Seega is a game played in North Africa, and is particularly well-known in Egypt and Sudan. It is a game that is similar to Draughts or Alquerque, but has a custodial capture mechanism instead of leaping. It has been documented since the nineteenth century, but is likely to be older. The boards are typically scooped out of the sand or etched into stone surfaces.
Rules
5x5 board. Players begin by placing their pieces in prescribed spaces, and then alternating two-by-two in places as they see fit, except for the central space. Once all the spaces except the central one are filled, the first player moves a piece one space orthogonally to the empty space. Pieces are captured by surrounding them on either side by a player's own pieces. Multiple captures are allowed. The player to capture all of the opponent's pieces wins.
Lane 1836: 356-357; Davies 1925: 138-139; Bolton 190.
These rules were taken from the Khamsáwee ruleset.
All Rulesets
Observed rulesets Khamsáwee
Observed rules of Seega. Seb'áwee
Played on a 7x7 board. Tis'áwee
Played on a 9x9 board.
Origin
North Africa
Ludeme Description
Seega.lud
Reference
Murray 1951: 54–55; Parker 1909: 603–604.
Evidence Map
3 pieces of evidence in total. Browse all evidence for Seega here.
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Sources
Bolton, H. 1890. 'Seegà, an Egyptian Game.' Journal of American Folklore 3(9):132–134.
Davies, R. 1925. 'Some Arab Games and Puzzles.' Sudan Notes and Records. 8: 137–152.
Lane, E. W. 1836. An Account of the Manners and Customs of the Modern Egyptians. London: John Murray.
Murray, H.J.R. 1951. A History of Board-Games Other Than Chess. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
Parker, H. 1909. Ancient Ceylon. New Delhi: Asian Educational Services.
