In the 1970s, in a tomb in the Bronze Age cemetery of Shahr-i Sokhta, Iran, an incredible object was found next to a human skull: the oldest complete board game ever found. About 4500 years old, it consists of 20 circular spaces created from the coils of a carved snake, four dice and 27 geometric pieces.
Shahr-i Sokhta game is one of many ancient board games found around the world, such as the Roman game Ludus Latrunculorum and the Egyptian game Senet. Tutankhamun’s tomb. But we have only had to figure out how to play these games. No rulebook survives, except for the ancient Mesopotamian Water King Game, whose long-lost rules were deciphered in 2007 from a cuneiform tablet in the British Museum.
Now, though, another tool is helping to bring these games to life. In recent years, researchers have been harnessing artificial intelligence to aid in the search for possible rules. The goal is to make these forgotten games realistically replayable, while gaining insights into the evolution of game types. “These games act as a window into the past, offering a glimpse into the social and cultural dynamics of the people who played them,” he says. Eric Piette At the Catholic University…
