You may bear off only when all your pieces still on the board are in the last row (squares 21–30). | No collecting requirement: each piece can finish independently of your other pieces. |
| Bearing off | Strict 3–2–1 rule: leave square 28 only with a 3, square 29 only with a 2, and square 30 only with a 1. You cannot bear off directly from square 26. | After the mandatory stop on square 26, reaching or passing the end is enough. Unused steps are discarded; no exact finishing throw is needed. |
| Moving on the final squares | From squares 28 and 29, only the required bearing-off move is allowed. Square 30 can only be reached from square 26. | From squares 28 and 29, you may bear off or move to square 30. Moving from 28 to 29 is not allowed. Square 30 can only be reached from square 26, 28 or 29. |
| Extra throws | After a legal move with 1, 4 or 5, throw again, including when landing on square 26. | After a legal move with 1, 4 or 5, throw again. Landing on square 26 ends your turn instead. |
| Bonus choice | No additional effects. | Whenever you throw a 5, choose exactly one of the three Flow effects below before moving. |
One 5. Three possibilities.
+1 step
Move the chosen piece six steps instead of five. The mandatory stop and other movement rules still apply.
Bypass a blockade
Pass opposing three-piece blockades for this move. Protected pieces remain protected; your own occupied squares remain invalid destinations.
Activate protection
The moved piece cannot be captured until your turn begins again after the next opposing turn. Your own extra throws do not end this protection.
HISTORICALLY RESEARCHED
Ancient roots.
Carefully researched.
Senet Reborn’s Classic mode grew out of an in-depth study of historical evidence and published reconstructions of Senet’s rules. No complete ancient Egyptian rulebook survives. Our Classic variant therefore draws on these reconstructions, bringing selected elements together into a clearly defined, playable rule set.
Our research includes the reconstructions of Gustave Jéquier and Timothy Kendall, alongside Peter A. Piccione’s studies of the game’s history and meaning. Classic does not reproduce any single rule set unchanged. Flow deliberately develops this foundation further, adding tactical choices and a smoother endgame.
Gustave Jéquier
An early reconstruction. The documented variant includes five pieces, protective chains, three-piece blockades and collecting pieces in the last row. Other details differ from Senet Reborn.
Reconstruction in the Digital Ludeme Project ↗Timothy Kendall
A published playable reconstruction featuring stick values, position swapping and special end squares. Classic does not adopt it unchanged: Kendall’s documented base variant, for example, allows bearing off directly from square 26 with a 5.
Reconstruction in the Digital Ludeme Project ↗Peter A. Piccione
Research into Senet’s development and religious significance provides historical context. Piccione also published his own reconstruction; his work is not a blanket source for every individual Classic rule.
In Search of the Meaning of Senet (1980) ↗The rules above describe Senet Reborn’s rule set. Historical evidence, scholarly reconstructions and the modern Flow variant are deliberately distinguished.
STRAIGHT FROM THE GAME
Every move matters.
Actual app screenshots.
A glimpse of your next game night.
01 / 03
The right moment.
Weigh your options and choose your next move.
YOUR CHALLENGE
One duel.
Endless possibilities.
You against the AI
Find your challenge: easy, medium or hard. The adaptive AI is waiting for your next move.
Together on one device
Challenge a friend. Two players, one iPhone and a board full of possibilities.
Hand-drawn textures
Hand-drawn textures give Senet Reborn its distinctive character. Warm surfaces and carefully crafted details bring the world of the game to life.
Sound effects that play along
Thoughtfully matched sound effects accompany the action and make your moves audible. Every turn gains a presence of its own.
A specially produced soundtrack
Produced specifically for Senet Reborn, the soundtrack accompanies your matches and shapes their atmosphere. Music, visuals and play come together in a shared mood.
THE NEXT CHAPTER IS YOURS
The story is ancient.
Your move is now.
Senet Reborn on the App Store ↗For iPhone · Free with in-app purchases