BOARD GAMES OF
ANCIENT PERSIA
Board Games!
•
Very popular during Ancient Persia
•
Involved two players racing to the finish
•
Borrowed games from different cultures
•
Most games involved a board and where
elaborately decorated
The picture shows board games found in
Jiroft, Iran dating back to 3,000 bce
The Game of 20 Squares
• Possibly the most popular
board game during Ancient
Egypt, Mesopotamia and
Persia
- How do you think we know this?
• Similar to the
Royal Game of Ur
Palm Tree Game
•
Also known as:
Hounds and Jackals (Egypt)
the Game of 58 Holes
•
Board games found in Persia often
had a palm tree on them, which
was a symbol of King Darius the
Great
Palm Tree Game Rules
1.
Each player has five playing pieces.
2.
Players share 4 throwsticks, which are to be thrown onto the
table
3.
To determine who will go first, each player will throw the
sticks. The player with the highest number of points will go
first and choose what color pieces they want to use.
4.
To move a piece onto the board, a 1 must to thrown. THEN
the player throws again to see how many spaces they get to
move.
5.
Only one piece is allowed per circle – you may have more
than one piece on the board at a time.
How to score the throwsticks:
1 black, 3 tan = 1
2 black, 2 tan = 2
3 black, 1 tan = 3
4 black
=4
4 tan
=5
Palm Tree Game Rules
6.
If a piece lands on circle number 6, it jumps to circle 20. If
a piece lands on circle 20, it jumps back to circle 6. Circle
8 and 10 work the same way.
7.
If a piece lands on a circle with the symbol
gets to throw again.
8.
For a piece to leave the board, you must throw the exact
number.
9.
The first person to get all 5 of their pieces around the board
wins.
the player
Dark starts here 
Light starts here 
Takhte Nard
• means “battle on a wooden
board”
• oldest known backgammon
found in the “Burnt City”
• Two dice, 60 pieces
• Game has it’s own built in
table
Backgammon
Early forms of Chess have been found in
Ancient Persian art and literature