Ra
Ra Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
OVERVIEW
The Old Kingdom of Ancient Egypt was a time period marked by prosperity and security. The kings established a strong bureaucratic system that helped to administer the vast wealth of the country.
However, the kings were seen not only as the political rulers of Egypt, but also as the religious leaders. The kings were actually recognized as the sons of Ra, with the primary goal of their rule being to maintain ma’at - the balance and harmony of life.
In Ra, you will take on the role of a line of ancient Egyptian kings, seeking to preserve ma’at as you rule over the vast kingdom. Over three epochs, you will work to improve the culture of Egypt and the strength of your royal lineage, all while following the guidance of the gods. You only have a certain amount of time during your reign, so you must wisely decide how to spend your days. In the end, you hope that you have pleased the gods enough to move on to the Field of Reeds in the afterlife.
GAME COMPONENTS
AUCTION TILES
25 Civilization Tiles (5 types)
- 5x Art
- 5x Religion
- 5x Writing
- 5x Agriculture
- 5x Astronomy
40 Monument Tiles (8 types)
- 5x Sphinx
- 5x Pyramids
- 5x Obelisks
- 5x Statues
- 5x Mortuary
- 5x Shrine
- 5x Temple
- 5x Step Pyramid
37 River Tiles
- 25x Nile
- 12x Flood
Other Tiles
- 8x God
- 5x Gold
- 30x Ra
- 25 Pharaoh
Disaster Tiles
- 4x War
- 2x Earthquake
- 2x Funeral
- 2x Drought
Other Components
- 1x Auction Board
- 5x Player Boards
- 1x Ra Statue
- 1x Sun Boat Marker
- 16x Sun Disks
- 1x Epoch Counter
- Cloth Bag
- 15x 1-Value Scoring Tokens
- 25x 2-Value Scoring Tokens
- 25x 5-Value Scoring Tokens
- 15x 10-Value Scoring Tokens
Setup
Place the Auction board in the center of the table within reach of all players with the side showing the Sun Boat icon face up. Place the Ra statue nearby.
The Sun Boat has been added to this edition to increase the thematic presence of the mythology of Ra on the table. If you wish to play without it, simply turn the Auction board to its other side, and place Ra tiles directly above the track when they are drawn
Place the Sun Boat marker on the Ra track (at the top of the Auction board) on the starting space corresponding to the number of players.
Place the Epoch counter on the upper right corner of the Ra track with the First Epoch side up.
Randomly give each player their own player board, turned to the side that shows the correct number of players inside the blue ovals.
Place all of the Auction tiles into the cloth bag. Shake the bag a few times to mix up the tiles.
Place two 5-point scoring tokens face down in front of each player. Place the rest of the scoring tokens face up near the Auction board.
Place the “1” sun disk on the space in the center of the Auction board.
For each blue oval on their player board, each player takes the sun disk matching the value shown next to the correct player count and places it on that space. Note that the values are different for each player count. The table below shows all of the starting sun disk values.
Sun Disk Starting Groups
| 2 Players | 3 Players | 4 Players | 5 Players |
|---|---|---|---|
| 9 6 5 2 | 13 8 5 2 | 13 6 2 | 16 7 2 |
| 8 7 4 3 | 12 9 6 3 | 12 7 3 | 15 8 3 |
| (only use disks 1-9) | 11 10 7 4 | 11 8 4 | 14 9 4 |
| (only use disks 1-13) | 10 9 5 | 13 10 5 | |
| (only use disks 1-13) | 12 11 6 |
Playing the Game
A game of Ra is made up of three parts, called epochs. In each epoch, players will perform actions in order to build their society and enhance their culture, earning them rewards and accolades.
The player with the highest-numbered sun disk takes the first turn of each epoch. Play continues clockwise until the epoch ends, either when all sun disks are face down, or when the Sun Boat has reached the end of the Ra track.
A round of scoring takes place at the end of each epoch, after which many of the accomplishments will be swept away as a new king is put in place for the next epoch.
The game concludes at the end of the Third Epoch after a final round of scoring. At that point, the player with the highest score wins!
Actions
On their turn, a player must perform exactly one of the following actions:
Draw a Tile
The player draws one tile from the bag. If it is a Ra tile, follow the instructions for Ra tiles below. If it is any other tile, place it in the leftmost open space on the auction track.
The Draw a Tile action cannot be taken if the auction track is full.
Ra Tiles
When a Ra tile is drawn, discard the tile and advance the Sun Boat one space to the right on the Ra track.
The player then takes the Ra statue and begins an auction (See “Auctions” - page 4).
If the Sun Boat is moved onto the final space of the Ra track, the epoch immediately ends without completing an auction *(See “Epochs” - page 5).
Invoke Ra
The player says “I invoke Ra!”, takes the Ra statue, and begins an auction (See “Auctions” - page 4).
The Sun Boat does NOT advance when the player invokes Ra.
Spend God Tile(s)
The player discards a God tile that they have acquired in previous auctions to obtain any one non-God tile from the auction track. The God tile is discarded from the game. The tile acquired from the auction track is placed face up in front of the player. If the acquired tile is a Disaster tile, resolve it immediately.
A player may spend one or more God tiles during one action, acquiring one tile from the auction track for each God tile discarded.
When a player has completed their action, their turn ends and play continues clockwise to the next player.
When a player does not have any faceup sun disks remaining, they can no longer take actions during that epoch. On their turn, play continues clockwise to the next player.
If there is only one player remaining who has any unused sun disks in a round, they may take their turns as normal until the round ends in one of the usual ways (when the Sun Boat reaches the end of the Ra track, or when all sun disks are used).
Auctions
Two different events can trigger an auction: when a Ra tile is drawn during a Draw a Tile action, or when a player performs the Invoke Ra action.
Bidding
The player who triggered the auction takes the Ra statue, indicating that they are the Ra player.
Each auction begins with the player to the left of the Ra player and continues clockwise. When it is a player’s turn to bid, they may bid by placing one of their faceup sun disks near the edge of the game board.
The first bid of each auction can be a sun disk of any value. Each subsequent bid must be a higher value than the previous bid. If a player cannot bid (or chooses not to), they may pass.
Each player may only bid (or pass) once. The auction always ends with the Ra player.
The conditions of the auction vary depending on the game condition:
Ra tile drawn during a Draw a Tile action
- All players have the option to pass.
- If all players pass, the Auction tiles and sun disk remain in place.
Invoke Ra when the Auction track is full
- All players have the option to pass.
- If all players pass, all Auction tiles on the auction track are discarded from the game.
Invoke Ra when the Auction track is NOT full
- All players except the Ra player have the option to pass.
- The Ra player must bid if all other players pass. Otherwise, the Ra player may pass.
At the end of each auction (regardless of the outcome), play continues clockwise from the Ra player.
Winning an Auction
The player who bids the highest value is the winner of the auction, and takes all of the Auction tiles on the auction track. These Auction tiles are placed face up in front of the winning player, next to their player board. Each type of Auction tile has an allocated location around the player board, as indicated by the icons at the top of every Auction tile.
All other players return their sun disks to their player board face up. These disks can be used again in a later auction.
Most Auction tiles have no effect until scoring occurs (See “Scoring” - page 5).
In addition, the winning player exchanges the sun disk tile that they used to win the auction for the sun disk on the Auction board. The obtained sun disk is placed face down on their player board.
Finally, the winning player must immediately resolve any Disaster tiles acquired from the auction.
Disaster Tiles
When a player takes a Disaster tile through winning an auction, they must immediately discard from the game two Auction tiles from their player board of the type indicated on the Disaster tile, if able. If they only have one matching tile, they must discard it from the game. If they have no matching Auction tiles, nothing happens. Then, the Disaster tile is discarded from the game.
If more than one Disaster tile is taken, repeat this process for each tile.
Scoring
If either of the following two conditions are met, scoring is triggered immediately:
- All players’ sun disks have been played and are face down.
- The Sun Boat has entered the rightmost space of the Ra track, containing the Epoch marker or icon.
Remember, the Sun Boat entering the rightmost space of the Ra track does NOT trigger an auction.
When scoring occurs, players score points based on the Auction tiles that are face up in front of them according to each type’s scoring criteria (See pages 6-7).
Players record their scores by taking the corresponding value of scoring tokens from the supply. Scoring tokens should be kept face down, hidden from opponents, for the duration of the game.
It is impossible for a player’s score to drop below zero. Should a player’s cumulative score after each epoch fall below zero, their point total will be zero instead.
The Epoch icons on the player board indicate when a set of Auction tiles should score:
- Three hourglasses : This set scores at the end of the First, Second, and Third Epochs.
- Single red hourglass : This set only scores at the end of the Third Epoch.
If scoring occurs during the First or Second Epochs
All Auction tiles next to your player board are scored according to their scoring criteria (See pages 6-7), except for Monuments, which are not scored until the end of the Third Epoch.
Then, begin a new Epoch (See “Beginning a New Epoch” - right).
If scoring occurs during the Third Epoch
All Auction tiles next to your player board are scored according to their scoring criteria (See pages 6-7), including Monument tiles.
In addition, the sun disks that players possess at the end of the game are scored. Players add the values of all their sun disks (faceup and facedown) to obtain their sun total. The player with the highest total gains 5 points, while the player with the lowest total loses 5 points. In the case of a tie, full points are gained or lost for all tied players. If all players have the same total, no points are gained or lost.
The game is now over (See “Winning the Game” - right).
Beginning a New Epoch
Once all Auction tiles have been scored, each player discards from the game all Auction tiles on the right side of their player board (indicated by the TODO icon on the top right of the player board).
All Auction tiles on the left side of their player board remain until the end of the game, unless removed by a Disaster tile (indicated by the TODO icon on the top left of the player board).
In addition, discard any Auction tiles remaining on the auction track from the game. The sun disk on the Auction board should remain in place.
Return the Sun Boat to its starting space on the Ra track (according to player count) and adjust the Epoch counter as follows:
If the Epoch counter is on its First Epoch side, flip it to its Second Epoch side:
TODO
If the Epoch counter is on its Second Epoch side, discard it to reveal the Third Epoch icon on the board:
TODO
Then, all players flip their sun disks face up.
The player who currently has the highest-valued sun disk takes the first turn of the next epoch.
Winning the Game
After scoring the Third Epoch, the player with the highest point total wins! If two or more players are tied, the tied player with the highest-numbered sun disk wins.
Monument tiles 8 TYPES
THIRD EPOCH SCORING ONLY
Players earn points for their Monument tiles in two different ways:
MULTIPLICITY
Each group of 3 / 4 / 5 identical Monument tiles is worth 5 / 10 / 15 points.
DIVERSITY
If a player has 6 or fewer different types of Monument tiles, they gain one point for each type.
If they have 7 / 8 different types, they gain 10 / 15 points.
Note: There is no difference between the top and bottom rows. All tiles will score for both Multiplicity and Diversity.
Pharaoh tiles
FIRST, SECOND & THIRD EPOCH SCORING
The player(s) with the most Pharaoh tiles gain(s) 5 points.
The player(s) with the fewest Pharaoh tiles lose(s) 2 points.
If all players have the same number of Pharaoh tiles, no points are gained or lost.
Nile tiles
FIRST, SECOND & THIRD EPOCH SCORING
If a player has at least one Flood tile, they score one point for each of their Nile tiles. If they do not have a Flood tile, their Nile tiles are not worth any points.
God tiles
FIRST, SECOND & THIRD EPOCH SCORING
A player gains 2 points for each unspent God tile.
As an action, God tiles may be spent to take non-God tiles from the auction track.
Gold tiles
FIRST, SECOND & THIRD EPOCH SCORING
Players gain 3 points for each Gold tile.
Civilization tiles 5 TYPES
FIRST, SECOND & THIRD EPOCH SCORING
A player with 3 / 4 / 5 different types of Civilization tiles earns 5 / 10 / 15 points (only score your largest set).
A player with no Civilization tiles loses 5 points.
Flood tiles
FIRST, SECOND & THIRD EPOCH SCORING
Players gain 1 point for each Flood tile.
Having at least one Flood tile also allows a player to score points for their Nile tiles.
For example: One Flood tile and three Nile tiles is worth four points. Two Flood tiles and no Nile tiles are worth two points. Zero Flood tiles and 4 Nile tiles are worth zero points.
Ra tiles
WHEN DRAWN:
Advance the Sun Boat one space along the Ra track.
This triggers an auction, unless the end of the Ra track is reached.
Then, discard the Ra tile.
Disaster tiles 4 TYPES
WHEN ACQUIRED:
Discard two Auction tiles with icons matching the icon shown on the Disaster tile, if able. If you have fewer than two Auction tiles of the indicated type, discard as many as you have. Then, discard the Disaster tile.
When resolving the Drought tile, discard Flood tiles first, if able, followed by Nile tiles.
Auction Tile Effects and Scoring
The scoring criteria for each type of Auction tile are detailed above. There is also a reminder of each criteria, as well as sun disk scoring, on the player board.
Each Auction tile (except the Ra tile) has an icon to identify its type and where it should be placed next to the player board:
- Monument tiles
- Pharaoh tiles
- God tiles
- Gold tiles
- Civilization tiles
- Nile tiles
- Flood tiles
Each scoring criteria on the player boards also has a reminder of which epochs those tiles score in:
- Three hourglasses - Scores during all epochs
- Single red hourglass - Scores only in the Third Epoch