# Senet Deluxe — game of the pharaohs

> Ancient Egyptian race game, predecessor to Backgammon, with strategic pawn movement. (iPhone/iPad app by RoGame Software.)

- Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/senet-deluxe/id285831220 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`)
- Developer: [RoGame Software](https://appshunter.io/developer/285831223)
- Category: Games, Education, Board, Strategy
- Price: $2.99
- Rating: 2.71/5 from 7 App Store ratings · 18 written reviews indexed
- Age rating: 4+
- Requires: iOS 12.0 · 41 MB
- Languages: Danish, Dutch, English, French, German, Greek, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Norwegian Bokmål and 5 more
- Released: 2019-02-03
- Data updated: 2026-06-10
- Monetization: paid
- User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/senet-deluxe/id285831220/reviews.md

## What is Senet Deluxe?

Senet Deluxe - The Ancient Game of Life and Afterlife

Senet is an ancient Egyptian race game and the predecessor of our modern Backgammon. The oldest known form of the game is shown in a painting from the tomb of Hesy (circa 2686-2613 BCE). Many pictures of the game and artifacts have been discovered and are displayed in Museums around the world. The commonness of these finds indicates that the game was very popular in its time.

The main adversaries in Senet are the Spools and the Pyramids. These pawns follow a path from their start positions to the House of Horus in an inverted 'S'. The player moving all of his pawns off the board first wins. Fields on the Senet board are called houses. Some of these have special significance and are adorned with icons like the Ankh symbol. Instead of dice flattened sticks are used. Each stick has a bright side and a dark side. Every bright side is a point. If only dark sides are showing the player is awarded 5 points. When a 1, 4, or 5 is thrown the player gets another turn.

When moving into a field occupied by an opponent, the pieces switch places. If, however, the opponent's pawn is part of a row of two or more, it cannot be beaten. It is possible to 'jump' over an opponent if it isn't part of a row of 3 pieces or more. 3 pieces are considered a block and are an important strategic tool.

Through symbology Senet hints at the afterlife as seen from an Egyptian point of view. If one's piece is beaten on one of the last three fields or the jump over the House of Water is not successful one moves back to the house of Rebirth. In such the game alludes to reincarnation and the journey of the dead.

Senet Deluxe is a truly unique strategy game. It features great animation, a soundtrack, an intelligent adversary, enforceable backwards moves, highlighting for acceptable moves, game statistics and online help. Be prepared to spend many hours with the most popular game of the antiquity.

For more screenshots and several videos of the application in action, please visit the website indicated below.

## Key features

- Ancient Egyptian race game mechanics
- Flattened stick dice system
- Special board fields with icons
- Intelligent adversary AI
- Highlighting for acceptable moves
- Game statistics
- Online help

## Recent user reviews (10 of 18)

All indexed reviews: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/senet-deluxe/id285831220/reviews.md

### 5/5 — Fun

*2023-10-06*

Really fun to think about what the consciousness was in ancient Egypt by playing this game.  The thematics of it also really added a lot.  

I am giving this 5 stars, even though there seems to be a bug with the stats page. After winning, the stats showed 100% loss, along with other issues on the stats page.  

Functionally, worked great

### 4/5 — Generally very good, but a few negatives

*2023-08-16*

I played the earlier version of this in PalmOS many years ago, and then the earlier version of it for iOS, and now the newest update.

What I like about it most is that this the ONLY version of electronic Senet that doesn’t automatically alternate players after each throw, but gives additional throws on 1, 4, 5 as is correct.  Nice! 

What I *don’t* like is that for some inexplicable reason, pieces move on the second row of squares from left to right (!), instead of from right to left preserving the S-shaped path of piece movement as is traditional.  Why??? What is the logic in that?  (That’s why the one reviewer thought his piece moved ahead ten spaces, because pieces on the second row now start at the left side). 

And smaller issues— 
—> pieces should be safe from attack on the last three squares 
—> pieces should be safe from attack on the square 25 (nefer).
—> pieces which fall into the water square should emerge in square 15, the one marked with an ankh. 
—> the constant “jiggle” of the throw sticks is visually REALLY annoying. 

It’s still a good game, but it used to be much better; I hope that one day it can be as good as it once was, especially with the correct movement path.

### 1/5 — V2.2.2 Broke the game

*2021-12-02*

Pieces are skipping all over the board.  I rolled  2 and the piece I selected moved 10spaces??? On another roll I selected to move and my piece chose to move backwards when a valid forward move was available.  This update broke more than it fixed.  Completely unplayable now 👎

### 1/5 — Rules are wrong and no 2 player

*2021-03-08*

Paid money for a poor version of an ancient game my ancestors played. If you are going to misappropriate my culture at least get the rules of the game right.  Also no human vs human play option...overall the game is garbage

**Developer response:** Thank you so much for your review. Senet Deluxe accommodates several rule sets, start positions and more based on current academic understanding of the game. If you are aware of a set not included, we would definitely like to know about it. Contact us directly via our email address listed here or simply use the suggestions link in the app itself.

### 2/5 — Programmed to cheat

*2021-02-28*

I kept a log and over 90% of the time the computer get extra rolls to my single rolls. Also for some reason 100% of new games the 1st roll is a 3. Clearly not random

**Developer response:** Thanks so much for your review. That is frustrating of course, but we are unable to reproduce either behavior described at this time. Please consider sharing those logs.

### 1/5 — It cheats

*2017-10-06*

The computer gets the numbers it needs. The computer gets to roll again much more often than the human.  It appears that better rolls for the computer were a substitute for actual strategy algorithms.  Frustrating.

**Developer response:** Hi there and thanks for your review. Devs are finally allowed to answer, so here goes. There is no bias. All players use the same random number generator. Then there are several difficulty settings and one can switch sides even, but results will even out eventually. The algo at its base assigns the same value to all possible moves it can make. Then it picks a random one. It could still beat an opponent just with that, mind you, because luck of the dice plays such a big role in the game. In the higher difficulty settings, however, the algo will prefer moves that constrict its opponent so that they lose turns at throwing sticks as they can't move. That is the basic math of Senet – the more often you get to toss the sticks – the better your chances at winning. 

The program evaluates boards several moves ahead in this fashion – counting basically. There is a bit more to it as there are also opening and endgame considerations. But still, these methods are easy and more effective than trying to sway a random generator one way or the other. Let's also not forget that Senet is a predecessor of modern turn-based games. One-move turns as in chess, checkers are a later abstraction. In Senet you usually get 2-3 throws to reposition your armies once it is your turn. That is the rule – if one throws anything other than 2 or 3 one gets to go again. 

Games have been known to be rigged of course, but there really is no upside to it and we wouldn't think of it. Thanks again for taking the time to review Senet Deluxe.

### 5/5 — Fun & Well Done

*2016-01-23*

This second version of Senet available for iOS is also five stars in my opinion. While not as graphically sophisticated as the other competitor, game play is a bit better due to implementation of the rules requiring clearance of the top row before any of a player's pieces may be removed from the board at the end of the third row, and the "blocking" feature where three or more consecutive board spaces occupied by a player's pieces block an opponent's pieces from passing, regardless of the throw count made. It also features an optional setting to require backward moves on the board if no forward move is available, which would enhance and extend game play for more experienced players. Also importantly, this version offers a two-player option. App works well on my iPad Air, with very good graphics and sound/music, and like the competing game, offers an optional "suggested legal moves" setting to help beginning players learn the game - this can be turned off when the player becomes more proficient. I'll probably play this version more than the other as I become more experienced, because the first row clearance and blocking game rule features referenced above make game play more fun.

### 5/5 — Great game

*2015-09-18*

Works perfectly and has great graphics, the only thing missing is an option to play with a friend. It gets boring playing by yourself sometimes. But in any case great to pass the time with.

**Developer response:** Thanks so much for your review. A second player option would be a great addition. Specifically for larger devices. We will be looking into it.

### 2/5 — Broke

*2012-05-30*

Every time I try to enter the application, it closes making it unplayable.

### 1/5 — Unplayable on iPad2

*2011-09-05*

I saw the Senet Deluxe HD sale, and remembered I had purchased the iPhone version. When I went to play it to see if it merited the upgrade, the game crashed each time. Reboot, reinstall, deleting apps in memory -- nothing works. It's a shame the developer doesn't update this to iOS4. As such, I cannot recommend it.

## Frequently asked questions about Senet Deluxe

### What is Senet Deluxe?

Senet Deluxe is a digital adaptation of the ancient Egyptian race game, Senet. It simulates the gameplay mechanics of this historical board game, which is considered a predecessor to modern games like Backgammon.

### How do you play Senet Deluxe?

Players move their pawns along a path on the board, aiming to be the first to move all their pieces off. Special fields with icons like the Ankh symbol offer unique effects, and flattened sticks are used instead of dice to determine moves.

### Does Senet Deluxe have multiplayer?

The provided description highlights an 'intelligent adversary,' suggesting single-player against AI. It does not explicitly mention online or local multiplayer options.

### Can I play Senet Deluxe offline?

Based on the description focusing on an 'intelligent adversary' and game statistics, it is likely playable offline. There is no mention of requiring an internet connection for core gameplay.

### What devices is Senet Deluxe available on?

Senet Deluxe is available on iPhone, iPad, and iPod devices. It is designed for iOS platforms.

### How often is Senet Deluxe updated?

The latest version, 2.2.2, was released on November 29, 2021. This indicates updates are not extremely frequent, with the last update being over a year ago.

### What is the age rating for Senet Deluxe?

Senet Deluxe has an age rating of 4+. This suggests it is suitable for young children and contains no mature content.

### What do users think of Senet Deluxe?

Senet Deluxe has an average rating of 2.7 stars from 7 ratings. This indicates a mixed to negative user reception, with potential areas for improvement.

## Version history (last 5 releases)

### 2.2.2 — 2021-11-29

This version includes several minor updates, improved animation and some fixes for iOS 15.

### 2.2.1 — 2018-07-22

This app has been updated by Apple to display the Apple Watch app icon.

This version adds improved compatibility for iOS 11.x, fixes some minor issues and updates the game's icon.

### 2.2.0 — 2016-11-08

This version improves support for iOS 10 and includes several graphic improvements.

### 2.1.1 — 2015-12-04

We updated this version for iOS 9 and fixed some minor layout issues.

### 2.1.0 — 2015-06-06

This version adds improved support for iOS 8 and updates some graphics.

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All apps by RoGame Software: https://appshunter.io/developer/285831223

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*Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-06-10.*