The Trainwreck Labs Newsletter
Coming to your inbox every Monday with a brand new fun-fact and all the answers to Trainwreck Labs games from the past week.
This week, we have…
A fun fact inspired by Globle
Answers to last week's games
Reader survey
Board games in Ancient Egypt were dead serious
Some say the board game Candyland, like Senet, also reflects the journey of the soul into the afterlife.
Thousands of years before video games or smartphones, people still craved entertainment and competition. In Egypt (Globle answer for October 9), that entertainment came in the form of Senet, a strategic board game dating back to around 3100 BCE that was so beloved it accompanied pharaohs into their tombs.
Senet was played on a rectangular board with 30 squares arranged in a 3x10 grid. The game pieces, often made of wood, faience (a blue-green ceramic), or ivory, were moved based on the throw of sticks or knucklebones, and players aimed to navigate their pieces off the board before their opponent. What makes this game particularly intriguing is its dual role; it also had a ritualistic significance, believed to reflect the journey of the soul in the afterlife. Some boards even featured hieroglyphics that hinted at the spiritual beliefs surrounding the game, suggesting a blend of entertainment and religious significance.
While the exact rules of Senet remain a mystery, modern archaeologists and game enthusiasts have reconstructed potential gameplay based on historical findings. The renewed interest in ancient games like Senet not only entertains but also encourages us to explore the complexities of human interaction, strategy, and the cultural significance of play throughout history.
Learn more: Otago Museum
Trivia
What is the oldest, continuously played board game? (Including variations)
Answers to last week's games
Monday, October 6 to Sunday, October 12.
Globle
Oct 6 Mauritania
Oct 7 Bolivia
Oct 8 Philippines
Oct 9 Egypt
Oct 10 Montenegro
Oct 11 Iceland
Oct 12 Serbia
Oct 13 Play now!
Globle: Capitals
Oct 6 Moscow
Oct 7 Dushanbe
Oct 8 Seoul
Oct 9 Colombo
Oct 10 Manama
Oct 11 Luxembourg
Oct 12 Moroni
Oct 13 Play now!
Chronogram
#919 Anne Boleyn
#920 Al Capone
#921 Amerigo Vespucci
#922 Albert Camus
#923 William the Conqueror
#924 Leonhard Euler
#925 John Steinbeck
#926 Play now!
Fictogram
#686 Spock
#687 Rocky Balboa
#688 Jon Arbuckle
#689 Stephen Dedalus
#690 Prince Zuko
#691 Harry Callahan
#692 Dilbert
#693 Play now!
Metazooa
#798 canary
#799 zebra
#800 camel
#801 emu
#802 silkworm
#803 tapir
#804 antelope
#805 Play now!
Metaflora
#737 barrel cactus
#738 dandelion
#739 vanilla
#740 pineapple
#741 oak
#742 hyacinth
#743 myrtle
#744 Play now!
Linxicon
The following are the shortest paths from last week:
#601 would → did → succeeded → success
#602 crazy → mad → angry → elect
#603 enable → allow → exceptions → except
#604 mother → time → while
#605 deck → wood → vocabulary → definition
#606 student → girl → attractive
#607 fund → funding → government → state
#608 Play now!
Elemingle
#257 Actinium
#258 Nihonium
#259 Flerovium
#260 Xenon
#261 Iodine
#262 Oxygen
#263 Rhodium
#264 Play now!
That’s all for this week. Thanks for reading!
Before you go…
Need a hint, but can’t wait for next week’s newsletter? Join the Trainwreck Labs Discord server!
