Thrown alternatively by each player, the smaller ball determined the winner of the game.
"Obviously, the winner was the player who was able to place the ball into the hole more times," Bresciani said.
Bresciani and colleagues at Pisa University have tested the game by building a similar lane.
"It works pretty well. It shows that both players must be very skillful and prompt," she said.
According to archaeologist Joyce Tyldesley, author of the book "Egyptian Games and Sports," the finding a proves once again that the ancient Egyptians enjoyed a wide range of sports and games.
"It sounds like a very interesting discovery. The Egyptians did play sports and games, although not team games as we play today. They also played a miniature form of marbles — rolling marbles between posts — which sounds relevant here," Tyldesley told Discovery News.
According to Bresciani, the game has no parallel in other civilizations.
"I looked into similar ancient games, including ancient Roman games, and could not find anything like this. It really looks like it was invented in Egypt," Bresciani said.
