Five Lines is one of the oldest board games known, surviving from ancient Greece where it was known as “Pente Grammai.” Around 600 BC the Greek poet Alkaios referred to the game in one of his poems, and clay game boards have been found dating to the same period. Around 500 BC the Athenians wrote that Ajax and Achilles played it during the siege of Troy. Players’ pawns race around the outer circle attempting to get their pieces into the peg-holes on the center line by a count of the die. Chance is a significant element in the game, which it has in common with most race games.
