Painted on some Middle Kingdom coffins were texts to guide the deceased through the underworld, where lurked demons who would deny entrance to gateways through which he needed to pass. The game of Senet reflects similar thinking, as the Egyptian word senet, meaning "passing," implies. The game board represents the spheres through which the deceased had to travel to reach the place of judgment. A New Kingdom text suggests the game was played between the deceased and an unnamed opponent, the stakes being the deceased's continued existence. But there is also evidence Senet was popular with the living.
