Men-Nefer Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
• Game Setup
  • Main Board
  • Players and Action Tablets
• Summary and Objective
• Important Concepts
  • Heka and Food
  • The Heart and the Feather
  • The Papyri
  • The Mummies
  • The Boats
  • The Sphinxes
  • Crafts and Offerings
  • The Pyramids and the Permission of Khufu
  • The Priestesses
  • The Apprentices and the Houses of Life
  • Prestige Points
• How to Play
• Phase 1. Flood (Akhet)
  • Narrator
  • Resources
  • Apprentices
  • Trade Contracts
  • Turn Order
• Phase 2. Sowing (Peret)
  • Visit a House of Life
  • Specialise in a House of Life
  • Obtain an Action Tablet
• Actions
  • The Pyramids
    • Obtain the Favour of Khufu
    • Obtain the Permission of Khufu
    • Transport Limestone
    • Great Pyramid Track
    • Queens' Pyramids Track
  • The Necropolis
    • Embalm
    • Funerary Rite
    • Obtain a Papyrus
  • The Temple and the Obelisk
    • Obtain a Craft
    • Advance Priestesses
    • Make an Offering
  • The Nile River
    • Advance Boats
    • Activate Boats
  • The Sphinxes
    • Carve a Sphinx
    • Erect a Sphinx
• Phase 3. Harvest (Shemu)
  • Roll Up Papyri
  • The Duat
  • Trade Contracts
  • The Necropolis
  • The Obelisk
  • The Pyramids
• End of the Game
• The Deities
• Trade Contracts
• The Queens' Pyramids Tiles
• Credits

Components

• 1 Double-Sided Main Board
• 1 Quarry
• 4 Personal Boards
• 5 Neutral Apprentices Placement Tiles
• 20 Action Tablets
• 6 Queens' Pyramids Tiles
• 40 Papyri
• 35 Crafts
• 51 Trade Contracts
• 8 Deities
• 6 City Benefit Tokens
• 7 Mastaba Tiles
• 12 Apprentices
• 16 Priestesses
• 16 Mummies/Sarcophagi
• 16 Boats
• 16 Sphinxes
• 12 Permissions of Khufu
• 4 Hearts
• 4 Ankh
• 4 Fish
• 4 Feathers
• 4 Seals
• 4 Orbs
• 4 Water Lilies
• 8 Limestone Blocks
• 4 Hieroglyph Counters
• 20 Scarabs
• 2 Pyramid Pieces sets: 13 Great Pyramid Pieces (Level IIII/Pyramidion x1, Level III x4, Level II x4, Level I x4) and 12 Queens' Pyramids Pieces (Level IIII/Pyramidion x3, Level III x3, Level II x3, Level I x3)
• 2 Hammer Tiles
• 1 Narrator Token
• 4 Neutral Apprentices
• 1 Player Aid
• 2 Cloth Bags (Crafts, Papyri)
• 36 Baskets
• Solo Mode: 1 Rulebook, 1 Die, 9 Action Tiles

Game Setup

Main Board

1. Place the Main Board on the table with the side corresponding to the number of players: 2, 3, and 4 players on one side, and 1 player on the other.
2. Place the Quarry next to the bottom left corner of the Main Board and place the Pyramid Pieces on it:
   • Separate the Great Pyramid Pieces into 3 piles for Levels I, II, and III, shuffle each pile separately, and place them face-up in the Quarry marked with the Great Pyramid symbol, each pile in its corresponding space, and the Pyramidion in its space (IIII). In 2 or 3 player games, place the top piece of the Level I pile in the Great Pyramid Space marked on the Main Board with [2A].
   • Separate the Queens' Pyramids Pieces into 3 piles for Levels I, II, and III, and place them in the Quarry marked with the Queens' Pyramids symbol, each pile in its corresponding space, and the Pyramidions in their space (IIII). In 3 player games, place the Level I pieces in the 3 Pyramids [2B]. In 2 player games, also place the Level II pieces in the 3 Pyramids. The Queens' Pyramids Spaces on the Main Board remind you of these adjustments with an icon.
3. Shuffle the Queens' Pyramids Tiles and randomly place one face-up Tile in each of the 3 spaces marked next to those Pyramids. Remove the remaining tiles from the game.
4. Place the Narrator Token in space I of the Era Track.
5. Shuffle the Mastaba Tiles and randomly place one face-up Tile in each of the 5 marked spaces around the Necropolis. Remove the remaining tiles from the game.
6. Shuffle the Deities and randomly place one face-up on the Temple Altar. Remove the remaining Deities from the game.
7. Shuffle the Crafts inside their Bag, draw 4 at random, and place them face-up, from left to right, in the 4 spaces of the Craft Market.
8. Shuffle the Papyri inside their Bag, draw 4 at random, and place them face-up, from left to right, in the 4 spaces of the Papyrus Market.
9. Shuffle the 6 City Benefit Tokens and randomly place one face-up Token in each of the 6 marked spaces in each City along the Nile River.
10. Separate the Trade Contracts into 3 piles based on the value on their back (1, 2, and 3), shuffle each pile face-down separately, and place them next to the Main Board. Starting from the left, fill the first 2 Cities on both sides of the River with value 1 Contracts; the next 2 with value 2 Contracts; and the last 2 with value 3 Contracts. Place the Contracts face-up, randomly, only in the spaces corresponding to the number of players in the game: in 4 player games, fill all spaces; in 3 player games, fill all spaces except those marked with the 3-player icon; and in 2 player games, fill all spaces except those marked with the 3-player and/or 2-player icons.
11. In 2 or 3 player games, shuffle the 5 Neutral Apprentices Placement Tiles on the side corresponding to the number of players and choose one at random. Place the Neutral Apprentices in the Houses of Life according to the layout indicated by that tile. Remove all these tiles, including the one you used, from the game.
12. In 2 player games, place a Hammer Tile covering the icons located under spaces 3 and 8 of the Great Pyramid Track.

Players and Action Tablets

13. Take a Personal Board at random (the only difference between Boards is the sequence of hieroglyphs).

Choose a colour and place:

14. An Apprentice on each of the marked spaces on your Board.
15. The 4 Sphinxes in the Sphinx Reserve on your Board.
16. The 4 Mummies/Sarcophagi, with the Mummy side showing, in the Mummy Reserve on your Board.
17. The 3 Permissions of Khufu in the Permissions Reserve on your Board.
18. A Basket on each of the 9 spaces that form the Pyramidal Area on your Board.
19. The Hieroglyph Counter on the starting space of the Hieroglyph Track on your Board.
20. The Ankh on space 2 of the Heka Track on your Board.
21. The Heart and Feather on their respective starting spaces on the Duat Meter on the Main Board.
22. A Scarab on the starting space of each of the 5 Specialisation Tracks on the Main Board.
23. The Orb on the starting space at the base of the Obelisk on the Main Board.
24. The 4 Priestesses in front of the Temple entrance on the Main Board.
25. The 4 Boats on the starting section of the Nile River on the Main Board.
26. One Limestone Block next to the starting space of the Great Pyramid Track and the other next to the starting space of the Queens' Pyramids Track on the Main Board.
27. The Seal on space 10 of the Prestige Points Track on the Main Board.
28. Randomly decide who will be the starting player, and this player places their Water Lily on position 1 of the Turn Order Track on the Main Board; the next player clockwise places it on position 2; and so on [28A]. Next, each player places their Fish on spaces 3/4/5/5 of the Food Track on their Board, depending on whether they are 1st, 2nd, 3rd, or 4th in turn order [28B].
29. Separate the Action Tablets into 4 piles based on the number on their back (1, 2, 3, and 4). Shuffle each pile face-down separately and randomly deal each player one type 1, 2, and 3 Tablet, which they place face-up on the marked spaces on their Boards [29A]. Next, shuffle the remaining type 1, 2, and 3 Tablets with the pile of type 4 Tablets and place this new pile face-up in the marked space on the Main Board: this will be the Draw Pile [29B]. Finally, fill the 5 spaces just below it on the Main Board with the top 5 Tablets from the Draw Pile: these will be the Action Tablets available at the start of the game [29C].

Summary and Objective

Throughout 3 Eras (I, II, and III), perform actions to develop various aspects of the game by activating your Action Tablets and sending your Apprentices to the Houses of Life. Each time you activate an Apprentice in a House of Life, in addition to performing the associated action, you will advance on the Specialisation Track of that House, making future visits to that House result in more powerful actions. At the end of each Era, you will score the different aspects of the game: entry to the paradise or Aaru, the Trade Contracts, the Necropolis, the Obelisk, the construction of the Great Pyramid of Khufu, and the Queens' Pyramids. After the third and final Era, the winner of the game will be determined.

Important Concepts

Heka and Food

These are the 2 resources in the game: the Fish symbolises Food and the Ankh symbolises Heka. When you gain/spend either of these resources, move the corresponding Counter on your Board forward/backward. The limit for each resource is 10, so you will lose any amount you gain that exceeds this limit.

Heka is the god of magic and medicine. As a deity, he did not have a following of cults or worship rituals. Heka also referred to magic and its practice. This concept is related to spells and superstition, being mentioned in medical texts, spells, and enchantments. The Egyptians believed it was the omnipresent power that existed behind the gods.

The Heart and the Feather

At the top of the Main Board is the Duat Meter. You start the game with your Heart on the far left and your Feather on the far right of this Meter. The Heart always moves to the right and the Feather always moves to the left. Your goal is for them to cross as soon as possible because at the end of each Era, the distance between them can result in negative points if they haven't crossed or positive points if they have.

The Duat was the underworld and the place where the deceased were judged before Osiris to determine their fate in the afterlife. In this judgement, Anubis -the god of the dead- would weigh the heart of the deceased on a scale against the Feather of Truth of Maat, the goddess of justice. If the heart of the deceased was lighter than the feather, they were deemed worthy to enter the eternally fertile marsh called Aaru, where a pleasing eternity would await.

The Papyri

You must place the Papyri you acquire at the bottom of your Board, always from left to right and without leaving gaps between them, thus writing your Book of the Dead. At the end of each Era, you will 'roll up' all the acquired Papyri, and you can advance your Feather one step on the Duat Meter for each of them, and one more for each completed Drawing.

The Book of the Dead was a compendium of enchantments and spells to aid the deceased in their journey through the Duat, which was considered a challenging passage through a labyrinth of hills, caverns, and fiery lakes. This book served as a guide to prevent getting lost along the way. For example, Spell 43 (numbered by historians) prevented one from being decapitated on the journey.

The Mummies

You start the game with 4 Mummies/Sarcophagi in the Reserve Area of your Board, with their Mummy side visible. This side represents the Embalming process, and the closed Sarcophagus represents the completion of said process. To perform the Funerary Rite action, which involves placing a Sarcophagus in a Mastaba (tomb) in the Necropolis on the Main Board, you need to have previously performed the Embalm action, which allows you to rotate the Mummy to its Sarcophagus side and move it to the Available Sarcophagus Area of your Board.

The Egyptians prevented the putrefaction of the body of the deceased through mummification. In the elaborate funerary rite, it was ensured that the physical body was preserved to reunite with its soul in the afterlife and thus continue its eternal life.

The Boats

You start the game with 4 Boats in the starting section of the Nile River on the Main Board, which is considered the port of Men-nefer. The Advance Boats and Activate Boats actions allow you to move your Boats to the next sections of the River to obtain Food and reach Cities where you can obtain Trade Contracts and various other Benefits.

The longest river in Africa was of vital importance for the flourishing of ancient Egyptian civilization, to the extent that its floods marked the Egyptian calendar. Most of its cities were located in the valley and delta of the Nile, which allowed them to develop a strong agricultural economy.

The Sphinxes

You start the game with 4 Sphinxes in the Reserve Area of your Board. To perform the Erect a Sphinx action, which involves placing a Sphinx on one of the Pedestals scattered across the Main Board, you need to have previously performed the Carve a Sphinx action, which allows you to move a Sphinx to the Available Sphinxes Area of your Board.

Symbolising royalty, strength, and life, the Sphinx is the Hellenized name of the mythical creature with the body of a reclining lion and a human head. There was a belief that they came to life at night and protected the places where they were erected, which is why they were placed at the entrances of temples forming the famous avenues of Sphinxes.

Crafts and Offerings

You must place the Crafts you obtain in an empty space (without Crafts) in the Pyramidal Area of your Board, always from left to right and without leaving gaps between them. Since each space contains a Basket, place it on the Craft when you obtain it, thus representing that it is ready for one of your Priestesses to make an Offering.

In the craft workshops, beautiful and valuable objects were made that were offered to the gods in the Great Temple of Ptah in search of obtaining their favours.

The Pyramids and the Permission of Khufu

You begin the game with your 2 Limestone Blocks placed at the start of the Great Pyramid Track and the Queens' Pyramids Track, respectively. The Transport Limestone action allows you to progress on those Tracks and thus contribute to the construction of the Pyramids when you reach the marked spaces, although the Queens' Pyramids also require the Permission of Khufu.

You start the game with 3 Permissions of Khufu in the Reserve Area of your Board. The Queens' Pyramids require you to place a Permission next to one of them to build its next level, for which you need to have previously performed the Obtain the Permission of Khufu action which allows you to move a Permission to the Available Permissions Area of your Board.

The Necropolis of Giza consists of several pyramids and numerous mastabas where nobles and members of the royal family of various dynasties were buried. The Great Pyramid is attributed to Khufu (Hellenized as Cheops), who ordered the construction of 3 smaller pyramids next to his own for his mother Hetepheres I, and two of his wives, Meritites and Henutsen.

The Priestesses

You start the game with 4 Priestesses in front of the Temple Entrance on the Main Board. The Advance Priestesses and Make an Offering actions will allow you to enter the Temple and advance through its various Rooms, as well as make Offerings in them. These Offerings, in addition to their own rewards, will allow you to move your Orb up on the Obelisk, which among other advantages will provide you with the Favour of the Deity in play.

Temples were primarily built for the worship of the gods, so they were considered their earthly home. Offerings and a multitude of rituals were performed in them. Temples, besides their evidently religious role, also served as social, economic, and administrative hubs. The temple of Men-nefer was one of the most important of the time and was dedicated to the worship of the god Ptah; unfortunately, it was lost in the 13th century.

The Apprentices and the Houses of Life

You will perform a significant portion of your actions by placing your Apprentices in the Houses of Life on the Main Board. These Houses are related to the various aspects of the game represented on the Main Board: the Pyramids, the Necropolis, the Temple, the Obelisk, the Nile, and the Sphinxes. The more you specialise in a profession, the more powerful the associated actions will be.

The Houses of Life were centres of education attached to the temples, where advanced knowledge was taught in medicine, astronomy, religion, art, and writing. Crafts such as how to be a scribe or priest were learned in these schools.

Prestige Points

From now on, we will refer to Prestige Points as PP. You will mainly obtain them at the end of each Era (red-coloured Seals), although you can also obtain some immediately during your turn (purple-coloured Seals). The player with the most PP accumulated at the end of the third Era will be the winner of the game.

Note: When losing PP, you can never fall back behind the 0 space.

How to Play

A game of Men-Nefer takes place over 3 Eras. Each era is divided into 3 Seasons:

1. Flood (Akhet)
2. Sowing (Peret)
3. Harvest (Shemu)

Note: Skip the Flood Phase in Era I; you start the game directly in the Sowing Phase.

The Narrator Token indicates the current Era in play. When the Harvest Phase of the Third Era ends, the game ends.

The Egyptian calendar was divided into 3 seasons, mainly determined by the flooding of the Nile River. The Akhet (late summer and autumn) was the season of flooding or the rise of the river; the Peret (winter and early spring) was the period of sowing and germination of the land; and the Shemu (late spring and early summer) was the harvest period that took place before the Nile flooded the fields again.

Phase 1. Flood (Akhet)

In this phase, you must perform the following steps in order:

Narrator

Advance the Narrator Token one step.

Resources

Receive 1 Food for each of your Boats that has surpassed only 1 Fishing Boat and 2 Food for each that has surpassed 2 Fishing Boats. You obtain the Food whether your Boats are on the River or in a City.

Note: The second and third cities on the upper bank of the Nile, starting from the left, are located right on the same white line as the Fishing Boats; if your Boat is in the second City, it will receive nothing, but if it is in the third City, it will receive 1 Food.

Example: The white player has one of their Boats past the 2 Fishing Boats, which grants them 2 Food [A]; they have another Boat in the third City on the upper bank, so it has passed the first Fishing Boat, but not the second, which grants them 1 Food [B]. Their remaining Boats do not grant any Food as they have not passed any Fishing Boats [C]. Therefore, they receive a total of 3 Food.

Receive 1, 2, or 3 Heka if you have reached/passed with your Orb the first, second, or third Heka space on the Obelisk.

Apprentices

Retrieve your 3 Apprentices from the Main Board and place them back on the marked spaces on your Board.

Next, move each Neutral Apprentice to the House of Life directly below them, without changing their side (Sun/Moon). If, before moving, a Neutral Apprentice is in the last (bottom) House of Life, move them to the first (top) one. In 4-player games, omit this step as there are no Neutral Apprentices.

Trade Contracts

Refill all spaces that have been emptied in the Cities along the Nile corresponding to the number of players in the game, keeping in mind that in Era II, you should only place value 2 Contracts, and in Era III, only value 3 Contracts.

Turn Order

Rearrange each player's Water Lily on the Turn Order Track according to their PP: the player with the least PP is placed in the first position; the player with the second least PP is placed in the second position; and so on. In case of a tie in PP, the positions remain as they are.

Phase 2. Sowing (Peret)

This phase is played in turns, starting with the starting player. Your turn consists of choosing one of the following 3 options:

• Visit a House of Life
• OR Specialise in a House of Life
• OR Obtain an Action Tablet

After you have completed your turn, the next player in turn order continues, and so on until no player can carry out any of the 3 described options. At that point, the Sowing Phase ends. As you will see in this phase, you can only choose each option 3 times, so you will play 9 turns per Era, for a total of 27 turns in the game.

Visit a House of Life

To carry out this option, you need to have at least one Apprentice on your Board. Follow these steps in order:

1. Choose an Apprentice from your Board and their associated Action Tablet.
2. Place that Apprentice in a House of Life on the Main Board, on the Sun side. If there are already other Apprentices (yours, other players', or Neutral) in that Sun space, you must spend 1/3/5 Food if there are 1/2/3 or more Apprentices. If you don't have enough Food, do not spend what you have; place your Apprentice anyway and receive 3 Food, but skip the next step, meaning you do not perform any action from the Tablet and go directly to step 4.
3. Perform the actions on the Tablet in any order you want. If there are two actions separated by the "or" symbol, you must choose only one of them.
4. Once the Tablet actions are resolved, place it face down on the Discard space on the Main Board. The Tablets used by the players will be stacked in that space as a Discard Pile.

Example: The white player chooses an Apprentice and their associated Tablet [A]. They decide to place it on the Sun side of the House of Life dedicated to the Necropolis. Since there are already 2 Apprentices in that space, they spend 3 Food to place theirs [B]. Then, they perform the actions on the Tablet: they gain 2 Heka and, from the two available actions (they can only perform one), they choose the Embalm action [C]. Once the Tablet actions are resolved, they stack it face down on the Discard space on the Main Board [D].

Specialise in a House of Life

To carry out this option, you need to have at least one Apprentice on the Sun side of a House of Life. Follow these steps in order:

1. Move your Apprentice from the Sun side to the Moon side of the House of Life where they are located. If there are already other Apprentices (yours, other players', or Neutral) in that Moon space, you must spend 1/3/5 Food if there are 1/2/3 or more Apprentices. If you don't have enough Food, do not spend what you have; move your Apprentice anyway and receive 3 Food, but skip the next step, meaning you do not advance your Scarab or perform any actions.
2. Advance your Scarab one step on the Track corresponding to that House and perform the actions of the space where your Scarab is located or one from the previous spaces.

If you have already reached the end of a Track, your Scarab will not advance further if you continue to specialise in that profession, but you can perform the actions of any space on the Track.

Example: In a later turn, the white player decides to specialise the Apprentice they had previously placed on the Sun side of the House of Life dedicated to the Necropolis. They move that Apprentice to the Moon space, and since there is already another Apprentice there, they spend 1 Food to move theirs [A]. Next, they advance their Scarab one step on the Track, allowing them to perform the actions of the space where their Scarab is located or any of the previous two spaces [B]. They choose to perform the actions of the space where their Scarab is located to obtain 1 Papyrus and to perform the Funerary Rite action [C].

Obtain an Action Tablet

To carry out this option, you need to have at least one empty space for Tablets on your Board. Follow these steps in order:

1. Choose one of the 5 available Tablets on the Main Board. Note: You cannot choose the top Tablet from the pile placed on the Draw Pile space, remember that this is the Draw Pile.
2. Spend/obtain the Food indicated to the left of the Tablet you have chosen. You cannot choose a Tablet which has a cost you cannot pay.
3. Place the Tablet in an empty space for Tablets on your Board. If the hieroglyph shown on the Tablet matches the hieroglyph just to the right of your Hieroglyph Counter, advance the counter to that hieroglyph and perform the action indicated under the space you have reached, which includes:
   • Score 1 PP immediately.
   • Advance one of your Scarabs 1 step, but do not perform any action of that Specialisation Track (this action is also found on some Crafts).
4. Perform the action indicated on the Main Board to the right of the Tablet you have chosen or any action below it. If there are two actions separated by the "or" symbol or 3 actions separated by the "choose" symbol, you must choose only one of them.
5. Finally, move down all the Tablets above the one you have chosen, leaving the top space empty, and then place the top Tablet from the Draw Pile into that space.

When there are no more Tablets in the Draw Pile, take the Discard Pile, turn it over (without altering the order of its Tablets), and place it on the Draw Pile space to form a new Draw Pile.

Example: The white player chooses the Action Tablet that costs 1 Food. They spend the Food and place the Tablet in an empty space on their Board [A]. The hieroglyph on the Tablet matches the one just to the right of their counter, so they advance their counter to that hieroglyph and score 1 PP immediately [B]. Next, they must choose one of the actions on the Main Board located to the right of the Tablet they have chosen or any of the actions below it: they decide to obtain 1 Heka [C]. Finally, they move down the 2 Tablets above the one they have chosen and fill the top space with the top Tablet from the Draw Pile [D].

Actions

This section explains the actions in the game, most of which are found on the Specialisation Tracks associated with the Houses of Life. The Action Tablets, Crafts, and the Main Board itself contain these same actions in various combinations and with some variations, which are also explained here. When a Space, Tile, Tablet, etc. contains more than one action, you can always perform them in any order you want. If there is any action you cannot or do not want to perform, you simply lose it.

Each House of Life has an associated Specialisation Track, which is dedicated to a specific aspect of the game. Below, the actions are detailed according to the aspect they belong to.

The Pyramids

The Pharaoh has initiated the construction of the Great Pyramid and the Queens' Pyramids at a distance from the City, requiring the transport of large quantities of Limestone.

On the spaces of this Track, you will find the following actions:

Obtain the Favour of Khufu

Perform one of the actions printed on the Main Board next to the Great Pyramid. When the Favour of Khufu shows 2 exclamations, as on the Great Pyramid Track, perform 2 of those actions or the same action twice.

The actions printed next to the Great Pyramid are: Obtain 1 Heka, Obtain 1 Food, Advance your Feather 1 step, and Advance your Heart 1 step.

Obtain the Permission of Khufu

Move a Permission from the Reserve Area of your Board to the Available Permissions Area located just to its right. If there are no Permissions left in your Reserve, transport a Limestone each time you need to obtain a Permission, as indicated by the icon on your Reserve when it is empty. The Transport Limestone action is explained below.

Transport Limestone

Advance one or both of your Limestone Blocks on the Pyramid Tracks according to the steps provided by the action (2 steps in the illustration on the left). If you have multiple steps, you can distribute them between your two Blocks as you wish.

When you advance on one or both Pyramid Tracks, the following may occur:

Great Pyramid Track

Advancing on this Track allows you to contribute to the construction of the Great Pyramid.

Each time you reach a Construction space, take the top piece from the Quarry Pile corresponding to the level being constructed and place it on the Pyramid. Note that you cannot move to the next level until the previous one is completely built.

Each piece and the Pyramid Base printed on the Board shows a Favour of Khufu. When placing a piece, you obtain 2 Favours: the one indicated on the piece you place and the one you cover with that piece. If the piece you place is the Pyramidion, you will cover 4 pieces but only receive 2 Favours of your choice from the 4 covered.

Placing the Pyramidion completes the construction of the Great Pyramid; if you subsequently reach another Construction space, you logically will not add more pieces to the Great Pyramid.

Example: The white player reaches a Construction space after advancing 2 steps [A] and places the top piece from the Level II pile, corresponding to the level being constructed [B]. They receive 1 Food for the Favour covered and 1 Heka for the Favour on the piece placed [C].

Each time you reach a Favour of Khufu space, you gain 2 Favours from the Pharaoh. Additionally, if you have reached the end of the Track and must advance your Limestone Block, you gain one Favour of Khufu for each step you must advance, as indicated on the Board.

Queens' Pyramids Track

Advancing on this Track allows you to contribute to the construction of the Queens' Pyramids.

On this Track, the Construction space is associated with the Permission of Khufu, as you need to use a Permission to be able to build. This means that to move your Limestone Block to this type of space, you must have at least one Permission in the Available Permissions Area of your Board; otherwise, you cannot move your Limestone Block to these spaces.

If you have at least one Permission available and you reach a Construction space, you must place your Permission in one of the empty marked spaces next to a Queens' Pyramid that has not yet been completed, and then take from the Quarry the piece from the pile that corresponds to the next level of that Pyramid and place it on top.

The construction of a Pyramid is completed with the placement of the Pyramidion, so once completed, you can no longer place Permissions on it.

Example: The white player has a Permission of Khufu available on their Board, so by performing the Transport Limestone action, which grants 1 step, they decide to advance their Limestone Block on the Queens' Pyramids Track, thus reaching a Construction space [A]. By doing so, they first place their Permission on a Pyramid that has not yet been completed [B] (they cannot do so on the middle Pyramid as it has been completed), and then place the Level II piece, which corresponds to the next level of that Pyramid [C].

The Necropolis

After embalming the Mummies, they were transported to the mastabas in the solemn funerary rite.

On the spaces of this Track, you will find the following actions:

Embalm

Turn over a Mummy from the Reserve Area of your Board to its Sarcophagus side and move it to the Available Sarcophagi Area located just to its right. If there are no Mummies left in your Reserve, advance your Heart and your Feather 1 step, as indicated by the icon on your Reserve when it is empty.

Funerary Rite

If you have at least one Sarcophagus available, place it in an empty space in the Necropolis. At the top of the Necropolis, there are 3 Levels (I, II, and III) that divide the spaces into columns. You can only place your Sarcophagus in a space whose level is equal to or lower than the level of the action you have chosen with your Scarab (Level II in the illustration on the left).

When placing your Sarcophagus, you immediately receive the Benefit of the space you cover and, additionally, you can activate the 2 Mastaba Tiles perpendicular to the space where you have placed your Sarcophagus a specific number of times. The number of activations you have depends on the level where you placed your Sarcophagus: 1 activation for Level I, 2 for Level II, and 3 for Level III. If you have multiple activations, you can distribute them between the 2 Mastaba Tiles as you wish. If a Mastaba Tile shows 2 actions separated by the "or" symbol, you must choose only one of them per activation.

Example: The white player performs the Level II Funerary Rite action, so they can place a Sarcophagus in any empty space in the Necropolis of Level I or II. They decide to place their Sarcophagus in a Level II space, which allows them to gain 2 Heka and advance their Heart 3 steps [A], and additionally grants them 2 activations that they can use on either of the 2 Mastaba Tiles perpendicular to that Sarcophagus [B]: they decide to activate the left tile twice to gain 2 Food with one activation and 1 Craft with the other [C].

Some Action Tablets allow you to perform a Funerary Rite as follows: place a Sarcophagus in an empty space whose level is equal to or lower than the Funerary Rite action of the highest level you can choose with your Scarab. For example, if your Scarab allows you to choose a Level II Funerary Rite action at most, you must choose an empty space of Level I or II.

Obtain a Papyrus

Choose a Papyrus from the 4 available in the Market and spend the Heka indicated below it. Then, place the Papyrus in the first empty space to the right of the Papyrus icon at the bottom of your Board, also spending the Heka indicated in that space. This part of your Board is dedicated to writing your Book of the Dead, placing Papyri on it always from left to right without leaving gaps. Once you have filled your Board with Papyri, you cannot add more to it.

Do not replenish the Papyrus Market until your turn ends. Once you have finished, and before the next player takes their turn, slide the remaining Papyri in the Market to the right to cover the gaps, so that only empty spaces remain on the left, and then draw the necessary number of Papyri from the bag to fill these spaces.

The Temple and the Obelisk

Priests dedicated their lives to the worship of the deities, making offerings to the gods and gaining influence in the Great Temple of Ptah.

On the spaces of this Track, you will find the following actions:

Obtain a Craft

Choose a Craft from the 4 available in the Market and spend the Food indicated below it. Then, place the Craft in an empty space (without a Craft) in the Pyramidal Area of your Board, placing the Basket of that space over the Craft you just acquired. This part of your Board forms a Pyramid with 3 levels (I, II, and III), where you will accumulate the Crafts you obtain, following these placement rules: Crafts are always placed from left to right, without leaving gaps between them, and to place a Craft on a higher level (II or III), it needs to be supported by 2 Crafts from the immediate lower level (I or II). If you place the Craft in a space with the 1 PP or 2 PP icon, immediately score 1 or 2 PP. If you fill your Board with Crafts, you cannot add more to it.

The Basket over the Craft represents that the Craft is available to make an Offering; therefore, Baskets without Crafts cannot be used to perform this action (see below on this page).

Example: The white player spends 2 Food to take a Craft from the Market [A]. They can place it, starting from the left, in the third space of Level I or in the first space of Level II (since it can be supported by 2 Tiles from Level I) in the Pyramidal Area of their Board. They choose the first space of Level II and place the Basket over it, thus making it available to make an Offering [B].

Do not replenish the Craft Market until your turn ends. Once you have finished, and before the next player takes their turn, slide the remaining Crafts in the Market to the right to cover the gaps, so that only empty spaces remain on the left, and then draw the necessary number of Crafts from the bag to fill these spaces.

Advance Priestesses

Advance one or more of your Priestesses in the Temple according to the steps granted by the action (1 step in the illustration on the left) and the cost of the Rooms you want to access. In the central area of the Temple, the access costs to each Room are indicated: the first and second Rooms require only 1 step each, while the third and fourth Rooms require 2 steps. If you have multiple steps, you can distribute them among your Priestesses as you wish and advance both the standing Priestesses and the lying down ones (those that have made an Offering as explained below); in any case, when they finish their movement, the Priestesses always stand up in the Room they have reached. You can never move your Priestesses backwards.

Example: The white player performs an Advance Priestesses action that grants them 2 steps. They can stand up and advance the lying down Priestess from the second to the third Room [A], which requires 2 steps. Or they can advance the Priestess from the third Room to the fourth, which also requires 2 steps [B]. Another option would be to advance the 2 Priestesses in the entrance of the Temple to the first Room, spending one step for each [C], or advance only one of them to the second Room, spending their 2 steps on that Priestess [D].

Make an Offering

In the Priestess icon from the previous action, the Priestess will most often appear with a Basket in her hands: this indicates that you can also make an Offering in the Temple as long as you have a Basket with a Craft on your Board; otherwise, you cannot make an Offering.

You can make the Offering before or after advancing all your Priestesses, but never in between. To make the Offering, follow these steps in order:

1. Choose a Basket with a Craft from your Board (Offering).
2. Perform the actions shown on the left side of that Craft, according to the level where it is placed on your Board: if the Craft is on Level III, you can perform all 3 actions; if it is on Level II, you can perform the actions marked with I and II; if it is on Level I, you can only perform the action marked with I. When you have multiple actions (Level II and III), you can perform them in any order, but always finish one before starting the next.
3. After resolving the actions of the Craft, set the Basket aside and turn over the Craft, so it only shows the illustration on its back: you cannot use it again.
4. Place the Basket you set aside in an empty Offering space in a Temple Room where you have at least one standing Priestess. These spaces are located on the sides of each Room and show 1 or 2 actions. Perform the actions of the space where you place the Basket and lay down one of your Priestesses in that Room. In spaces with 2 actions, one always involves moving your Orb up on the Obelisk the indicated number of steps (2 steps in the previous illustration). If your Orb reaches or passes a Deity space, marked with the Deity icon, immediately perform the action of the Deity in play, located on the Temple Altar.

Example: The white player advances their Priestess from the third to the fourth and final Room, thus spending the 2 steps granted by the Advance Priestesses action [A]. Then, they make an Offering, as this action is also available. They choose the only Craft placed on Level II of their Board, which allows them to perform the actions marked with I and II, gaining 2 Heka and 1 Papyrus [B]. Next, they turn over the Craft [C] and place the Basket in the fourth Room, where they previously moved their Priestess: they lay down the Priestess and choose the space that allows them to advance their Feather 3 steps and move their Orb up 2 steps [D]. Moving their Orb up on the Obelisk reaches a Deity space [E], and they perform the action of the Deity in play, which involves obtaining any Trade Contract available in the River Cities [F].

If you have reached the top of the Obelisk and need to move your Orb up, you gain a Favour of Khufu for each step you need to move up as indicated on the Board.

The Nile River

The Nile River was an inexhaustible source of life and food. Many villages and cities settled near its banks to take advantage of all it offered.

On the spaces of this Track, you will find the following actions:

Advance Boats

Advance one or more of your Boats on the River according to the steps granted by the action (2 steps in the illustration on the left). Each step allows you to advance a Boat to the next section of the River marked out by white lines; or to enter a City adjacent to a section of the River from its side without an arrow; or to exit a City towards the section of the River indicated by the arrow. If you have multiple steps, you can distribute them among your Boats as you wish; you can pass where you have a Boat, but you cannot end your movement where you already have a Boat. You also cannot move your Boats backwards.

Example: The white player performs an Advance Boats action that grants them 2 steps. All their Boats are in the port of Men-nefer (starting section), so they have the following options: they can advance one Boat 2 steps to the second section of the River [A] or 2 steps to enter the first City on the lower bank [B]; they can also enter a Boat into the City adjacent to the port of Men-Nefer [C] and advance another Boat to the first section of the River [D]. They cannot advance 2 Boats to the first section of the River or enter them into the City adjacent to the port of Men-nefer since they can never have 2 Boats in the same place at the end of the movement.

Activate Boats

The Boat icon from the previous action will most often appear accompanied by a single or double activation symbol: this indicates that you also have 1 or 2 Boat activations (2 activations in the illustration on the left); if you have 2 activations, you must activate 2 different Boats, never the same one twice, and you can do so in any order you wish.

You can perform the activations before or after advancing all your Boats, but never in between. To perform an activation, follow these steps in order:

1. Choose a Boat that has not been activated during this turn.
2. If it is on the River, gain the Food indicated in the section where it is located.
3. If it is in a City, gain the Benefit of that City (indicated on the round Tile) and one of the available Contracts there. Place the obtained Contract (without turning it over) in an empty Contract space on your Board. If you do not have any empty spaces, you can discard one of your Contracts, turned over or not, to replace it with the new one or discard the one you have just taken. Finally, move your Boat to the section of the River indicated by the arrow. It can happen that you already have another Boat in that section; in which case, you must move the activated Boat from the City to the first River section where you do not have any Boats (in Men-nefer Port, your Boats can always coincide). This is the only case where you can move your Boats backwards.

Example: The white player has 2 activations which they perform after advancing 2 Boats. They decide to first activate the Boat in the City: they advance their Heart 1 step, due to the Benefit that City provides [A], and choose one of the available Contracts to place on their Board [B]; after activating it, they must move the Boat to the River section indicated by the arrow, but since they already have another Boat in that section, they move the City Boat one section backwards as it is the first where they do not have any Boats present [C]. Finally, they activate the Boat already in the second River section to gain 2 Food [D].

The Sphinxes

The avenues of Sphinxes are constructed throughout the City. Besides providing a majestic image, they were believed to protect the population.

On the spaces of this Track, you will find the following actions:

Carve a Sphinx

Move a Sphinx from the Reserve Area of your Board to the Available Sphinxes Area located just to its right. If there are no Sphinxes left in your Reserve, immediately score 1 PP each time you need to carve a Sphinx, as indicated by the icon on your Reserve when it is empty.

Erect a Sphinx

If you have at least one Sphinx available, place it on one of the empty Pedestals scattered throughout the City. Next to each Pedestal, its level is indicated: I, II, or III. You can only place your Sphinx on a Pedestal whose level is equal to or lower than the level of the action you have chosen with your Scarab (Level II in the illustration on the left).

When you place your Sphinx, you get the Benefits of the Pedestal you cover. These Benefits consist of a combination of actions already explained earlier, except for the following two:

• Obtain a Papyrus from the Market at no cost. You also do not need to spend Heka for the space on your Board where you place the Papyrus.
• Perform the indicated activations of Mastaba Tiles (2 in the illustration on the left). You can choose any of the 5 Mastaba Tiles, and if you have multiple activations, you can distribute them among the Tiles as you wish.

Example: The white player performs the Level II Erect a Sphinx action, so they can place an available Sphinx on any empty Pedestal in the City at Level I or II. They decide to place their Sphinx on the Level II Pedestal in front of the Temple, which allows them to gain 1 Craft and move their Orb 2 steps up on the Obelisk.

Some Action Tablets allow you to Erect a Sphinx as follows: place a Sphinx on an empty Pedestal whose level is equal to or lower than the Erect a Sphinx action of the highest level you can choose with your Scarab. For example, if your Scarab allows you to choose an Erect a Sphinx action of Level II at most, you must choose an empty Pedestal of Level I or II.

Phase 3. Harvest (Shemu)

In this phase, the various aspects of the game are scored. The actions you performed during the Sowing Phase will now reflect in PP. You must perform the following steps in order:

Roll Up Papyri

Count the Papyri you have obtained during the era and the Drawings you have completed with them. Then, advance your Feather 1 step for each Papyrus and another for each completed Drawing. Finally, turn over all the Papyri and stack them to the left of the Papyrus icon on your Board: in this space, you will accumulate the Papyri you 'roll up' in each Era.

Example: The white player has obtained 3 Papyri during the Era and has completed only one Drawing (Vase) [A], which allows them to advance their Feather 4 steps (3 for the Papyri and 1 for the Drawing) [B]. Then, they turn over the 3 Papyri and stack them to the left of the icon [C].

The Duat

If your Heart and Feather have not crossed, you lose 1 PP for each space between them; if your Heart and Feather have crossed, you gain 1 PP for each space between them.

Example: The white player loses 2 PP because their Heart and Feather have not crossed, and there are 2 spaces between them.

Trade Contracts

Turn over all your face-up Contracts whose requirements you have met (keep the ones you have not met face-up). Then, score, according to the value on the back, both the Contracts you just turned over and those already turned over from previous Eras. The requirements for each type of Trade Contract are detailed below.

Example: The white player has 3 face-up Contracts, all valued at 2, only two of which have been met and are turned over [A]. Then, they score those Contracts plus the ones already turned over from the previous Era, to get a total of 6 PP [B].

The Necropolis

Score each Sarcophagus you have placed in the Necropolis. Each one gives you as many PP as the sum of the PP indicated by the 2 Mastaba Tiles perpendicular to where it is placed.

Example: The white player has placed 2 Sarcophagi in the Necropolis. One gives them 2 PP [A] and the other 3 PP [B], for a total of 5 PP.

The Obelisk

Score the position of your Orb on the Obelisk: you get as many PP as indicated by the last Scoring space you have reached/exceeded.

The Pyramids

Score the position of your Limestone Block on the Great Pyramid Track: you get as many PP as indicated by the last Scoring space you have reached/exceeded.

Score each Permission of Khufu you have placed on the Queens' Pyramids. Each pyramid is scored separately: multiply the number of Permissions you have placed on a pyramid by the amount you have of the element shown on the Pyramid Tile associated with it; the sum of these results will be the PP you get. The Queens' Pyramids Tiles are detailed below.

Example: The white player has placed their 3 Permissions of Khufu. The pyramid where they only have one Permission scores by the number of pairs of Trade Contracts they have completed: since they have 7 completed Contracts (3 pairs) and only one Permission in that pyramid, they get 3 PP (3x1) [A]. The pyramid where they have 2 Permissions scores by the number of Baskets they have placed in the Temple: since they have placed 5 Baskets in the Temple and 2 Permissions in that pyramid, they get 10 PP (5x2) [B]. In total, they have obtained 13 PP thanks to their Permissions.

End of the Game

The game ends after resolving the Harvest Phase of Era III. The player with the most PP wins the game. In case of a tie, the player among the tied players who is the purest of heart wins: each player adds the value of the spaces where their Heart and Feather are located, and the one with the highest sum wins the game. If the tie persists, the tied players share the victory.

The Deities

Below are the actions provided by the different Deities. Remember that to perform the Deity's action in play, you must reach/exceed a Deity space on the Obelisk with your Orb.

• Osiris. Obtain a Papyrus from the Market at no cost. You also do not need to spend Heka for the space on your Board where you place the Papyrus.
• Ptah. Obtain a Craft from the Market at no cost.
• Maat. Advance your Heart and your Feather 1 step.
• Thot. Advance one of your Scarabs 1 step; you do not perform any action from that Specialisation Track.
• Isis. Obtain 3 Food/Heka in any combination you want (1 Food and 2 Heka, 3 Food and no Heka, etc.).
• Mut. Perform the Carve a Sphinx or Embalm action.
• Hathor. Obtain a Trade Contract of your choice from those available in the River Cities.
• Sobek. Obtain 2 steps to perform the Advance Boats action.

Trade Contracts

Below are the requirements for the different types of Trade Contracts to score them. The amount indicated is the minimum required to fulfil the Contract (you can exceed it).

• You must have the indicated number of Sarcophagi placed in the Necropolis.
• You must have the indicated number of Sphinxes placed in the City.
• You must reach the indicated space on the Obelisk with your Orb.
• You must have the indicated number of Permissions of Khufu placed in the Queens' Pyramids.
• You must have the indicated number of Priestesses inside the Temple.
• You must have a Priestess in the indicated Rooms or in a more advanced one inside the Temple.
• You must have the indicated number of Boats on the River. Boats in the Cities count for this purpose, but not those in the Port of Men-nefer (starting section).
• You must have surpassed a Fishing Boat the indicated number of times with your Boats. For example, to fulfil the Contract on the left, you can surpass the first Fishing Boat on the River with 2 of your Boats or surpass the first and second Fishing Boat on the River with one of your Boats.
• You must have advanced with 2 of your Scarabs the indicated number of steps, adding the steps of both.
• You must have advanced with your Hieroglyph Counter the indicated number of spaces.
• You must have the indicated number of Baskets placed in the Temple.
• You must have the indicated number of 'rolled up' Papyri on your Board.
• You must reach the indicated space on the Great Pyramid Track with your Limestone Block.
• You must reach the indicated space on the Duat Meter with your Heart.
• You must reach the indicated space on the Duat Meter with your Feather.
• You must have the indicated number of Crafts, turned over or not, on your Board.
• You must have the indicated number of different Crafts, turned over or not, on your Board. There are 5 different types of Crafts in the game, which are represented on the Contract itself.
• You must have the indicated number of fulfilled Trade Contracts (turned over).

The Queens' Pyramids Tiles

Below are the elements shown on the different Tiles of the Queens' Pyramids. Remember that each Pyramid is scored separately by multiplying the number of Permissions of Khufu you have placed on a Pyramid by the amount of the element shown on the associated tile.

• Score by the number of Baskets you have placed in the Temple.
• Score by the number of Sarcophagi you have placed in the Necropolis.
• Score by the number of Sphinxes you have placed in the City.
• Score by the number of different Crafts you have, turned over or not, on your Board.
• Score by the number of pairs of fulfilled Trade Contracts (turned over) on your Board.
• Score by the number of pairs of 'rolled up' Papyri on your Board.

Credits

The author wants to thank all the players who participated in the game testing for their time, advice, and dedication, without them the creation of this game would not have been possible, especially my "Mayúsculos" for always being there. To Rafael Sáiz, Juan Luque, David Prieto, and Laura Bevon for their commitment, care, and dedication in creating the best possible game. And to Lorena, for lifting me up during those moments of great frustration.

Ludonova wants to thank Alberto Martínez, Antonio Varela, and Manuel López for the numerous test games, and of course the author himself for trusting us once again, and for his constant dedication and effort throughout this time to make the best possible game.

• Author: Germán P. Millán
• Illustrations: Laura Bevon
• Graphic Design and Layout: David Prieto
• Development and Rules: Germán P. Millán, Juan Luque y Rafael Sáiz
• Rules Translation: Jayne Broomhead
• Proofreading: Susan Broomhead

© Ludonova S.L., 2024. All rights reserved.