Seega
the trap game of Egypt · twelve pieces a side, and no capture but the sandwich
EGYPT · RECORDED IN 1836
Twelve pieces a side on twenty-five squares. No leaping, no jumping — a piece falls only when two enemies close on it from opposite sides at once.
The history
Recorded in Cairo
Seega — also written siga — is an Egyptian game first described for the outside world by Edward William Lane in his 1836 account of Egyptian life, where he watched it played in Cairo on boards of twenty-five squares. It needed no equipment worth the name: a grid scratched in the earth or drawn on paper, and pebbles, buttons, or shards for men. It is still played in Egypt today, in the same unhurried way.
A battle of traps
Seega belongs to a different family from the leaping games. Nothing here is taken by jumping. A piece falls only when two enemies close on it from opposite sides — the custodian capture, the sandwich — and a piece that steps between two enemies of its own accord is perfectly safe: the trap must be sprung by the enemy's move, never walked into. The whole game is the setting and springing of traps, and the crossed centre square is sanctuary ground where no piece can be taken at all.
The honest footnote
Lane's account and the game's living tradition agree on the shape of it, and the version overleaf follows them: pieces are placed two at a time at the start, the second player to place makes the first move, and captures count only on the move that closes the trap. Small details vary from town to town in Egypt; these are the rules as the school plays them, stated in full.
The rules, plainly
A game for two players · Pale places first, Dark moves first · patience takes more pieces than daring
Setting up — the placing
The board starts empty, centre square crossed and empty. Take turns placing two pieces at a time on any empty squares except the centre, until all twenty-four pieces stand on the board — five turns of placing each. The centre stays empty through the whole placing. Pale places first — and because of that, Dark makes the first move of the game proper.
Moving
On your turn, move one piece one square to an empty square, in any of the eight directions — along the rows, the columns, or the diagonals. Pieces may move onto the centre square once the moving begins.
The sandwich capture
After your move, look at the enemy pieces next to the piece you just moved: any enemy now standing exactly between two of your pieces — along a row, a column, or a diagonal — is captured and leaves the board. One move can spring several traps at once. Three cautions: a piece resting on the centre square can never be captured (though it can help spring a trap); stepping between two enemies yourself is safe — only the mover springs traps; and pieces are captured only by the move that closes on them, never for standing in a sandwich built earlier.
Winning
Take every enemy piece, or hem the enemy in so no piece can move, and the game is yours. If a hundred and fifty turns pass without a capture, the game ends and the side with more pieces standing wins it; equal numbers is honours even.
Play it here
Play against the school, at Apprentice, Journeyman, or Master strength — or pass the screen and play a friend.
Your side
Computer strength
THE RULES, PLAINLY — THIS VERSION
Placing. The board starts empty. Taking turns, each player sets two pieces at a time onto any empty squares — except the crossed centre square, which must stay empty while you place. When all twenty-four pieces are down, the placing ends, and the player who placed second makes the first move.
Moving. A piece steps one square in any direction — sideways, forward, back, or diagonal — onto an empty square. The centre square may be entered once the moving begins.
Capturing — the trap. An enemy piece is captured when it is caught between two of your pieces along a straight line — across, down, or diagonal. Your move must spring the trap: a piece that steps in between two enemies of its own accord is not captured. One move can spring several traps at once. A piece resting on the centre square can never be captured, though it can help spring a trap.
Winning. Capture all the enemy's pieces, or leave them with no move. A hundred and fifty turns without a capture ends the game: the side with more pieces standing wins it, and equal numbers is honours even.