senet.plyyard.com is maintained by Ply Yard. It gives you a complete reconstructed Senet game. Rules, the board, and review tools sit on the same page. You do not create an account, and you do not install a native app.
Three ways to play, and what each one is for
- Against AI: Sit White or Black, practice against multiple locally computed levels, and compare ideas with hints, undo, and move-by-move replay.
- Pass and play: Two people share one device. That is the mode for teaching the rules, sitting across a table, or talking through a branch from the same position.
- Online rooms: Open a public or private room, choose a side, and invite someone by link or room code. You can also join a public room, or watch a game that has already started.
See Senet rules for the rules, and Senet strategy for how to practice.
Where local games end and rooms begin
AI and same-device games stay in the current browser: the position, the move record, and a few interface settings. They do not need a room server. A refresh will usually let you continue. Clearing site data removes that local progress.
Online rooms are different. The server holds room state for a while and syncs moves. The browser keeps the identifiers needed to reclaim a seat. Those identifiers are not a user account. The privacy policy lists the data and how it is removed.
What this product does not do
- No ranks, rating tables, social accounts, or skill-based matchmaking.
- The public lobby lets a stranger sit down. It is not automatic pairing.
- AI moves and hints are local search. They are not coaching, and they are not an official rating.
- Ordinary play does not ask for an email address, phone number, legal name, or payment details.
This site runs a Kendall-family reconstruction of Senet. It is not a recovered ancient rulebook, and it is not the Royal Game of Ur, Ludo, or Aeroplane Chess. If the written rules and the legal moves on the board disagree, the program or the copy should be fixed. The gap is not a second ruleset.
How we decide a feature is worth keeping
A feature has to help someone finish a game or understand a move. Board cues show where a piece can go. The record lets you go back to a fork. Room status confirms seats and the connection. This site is not trying to grow the menu. Accurate rules, clear feedback, and the same legal moves in every mode come first.
About Ply Yard
This site is maintained by Ply Yard. Reports are handled against this board, these rules, and this room service. If the board accepts an illegal move, rejects a legal one, loses sync with the record, or fails to reconnect a room, please contact us with steps we can reproduce.