Amun-Re
Amun-Re Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
- 1 Game board
- 15 Scribe pawns (3 in each of 5 colors)
- 5 Victory Point markers
- 15 Stones
- 15 Pyramids
- 15 Double Pyramids
- 61 Gold cards (18 ones, 12 twos, 12 fives, 9 tens, 10 twenties)
- 5 Theft cards (each worth -3 Gold)
- 39 Favor cards
- 15 Province cards
- 4 Offering tiles
- 48 Farmer tokens
- 1 Start Player token
The Game Board
The board shows the land of Egypt divided by the Nile:
- The 7 provinces of Lower Egypt lie downstream on the Nile.
- The 8 provinces of Upper Egypt lie upstream on the Nile.
- A dashed line separates the two regions.
- Each province may contain Field spaces (for Farmer tokens) and shows its own bidding spaces, income icons, and bonuses.
- The Score Track (Victory Points) runs around the board.
- A small chart shows the order and cost to purchase items during the Market Phase.
- The Nile Delta space holds the current Offering tile after offerings are made.
Beside the board, set up these supplies:
- The Quarry — a supply of Stones, Pyramids, and Double Pyramids.
- Farmer tokens — a supply of Farmer tokens.
- The Gold Reserve — the Gold cards, sorted by value (1, 2, 5, 10, 20) into face-up stacks.
- The Favor Deck and Province Deck.
- The 4 Offering tiles, placed face-up beside the board. The tiles are marked ">2", "3>12", "13>22", and "23>".
Set-Up
- Lay the game board face-up in the center of the table.
- Form a supply of Stones, Pyramids, and Double Pyramids in the Quarry.
- Form a supply of Farmer tokens.
- Form the Gold Reserve by sorting the Gold cards by value, placing the resulting stacks face-up beside the game board.
- Place the Offering tiles face-up beside the game board.
- Deal 1 Architect Favor card to each player, then shuffle the remaining Favor cards (with statue backs) together. Place this Favor deck beside the game board.
- Build the Province deck (with pyramid backs) based on the number of players. The Province deck should include 3 Province cards per player. With 5 players, all Province cards will be used. Return any unused Province cards to the game box — they will not be used in this game.
- Each player selects a color, then collects the 3 Scribe pawns of that color. Return the components of any unused colors to the game box.
- Place a Victory Point marker of each player's color beside the game board's score track, and return any unused markers to the game box.
- Deal a combined value of 20 Gold to each player, using Gold cards of the following denominations: 1, 2, 2, 5, 10.
- Deal 1 Theft card to each player, and return any unused Theft cards to the game box.
- Randomly determine a Start Player, and give that player the Start Player token.
You can and should make change with the stacks of Gold cards at any time. Whenever an amount of Gold is referenced, it is referring to total value in Gold cards, which can be formed by any combination of appropriate Gold cards. When you pay Gold for bids and purchases, return the Gold cards to the Reserve.
Start Player Token
During the game, the Start Player may change based on the Offering to Amun-Re. Actions during the Auction, Market, and Harvest Phases always begin with the current Start Player, and proceed clockwise around the table until each player has taken his or her turn.
Overview and Objective
As the leader of a royal Egyptian family, you must compete against the others to ensure history remembers you as the greatest pharaoh of all time!
Amun-Re is played over the course of 2 ages, called the Old Kingdom and the New Kingdom. Each age consists of 3 identical rounds of play (sub-divided into 4 phases). Scoring is done at the end of each age. Finish the game with the most victory points to win.
Round Structure
Each round takes place over 4 phases, in order:
- The Auction Phase — Province cards are dealt to the game board, and players bid against one another to acquire these Provinces.
- The Market Phase — Players may purchase items and cards from the market, and place Stones and Farmer tokens on the game board.
- The Offering Phase — Players may sacrifice Gold to Amun-Re.
- The Harvest Phase — Players collect income from their Provinces and Farmer tokens.
For each phase and during Scoring, there are specific Favor cards that can be played.
Note: You cannot play 2 identical Favor cards in the same phase or during Scoring.
At any time during the game, players may discard any number of their Favor cards for 1 Gold each.
1. The Auction Phase
At the beginning of the Auction Phase, draw 1 card from the Province deck for each player, and then place them face-up on the game board over their matching Provinces. These Provinces are available for auction during this round.
For each Province card you place on the game board, also place any Stones, Favor cards (face-down), and Gold cards indicated in the brown "Immediate Bonuses" box in the Province.
Immediate Bonuses
Immediate Bonuses are shown in brown boxes. They are awarded as soon as you gain control of a Province. Examples:
- Immediately draw 1 Favor card
- Immediately place 1 Stone in the Province
- Immediately draw 1 Favor card and gain 12 Gold
Permanent Bonuses
Permanent Bonuses are displayed in the sand along the side of a Province's border. They provide an ongoing benefit for as long as you control the Province.
- Favor: Indicates the maximum number of Favor cards you may purchase during the Market Phase (1 per symbol). Only your Province with the most Favor symbols counts — they are not added together.
- Gold Mine: Provides a regular Gold income during each Harvest Phase.
- Caravan: Provides a Gold income during each Harvest Phase, but only if the Offering tile features a Camel in its illustration.
- Temple: During each Harvest Phase, scores Victory Points featured on the most recent Offering tile.
Fields
Each Field space may house up to 1 Farmer token. Farmer tokens are acquired during the Market Phase, and provide an income of Gold based on the most recent Offering tile. You may not place Farmer tokens in Provinces that do not feature Field spaces.
Bidding
Next, beginning with the Start Player and proceeding clockwise in order, each player must place a bid on a Province's unoccupied bidding space, or pass if he or she already has a winning bid on a Province. Use one of your Scribe pawns to represent your bid.
When bidding on a Province that another player has already bid on, your bid must be greater than the current bid. However, you may make a bid that is greater than the next bidding space available on the Province if you wish.
If you are outbid on a Province, your next bid cannot be placed on the same Province. If you are outbid again in a future turn, you may return to bid on a different Province where you were previously outbid.
You cannot bid more Gold on a Province than you currently possess.
The auction ends when exactly 1 player's Scribe pawn is present on each Province. Players must then pay Gold to the Reserve in the amount of their bids and leave behind their Scribe pawns on the game board to indicate control over the appropriate Provinces. Finally, players collect any Stones, Favor cards, and Gold indicated on their newly-acquired Provinces' brown "Immediate Bonuses" boxes. The Province cards are removed from the board and placed onto a discard pile.
Example: Thebes, Dakhla and Abydos are drawn and auctioned. Seb is the Start Player. She places her Scribe pawn on Dakhla, bidding 10 Gold. Arnaud places his Scribe pawn on Thebes, bidding 3 Gold. Charles places his Scribe pawn on Thebes, outbidding Arnaud with 6 Gold. It is now Seb's turn again, but nobody has outbid her, so she must pass. Arnaud was outbid on Thebes, so he must change his bid. He places his Scribe pawn on the '0' Gold space of Abydos. At this point, no Province is contested, so the auction ends immediately. Players pay their bids to the Reserve, place their Scribe pawns in the Provinces they have acquired, and claim their Immediate Bonuses: Seb pays 10 Gold, then receives 12 Gold and 1 Favor card from Immediate Bonuses in Dakhla. Arnaud pays nothing and gains control of Abydos, as well as the free Stone it contains. Charles pays 6 Gold, acquires Thebes, and receives its 2 Favor cards.
2. The Market Phase
Starting with the Start Player, you may make purchases from the supply in the buying order indicated on the game board — Favor cards, then Farmers, then Stones.
When purchasing from the supply, pay Gold to the Reserve according to the scale printed below the buying order, depending on how many of that item you purchase. Each purchase is made separately, so buying 1 of each item would only cost a total of 3 Gold. Once you have already purchased an item, or passed on an opportunity to do so in the order, you will not have another chance to buy that item during your turn.
You may purchase:
- 0-4 Favor cards, which are drawn from the Favor deck. The maximum number of cards you may purchase is determined by the highest number of Favor symbols present in a single Province you control. If you do not control a Province with 1 or more Favor symbols, you cannot purchase Favor cards.
- Farmer tokens, which must each be placed immediately in an open Field space in a Province you control. You cannot purchase Farmer tokens that you are unable to place. Farmer tokens cannot be placed in Provinces that have no Field spaces.
- Stones, which must be placed immediately in one or more Provinces you control.
Unlike Favor cards, it is possible to purchase more Farmer tokens or Stones than is shown by the cost scale on the board, as long as you have space for them. If you want to purchase more than 7, calculate the cost by following the formula below:
The cost to purchase 8 = the cost to purchase 7 (28) + 8 = 36 Gold; the cost to purchase 9 = the cost to purchase 8 (36) + 9 = 45 Gold; etc.
You are not obligated to make any purchases. However, if you do, you must make all of your purchases before passing the turn to the next player.
Construction
As soon as a third Stone is placed in a single Province, immediately replace those Stones with a single Pyramid. If a single Pyramid was already present in that Province, then replace it with a Double Pyramid.
Multiple Pyramids may be built in the same turn, as long as each Pyramid's Stone requirements are met.
Example: Charles controls Thebes and Edfu. He can purchase a maximum of 2 Favor cards. He purchases only 1, paying 1 Gold. He then purchases 4 Farmer tokens for 10 Gold, which he must immediately place in his empty Field spaces. Finally, he purchases 3 Stones for 6 Gold and places them in the Province of Thebes. Since Thebes now has 3 Stones in it, he places a Pyramid in Thebes and returns those 3 Stones to the quarry.
3. The Offering Phase
During the Offering Phase, players choose and simultaneously reveal Gold cards or a Theft card, representing a joint offering to Amun-Re to convince him to flood the Nile. The sum of the offered Gold dictates the scoring value of Temples, as well as the incomes offered by Farmers and Caravans during the Harvest Phase.
Preparing Individual Offerings
Secretly select 1 or more of your cards and, covering them with your hand, hold them out to show that you have finalized your Offering. Once all players have finalized their Offerings, reveal them simultaneously.
- If you offer 1 or more Gold cards, your Offering's value is equal to the sum of all Gold cards you contributed.
- If you offer your Theft card, you instead steal 3 Gold from the Reserve.
In either case, you may include a blue Favor card to adjust the Offering. Other Favor cards may not be included in the Offering.
Calculate the Collective Offering
- Add the individual Offerings together, remembering to reduce that total by 3 for each Theft card that was played.
- Beginning with the Start Player and proceeding clockwise in order, players that included a blue Offering Adjustment Favor card in their Offering must now declare whether they would like to increase or decrease the Offering. These adjustments only affect the value of the collective Offering — the value of your individual Offering is unaffected.
- Once the collective Offering has been calculated, place the corresponding Offering tile in the Nile Delta space. (For example, if the total Offering is 10, use the tile marked 3>12. If the Offering is 25, use the tile marked 23>.)
- If you played your Theft card, return it to your hand. Remember to steal your 3 Gold from the supply!
Effects of the Offering
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Collect rewards — The player that contributed the most to the Offering may now collect 3 Rewards. These Rewards may be any combination of Favor cards, Stones, and/or Farmer tokens. The player that contributed the second highest Offering collects 2 Rewards, and all other players collect 1 Reward in turn order. However, players that played a Theft card cannot collect a Reward.
In a tie, the player earliest in turn order wins.
The number of Favor cards you can acquire from a Reward is not limited by the Permanent Bonus Favor card symbols in your Provinces (unlike in the Market Phase). Farmer tokens must be placed in open Field spaces and Stones must be placed immediately in your Provinces. If there are ever 3 Stones in the same Province, replace them with the appropriate Pyramid.
Reminder: Architect and Free Farmer Favor cards cannot be played during the Offering Phase.
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Determine the new Start Player — The player who offered the most Gold collects the Start Player token, and will be the new Start Player for the next round. If there is a tie, the player earliest in the current turn order becomes the new Start Player.
Example: Arnaud is the Start Player. He offered 6 Gold, Charles offered 6 Gold, and Seb played the Theft card. The sum of all Offerings is 9 Gold (6 + 6 - 3 = 9). Players place the corresponding tile on the board: "3 > 12". Seb takes back her Theft card, and collects 3 Gold from the Reserve. Charles and Arnaud have offered the same amount, but Arnaud is earlier in turn order. Therefore, Arnaud retains the Start Player token and collects 3 Favor cards as his 3 Rewards. Charles collects a Stone and a Farmer token as his 2 Rewards, and immediately places them in Provinces he controls. Seb does not collect any Rewards.
4. The Harvest Phase
The Nile has flooded. Beginning with the Start Player and proceeding clockwise in order, players will now receive income from the Provinces that they control.
Each of your Provinces may allow you to collect Gold from the supply as indicated by its icons. You may earn from your Provinces in the following ways:
- a) For Gold Mines — Gain Gold equal to the indicated number.
- b) For Caravans — Gain Gold equal to the number indicated above the camel, but only if a camel is depicted on the current Offering tile.
- c) For each Farmer Token in the Provinces you control — Gain Gold equal to the amount shown on the current Offering tile.
End of the Round, Age, and Game
After all players are finished with the Harvest Phase, the round ends, and a new round begins.
- If this was the third round of an age, the Province deck will be empty. When this occurs, the age ends, and Intermediate Scoring occurs.
- After Intermediate Scoring, if that was the end of the second age (New Kingdom), then proceed to Final Scoring and the game's end!
Intermediate Scoring
Intermediate Scoring occurs at the end of each age. To perform Intermediate Scoring, award Victory Points (VP) for the following:
- +1, +2, +3, or +4 VP for each Temple depicted among Provinces you control. The scoring value of each Temple is determined by the Gold shown on the current Offering tile.
- +1 VP for each Pyramid in a Province you control. Double Pyramids count as 2 Pyramids.
- +3 VP for each Pyramid in your single Province with the fewest Pyramids. If you control a Province with no Pyramids, then you do not score any VP for this item.
- +5 VP for the Province that contains the most Pyramids on each side of the Nile (+5 VP for the west, and +5 for the east). In case of a tie, the player whose Province contains more Stones scores the VP. In case of a further tie, all tied players score the VP.
- +3 VP for each yellow Favor card whose conditions are satisfied.
Reminder: You cannot play 2 identical Favor cards during the same phase or during Scoring.
If this is the end of the first age (Old Kingdom), remove all Scribe pawns and Farmer tokens from the game board, returning the Farmer tokens to the supply. Collect all of the Province cards from the game board and shuffle them into the Province deck.
Pyramids and Stones are not removed from their Provinces, and remain on the game board. They are no longer considered controlled by any player until that Province is claimed in a future Auction Phase.
If this is the end of the second age (New Kingdom), immediately proceed to Final Scoring.
Final Scoring
To perform Final Scoring, players reveal their Gold cards. Award Victory Points (VP) for the following:
- +6 VP to the player with the highest combined value of Gold cards,
- +4 VP to the player with the second highest value,
- +2 VP to the player with the third highest value.
In case of a tie, all tied players score the appropriate VP, but subsequent players are moved down. For example, if 2 players are tied for highest value, they both score +6 VP, the player with the second highest value then only scores +2 VP.
After all VP has been awarded, the player with the most VP wins!
In the event of a tie, the tied player with the most Pyramids among his or her Provinces wins. If there is still a tie, the player with the most Stones among his or her Provinces wins. If still tied, the victory is shared.
Expert Rules
Expert rules allow tactical control of when Provinces are available.
At the start of the game, after shuffling the Province deck, deal 3 Province cards to each player. Return any remaining Province cards to the game box without looking at them. Keep these cards secret from other players.
At the beginning of each Auction Phase, each player selects 1 Province card, and the chosen cards are revealed simultaneously. These Province cards are available during this turn's auction.
At the beginning of the New Kingdom, shuffle all Province cards that were played during the Old Kingdom, and deal them out evenly to each player.
Favor Card Reference
Note: Any Favor card can always be discarded for 1 Gold.
1. The Auction Phase
- Protection (x2): Play during your turn in the Auction Phase. Until the end of the Phase, players cannot outbid you at any Province unless they place their Scribe pawn at least 2 bidding spaces ahead of yours. This means another player would have to place his or her Scribe pawn at least 2 bidding spaces higher to outbid you. If you later move your Scribe pawn to another Province card, your Protection Favor card applies there, too.
- Bribery (x2): Play during your turn in the Auction Phase, if you have been outbid on a Province card. You may make a new bid on the same Province card.
2. The Market Phase
- Architect (x8): You may construct a Pyramid using 2 Stones instead of 3. Play an Architect Favor card during your turn in the Market Phase. When you do, you may build 1 Pyramid in a Province you control using only 2 Stones. You may not play an Architect Favor card during any other Phase, even if you have just placed a second Stone in a Province you control, and if you have placed a third Stone, all 3 Stones are immediately replaced with a Pyramid even if you possess an Architect Favor card.
- Free Farmer (x5): Place a Farmer token from the supply into a Province you control at no cost. The Free Farmer token is not placed in a Field space. It may be placed in a Province that does not feature any Field spaces. Play a Free Farmer Favor card during your turn in the Market Phase. When you do, acquire 1 Farmer token from the supply at no cost, and place it in any Province you control. Unlike other Farmer tokens, a Free Farmer is not placed in a Field space. Acquiring a Free Farmer is separate from your normal purchase of Farmer tokens — if you decide to buy 3 other Farmers, for example, you will still only pay 6 Gold.
3. The Offering Phase
- Offering Adjustment (x4): Play this card as part of your Offering. After all Offerings have been revealed, in turn order, you may choose to add or subtract 3 from the value of the collective Offering. This adjustment does not affect the value of your individual Offering.
- Theft (x5): The Theft card is not a Favor card and may not be exchanged for 1 Gold. You may play it as your Offering in order to steal 3 Gold from the Reserve. You begin the game with 1 Theft card, and it returns to your hand at the end of the Offering Phase whenever you play it.
4. The Harvest Phase
- Big Harvest (x5): Choose a Province you control. Each Farmer token in that Province provides 1 additional Gold during this Harvest Phase. Play this Favor card during the Harvest Phase, before calculating your income.
- Treasury (x3): Choose a Province you control. That Province provides no income this round, and you instead collect 8 Gold from the Reserve. Play this Favor card during the Harvest Phase, before calculating your income. Do not collect income from that Province this turn — not from Farmers, Caravans, or Gold Mines.
Favor Cards That Grant Victory Points During Intermediate Scoring
These yellow Favor cards score +3 VP each during Intermediate Scoring if their conditions are satisfied:
- Master of Scribes (x2): +3 VP if your Provinces feature a total of at least 7 Favor symbols (Immediate and/or Permanent).
- Master of Farmers (x2): +3 VP if your Provinces contain at least 9 Farmer tokens.
- West Side or East Side (x2): +3 VP if all of your Provinces are on the same side of the Nile.
- Nile or Frontier (x2): +3 VP if all of your Provinces are next to the Nile, or if none of them are next to the Nile.
- Upper or Lower Egypt (x2): +3 VP if all of your Provinces are in Upper Egypt, or if they are all in Lower Egypt.
Discard these cards after using them to score. You may score multiple Favor cards during each Intermediate Scoring, but you may not score multiple copies of the same card.
Rules Summary
- Arrange the board and components on the table.
- Each player chooses a color, places a Victory Point marker of that color beside the score track, then collects the 3 Scribe pawns of that color.
- Give each player 20 Gold, 1 Theft card, and 1 Architect Favor card. Remaining Theft cards, Scribe pawns, and Victory Point markers are returned to the game box.
- Build the Province and Favor decks, shuffle them separately, and then place them face-down on the game board. The Province deck should consist of 3 Province cards per player — all leftover Province cards should be returned, unseen, to the game box.
- Determine a Start Player at random, and give that player the Start Player token. Actions begin with the Start Player and proceed clockwise around the table.
1 game = 2 ages: the Old Kingdom and New Kingdom. 1 age = 3 rounds + Intermediate scoring. 1 round = 4 phases: Auction, Market, Offering, and Harvest.
Structure of an Age
An age consists of 3 rounds. At the end of the 3rd round, proceed to Intermediate Scoring. Each round is divided into 4 phases, which take place in the following order:
1. The Auction Phase: Draw and place 1 Province card on the game board for each player. Beginning with the Start Player, make a bid by placing your Scribe pawn on an empty bidding space on any Province card. When bidding on a Province where a bid is already present, you must place your bid on a higher bidding space. When it is your turn again, you must pass (if your bid is still the highest in a Province), or move your Scribe pawn to bid on a different Province if you have been outbid. As soon as each Province card has exactly 1 Scribe pawn on it, the auction ends. Pay Gold to the Reserve equal to the number on your pawn's bidding space, and leave your Scribe pawn behind to indicate you now control that Province. Next, collect any Immediate Bonuses shown in the brown box in your newly acquired Province.
2. The Market Phase: Beginning with the Start Player, you may purchase the following items from the supply for the Gold value indicated on the game board's cost scale: 0-4 Favor cards (limited by the highest number of Favor symbols present in a single Province you control); Farmer tokens (limited by the open Field spaces among Provinces you control); any number of Stones. Whenever a single Province holds 3 or more Stones, replace 3 of those Stones with 1 Pyramid (or a Double Pyramid if that Province already contains a single Pyramid).
3. The Offering Phase: Players simultaneously present their Offering of Gold to Amun-Re. The player that contributes the most becomes the new Start Player. Place the appropriate Offering tile on the Nile Delta space (based on the combined value of all players' Offerings). Players receive Rewards from the supply based on their individual offerings: 3, 2, and 1 Favor cards, Farmer tokens, and/or Stones (in any combination) for 1st, 2nd, and all further players. Reminder: If you played a Theft card as your Offering, you cannot collect any Reward, but you do steal 3 Gold from the Reserve.
4. Harvest and Income: Each Farmer token = Gold indicated on the current Offering tile. Caravans = Gold indicated on the Province above the Camel, but only if the current Offering tile features a Camel. Gold Mines = Gold as indicated on the Province.
End of the Round, Age, and Game
Each age lasts 3 rounds, then you have reached the end of an age, and should proceed to Intermediate Scoring. After Intermediate Scoring at the end of the Old Kingdom, remove Scribe pawns and Farmer tokens from the game board, and reshuffle the Province deck. Pyramids and Stones remain on the game board, but the Provinces are no longer considered to be controlled. After Intermediate Scoring at the end of the New Kingdom, proceed to Final Scoring. After Final Scoring, the game ends, and the player with the most Victory Points wins.
Credits
- Game Designer: Reiner Knizia. © Dr. Reiner Knizia, 2016. All rights reserved.
- Graphic Design & Artwork: © 2016 SUPERMEEPLE.
- Artist: Kevin Le Moigne
- Writing and editing the rules: Guillaume Gille-Naves and Bernard Philippon
- Art Direction: Igor Polouchine
- Development & Layout: ORIGAMES
Thanks to all the testers that helped us on this project, as well as our family and friends for their support. A special thank-you to William and Igor from Origames for their valuable assistance. For their help in testing and rule writing, the author and publisher thank Iain Adams, Sebastian Bleasdale, Chris Bowyer, Chris Dearlove, Martin Higham, Ross Inglis, Kevin Jacklin, Chris Lawson, Karl-Heinz Schmiel, Hannes Wildner, and Schorsch. We offer special thanks to Markus Welbourne for his cooperation in the development of the game and to Dieter Hornung for his efforts to optimize the game.
Used under license by Tasty Minstrel Games LLC.