The Knossos Game

Alternate Names
Zatrichion Chess, Royal Game of Knossos

No. of Players
Two

Equipment
Archaeological finds suggest that four conical ivory counters were used to play this
game, but it could certainly be that some were missing.
 Printable Knossos Game Board

History
This is the only representative of a very enigmatic game board discovered in
archaeological excavations by Sir Arthur Evans at the Palace of Knossos on the island
of Crete, dating to around 1500 BCE. The board is, by many criteria, unusual and some
historians have doubted that it is even a game at all.

Objective
It is very likely that the game was a race game similar to other ancient games from the
Middle and Far East. An easy speculation, attributed by the Sir Arthur Evans, the
discoverer of the game, is that the four blue circles, shown here at the bottom of the
board and sometimes referred to as the fortresses or citadels, represent the objective of
the game. If two players had two counters each, attaining both of them into position on
these circles would be as logical as any other reconstruction.

Play
The manner this game was played is unknown. Any reconstructions must be highly
conjectural and speculative. A few similarities with older games such as The Jiroft
Games, The Royal Game of Ur, and Tau are apparent, such as a speculative entry of
counters onto the wings at the upper end of the board, but this game is unusual in
several regards, especially at the top portion. Some special roll of the die or dice was
likely required to cross the river, and this idea has also been applied to other games such
as the crossing of the "bridge" or narrow central squares in the Royal Game of Ur,
"shorts cuts" in the 58 Holes Game or quick advancements along ladders in the game of
Snakes and Ladders.