Aseb is the Egyptian version of an earlier 2-player game called The Game of 20 Squares dating back as far as 3,000 BCE. Versions of the game have been found in Egypt, Sudan, Crete, Cyprus, and even in India. It's very similar to the Royal Game of Ur, and probably arrived in Egypt from ancient Sumer during the 17th Dynasty. Aseb is a race game, but also a running-fight game in which players gradually eliminate their opponent's pieces as they conduct the race. Using stick dice and moving on a race track with a few "safe" spaces, the game is somewhat random, but some tactical decisions add to the fun. A player wins by either getting all their pieces off the board or eliminating the opponent from the board.
