Hyena chase

Lore & Background

The playing area is traditionally marked on the ground, but may be drawn on paper. It has a sequence of many circles arranged in a spiral, each representing a camp and the end of a day's journey. The first circle at the outside of the spiral is larger and represents a village, and the final circle at the centre of the spiral represents a well at an oasis. Each player owns a piece, representing a mother. The objective of the game is to travel from the village to the well, then be the first player to return to the village. There is also a piece to represent the hyena, which is unleashed by the winning player to jeopardise the return of the other mothers.

All pieces start at the village. The players move their mothers according to the roll of a die (traditionally pieces of stick were used). A player must throw a six to get their mother from the village onto the first circle. A player must throw the exact number to reach the well; if the number thrown is higher than the number of days to the well they must try again on their next turn. Once they reach the well the mother washes her clothes until the player rolls a six again. Then the mother starts the return journey to the village.

The first player to get their mother back to the village (an exact throw is not required) wins the game. For added entertainment, the winner is allowed to play the hyena. Again, a six must be thrown to release it from the village.

Reader's Guide

Hyena chase is a traditional North African race game notable for its spiral track and the unique mechanic where the winner becomes a predator. The game's structure—moving from the village to the oasis well and back—reflects a desert journey narrative. The requirement to roll a six to start and to roll exact numbers to reach the well adds tension, while the return journey introduces the hyena, which moves at double speed and eliminates opponents' pieces. This element transforms the game from a simple race into a strategic chase, as the winner actively hunts the other players. The game is related to the ancient Egyptian game Mehen, suggesting a long history of spiral race games in the region. Its simplicity and adaptability (marked on ground or paper) made it accessible. The hyena mechanic provides a memorable twist, ensuring the game remains engaging even after a player finishes first. The game is documented in several board game reference works, indicating its recognition in the study of traditional games.

Did You Know?

• The playing area is traditionally marked on the ground, but may be drawn on paper.
• A player must throw a six to get their mother from the village onto the first circle.
• The hyena moves at twice the speed of the mothers (double the score of the die).
• The game is related to Mehen, a game from ancient Egypt.

Origins & Cultural Roots

Hyena chase, also known simply as Hyena or the Hyena game, is a straightforward racing game whose roots stretch back to North Africa. Unlike many modern board games that arrive in a box, this pastime was traditionally etched or scratched directly into the ground, though it can equally be sketched onto a sheet of paper. Its lineage reaches further into antiquity than one might expect: scholars have drawn a clear parallel between it and Mehen, a spiral-track game played in ancient Egypt, suggesting a shared family of race-and-path games that has endured for millennia. The game has been documented in several academic and hobbyist sources, most notably in R. C. Bell's 1960 study (revised 1979) for Oxford University Press and his 1983 Boardgame Book, as well as in Ruth Midgley's 1975 anthology The Way to Play. Today it remains catalogued on enthusiast platforms such as BoardGameGeek and the Elliot Avedon Virtual Museum of Games, where it appears under the Arabic title Li'b El Merafib, a reminder that the game lives most naturally within the oral and physical traditions of its North African home.

The Spiral Track & Its Story

At the heart of Hyena chase lies a single, elegant piece of geometry: a spiral of circles winding inward toward a centre. Each circle on the track stands for a camp, marking the end of one day's travel in a journey that mirrors a real desert trek. The outermost circle is deliberately drawn larger than the rest and represents a village, the starting point for every player's piece. At the very centre sits the smallest circle, symbolising a well at an oasis, the ultimate destination of the outward leg. Every player controls a piece that personifies a mother, and the entire game is framed as her round-trip expedition: she must walk from the village, stop at each camp along the spiral, reach the well, and then retrace her steps back to the village. This narrative scaffolding gives the abstract movement of a counter around a track a vivid, human purpose. The spiral layout also means that the path is shared and linear, so players inevitably overlap, pass one another, and set the stage for the hyena's later interference on the return leg.

Movement, Dice, and the Rules of the Road

All pieces begin clustered at the village circle, and progress is governed entirely by chance. Traditionally, players rolled small sticks rather than a modern die, and the number shown determined how many camps a mother could advance. Leaving the village demands a six; until that roll appears, the piece stays put. Reaching the well is stricter still: the player must land on the centre circle with the exact number of days remaining. Overshooting means the mother simply waits and the player tries again on a subsequent turn. Upon arrival, the mother pauses to wash her clothes at the well and remains there until a six is rolled once more, signalling that she is ready to head home. The return leg relaxes the exactness requirement: any roll that carries the mother back to the village counts, and the first player to do so claims victory. This asymmetry—precision on the way out, freedom on the way back—gives the outward journey a tense, deliberate rhythm while keeping the homecoming swift and satisfying.

The Hyena's Hunt & the Winner's Privilege

The moment one mother crosses the finish line back at the village, the game's tone shifts from competition to spectacle. The victorious player earns the right to control the hyena, a separate piece that has been waiting at the village throughout the race. Releasing it also requires a six, but once loose, the hyena moves at double the speed of any mother—advancing twice the number shown on the die each turn. It follows the same spiral track, racing along the return path toward the village. Any mother it passes on that homeward stretch is devoured and immediately removed from play. This rule transforms the final phase into a tense chase: players who have not yet reached the well or who are still on the return leg find themselves in genuine jeopardy, their hard-won progress erased in a single pass. The hyena's presence adds a layer of dark humour and theatrical tension to an otherwise simple race, turning the winner into a predator and the remaining mothers into prey, and ensuring that the last few turns of the game are as thrilling as the first.

Gallery