AtmosFear: Khufu – The Mummy Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Aim of the Game
• Setting Up the Game
• Playing the Game
  • Answering Khufu
  • Betting
  • Moving Around
    • Treasure
    • Steal
    • Curse
• The Chambers
  • The Servant's Chamber
  • The High Priest's Chamber
  • The Queen's Chamber
  • The King's Chamber
• Rotating the Chambers
• Moving the Sarcophagus
• Winning the Game
  • How to Play Khufu's Ultimate Challenge!
  • Rank of Hands for Khufu's Ultimate Challenge
  • Lose or Draw
  • Winning

Aim of the Game

The aim of the game is to successfully beat the tables in the four Chambers of Khufu's Pyramid: the Servant's, the High Priest's, the Queen's and the King's Chambers. Each table features a different game, each with a minimum wager.

In order to lay wagers, players must collect Treasure Cards by exploring the Pyramid, challenging other players, surviving curses and submitting to Khufu's little .... whims.

If a player beats the table, they place one of their Scarabs in the Chamber. Once a player has placed all four Scarabs, they can take on Khufu himself in a private game, one-on-one – Khufu's Ultimate Challenge.

Finally, this is a race against time. There are only 45 minutes in which to beat Khufu at his Ultimate Challenge and to win the game.

But if time runs out, Khufu is the victor.

Setting Up the Game

Place the DVD in your DVD player.

Place the board on a table with a good view of the TV.

Place the 4 Chamber bases on the board in their specified locations and starting orientations. The Chambers will be rotated at various times to change the configuration of the board.

Shuffle the decks of Treasure and Curse Cards, and place them beside the board.

Place the pairs of Symbol dice and spot dice beside the board ready for use.

Place Khufu's Sarcophagus inside the King's Chamber.

Place the coin in the Queen's Chamber.

Each player chooses a character to play, selects the corresponding playing piece and puts it in the Servant's Chamber.

Players should place their Character Card face-up in front of them and familiarise themselves with their own character's name, and those of their opponents, as Khufu will call on individual characters during the game.

Give each player the four Scarabs of their colour, and deal them a Symbol Card at random. This symbol is your lucky charm and will come into play from time to time.

The six symbols correspond to those on the Symbol dice and Treasure Cards, and belong to one of two suits:

• Royals: King, Falcon, Eye (of Horus)
• Animals: Cat, Ankh, Jackal

Editorial note: the web page lists the suit names and the six symbols in a layout that does not survive plain-text extraction. The grouping above follows the order in which the page presents them (suit name, then its symbols) and should be checked against the printed manual if one is available.

Ensure that all players understand the rules of play (see Playing the Game below) and are familiar with the location of the MENU* button on the remote control. This is the only button to press when you are ready to take Khufu's Ultimate Challenge.

*(If your remote has a TITLE button this can also be used.)

Turn the lights down low, and the volume up.

You're ready to play KHUFU the Mummy.

Playing the Game

When everybody is ready, press PLAY on the DVD and sit tight. Khufu will nominate a Servant, nicknamed Lucky, to assist him throughout the game and who must obey all his orders explicitly. Lucky will start the game.

Answering Khufu

Players can only move around the board when Khufu is not on screen.

Whenever Khufu appears everybody must immediately stop whatever they are doing, and listen carefully to what he says. If a player is currently taking a turn, their move is null and void.

When he shouts 'Who's the Mummy?!', everybody must respond 'You're the Mummy!' Any player who fails to answer will be ordered, by Lucky the Servant, to move to the next Curse space and take a Curse Card.

If Khufu asks 'Who's Up?' he is calling on the player whose turn is next. That player must answer then listen closely to Khufu's instructions, because if they miss something the DVD cannot be paused or replayed.

Betting

In some instances Khufu will play a game that requires a bet. If the player who has been called upon does not have any Treasure they cannot play. Instead their turn passes clockwise to the next player who does own Treasure.

To place a bet, the player takes a number of their own Treasures, lays them on or near the board and declares how many they are wagering.

If the player wins, they double their bet (unless Khufu specifies otherwise) by taking back their stake, plus the same number of cards from the deck.

Moving Around

All players start from the Servant's Chamber. Roll one of the number dice, exit the Chamber via one of the openings adjacent to the track, and move clockwise around the track the indicated number of spaces. There are three different action spaces on the track: Treasure, Steal and Curse.

Treasure

A player who lands on this space at the end of their move may take one Treasure Card from the deck.

Keep Treasures face down to hide the symbols (and cobras) from opponents, unless a Curse Card instructs you otherwise.

Steal

A player who lands on this space at the end of their move, or who is sent here by Khufu or another player, may try to steal a Treasure Card from another player – as long as they have at least one Treasure Card themselves. To do this, they choose one of their opponent's Treasure Cards.

If a cobra does not protect the Treasure, the thief may take it. However, if the Treasure Card is protected by a cobra, the thief must give it back and, as a penalty, must also give the opponent one of their own Treasures.

A player who does not own any Treasure cannot Steal.

Curse

A player who lands on this space at the end of their move, or who is sent here by Khufu or another player, must take a Curse Card and immediately read it aloud, unless the card says otherwise. They must then follow the instructions on the card.

The Chambers

Each of the Chambers features a simple game of chance, with a minimum wager.

Players may enter any Chamber providing they have the minimum number of Treasures required, because once inside a Chamber, they must play the table (whether they have placed a Scarab in there or not).

Players do not need an exact roll to enter a Chamber. For example, a player who is 3 squares from a Chamber entrance can gain entry with a roll of 3 or higher (4, 5 or 6).

Once inside, they must stop. Players must not continue on to another Chamber nor turn around inside the Chamber and move back onto the track, in the same move.

Upon entering a Chamber, the player must immediately lay a bet and try their luck.

The first time that a player beats the table in any Chamber, they keep their stake and may place one of their Scarabs in there.

Players may return to a Chamber at any time, however they must stop and play the game. If a player beats the table and has already placed their Scarab, they now win back their stake plus the same number of Treasure Cards from the deck. Players can therefore use Chambers to try and earn extra Treasure – but remember it is always a gamble!

Players can bet as high as they like each time, as long as it is equal to or greater than the minimum for that Chamber.

Each time a player fails to beat the table in any Chamber, they lose their wager and must return those Treasure Cards to the deck.

Players may stay in a Chamber on successive turns, as long as they have sufficient Treasure Cards to place the minimum wager. Otherwise they must leave the Chamber on their next turn. This rule also applies to a player who is sent to a Chamber by Khufu. If they do not have at least the minimum Treasure for that Chamber, they must leave on their next turn.

After visiting a Chamber, it is not obligatory to move back out to the track. Instead the player may then move directly into an adjacent Chamber on their next turn, via the open doorways.

If a player's Scarab is removed from a Chamber, that player may return to the Chamber and beat the table again in order to re-place the Scarab.

The Servant's Chamber

The minimum wager in the Servant's Chamber is one (1) Treasure Card.

The player rolls one of the number dice and must roll an odd number (1, 3 or 5) to win the game. If they roll an even number, their wager is lost and they must return it to the deck of Treasure Cards.

The first time that a player wins the game in the Servant's Chamber, they win back their stake and may place their Scarab in that Chamber. Players may return to the Servant's Chamber at any time, however they must stop there and play the table. The minimum wager remains 1 Treasure. If the player rolls an odd number, and has already placed a Scarab, they win back their wager plus the same number of Treasure Cards from the deck. If they lose, they must return their wager to the deck.

The High Priest's Chamber

The minimum wager in the High Priest's Chamber is two (2) Treasure Cards.

The player rolls one of the number dice and must roll an even number (2, 4 or 6) to win the game.

The first time that a player wins the game in the High Priest's Chamber, they may place their Scarab. On return visits if they successfully roll even, they win back their wager plus the same number of Treasure Cards from the deck.

The Queen's Chamber

The minimum wager in the Queen's Chamber is three (3) Treasure Cards.

The player takes Khufu's Coin and must toss tails to win the game.

The first time that a player wins the game in the Queen's Chamber, they may place their Scarab. On return visits, if the player throws tails they win back their own wager plus the same number of Treasure Cards from the deck.

The King's Chamber

The minimum wager in the King's Chamber is four (4) Treasure Cards.

The player selects two of their four Treasure Cards, lays them face up and then rolls one of the Symbol dice. To win the game, the symbol on the die must match one of the two Treasure Cards.

The first time that a player wins the game in the King's Chamber, they may place their Scarab. If they later return to this Chamber and beat the table they win back their stake plus the same number of Treasure Cards from the deck.

Rotating the Chambers

Throughout the game, one or more of the Chambers will be rotated. Khufu will order Lucky to rotate the specified Chambers 90 degrees clockwise, thereby changing the access points and links between the track and the Chambers, and between the Chambers themselves.

It is possible that a rotation may cause a player to become 'trapped' in the King's Chamber, with both exits to the outer track closed off. If they have Treasure, the player may exit via either the Servant's or the High Priest's Chamber, after first stopping to play the table. However, if the player has no treasure, they are permitted – in this instance only – to leave via the Servant's Chamber. On their next turn they move into the Servant's Chamber and wait there without playing the table. On their subsequent turn they may then roll and move back out onto the track and continue play.

Moving the Sarcophagus

At various times during the game Khufu will move from one Chamber to another. He will order a player to move his Sarcophagus to a particular Chamber. The player must also move their own piece to the same location, where they will then play an interactive game of chance using the remote control.

Winning the Game

To win the game, a player must beat Khufu in a round of Pharaoh-style poker: Khufu's Ultimate Challenge.

As soon as a player has placed all four of their Scarabs in the four Chambers, and has at least three Treasures, they may take the Challenge. The Challenge requires a minimum of 3 Treasure Cards, however the more Treasure a player has accumulated, the greater their chances of winning.

How to Play Khufu's Ultimate Challenge!

1. Make your way to the Chamber where Khufu's Sarcophagus is located.
2. As soon as you enter the Chamber, grab the remote control and press the MENU (or TITLE) button.
3. Khufu's hand of three cards will be displayed on screen.
4. Khufu's Servant, Lucky, takes your stash of Treasure, shuffles, and deals out five cards, face up. (If you have only 4 or 3 cards in your hand, Lucky deals out everything you have.) (If it is Lucky who is challenging Khufu, Lucky must choose another opponent to be the dealer.)
5. The aim is to create the strongest poker hand, with the greatest number of matching symbols. (see Rank of Hands) Select the best three cards to be your hand and set the remaining two aside. If you enter the Challenge with only three Treasure Cards to begin with, then these three are your hand, and there is no choice to be made.
6. Roll both Symbol dice.
7. The 2 symbols on the dice are added to your 3 cards to make up your hand of 5 symbols.
8. The same 2 dice symbols are added to Khufu's cards on screen to make up Khufu's hand of 5 symbols.
9. The best hand wins.

Rank of Hands for Khufu's Ultimate Challenge

1. Five of a kind
2. Four of a kind
3. Full House (three of a kind + one pair)
4. Three of a kind
5. Two pairs
6. One pair

All symbols have equal ranking.

For example, 5 kings are equal to 5 cats.

Cobras on the symbols do not affect the ranking.

Lose or Draw

If Khufu's hand is best, you have lost the Challenge.

You lose your three cards to the Treasure deck, move your piece across the board to the furthest Curse space, and use the remote control to select "Lose/Draw". Game play resumes.

If both hands are equal, you have still failed to beat Khufu. Select "Lose/Draw" and move directly out of the Chamber and across the board to the furthest Curse space.

However, in the case of a draw you do not lose your three Treasure Cards.

Players who have lost or drawn may face Khufu again, as soon as they have at least three Treasures and have made their way back into the Chamber where his Sarcophagus is waiting. There is no limit to the number of times a player may take the Ultimate Challenge......before 45 minutes expires, that is!

Winning

The first player to produce a hand better than Khufu's has won Khufu's Ultimate Challenge. They take the remote control and select "Win" – they are the winner!

Finally, if no player succeeds in beating Khufu before 45 minutes have elapsed, then Khufu wins the game.....

Better luck next time, suckers!