Components
- 1 Price Board
- 15 Price Markers
- 36 Tokens
- 12 Bonus Tokens
- 55 Tiles
- Rulebook
Setup
-
Place the price board in the middle of the table.
-
Sort the 36 tokens by type to create a supply of 6 piles of 4 tokens each, and place them near the board. Return unused tokens to the box.
- With 3 players: create piles of 5 tokens each.
- With 4 players: create piles of 6 tokens each.
-
Shuffle the 55 tiles and create two facedown draw piles, and place them near the board.
-
Shuffle the 15 price markers and place them randomly on the designated spaces.
-
Choose one of the two draw piles. Reveal the first six tiles of the chosen pile, and place them left to right under the price board, as depicted above.
-
Place the 12 bonus tokens within easy reach of all players.
-
Randomly choose a start player. You are now ready to begin!
Game Turn
On your turn, you must perform one of the following two actions:
- Take Tokens
- Buy a Tile
A. Taketokens
Take 3 tokens, keeping in mind the following limitations. At the end of your turn:
- You cannot have more than 5 resource tokens (
). - You cannot have more than 2 ankh tokens (
).
Note:
You can have several tokens of the same resource.
When you take tokens, you may exceed the above limitations during your turn, but you must return any excess tokens to the supply at the end of your turn.
B. Buy a Tile
Buy a tile by paying resource tokens matching the price markers above it. Return the spent tokens to the supply and place the purchased tile in front of you.
When a player purchases a tile, they must place it orthogonally adjacent to one of their other tiles (diagonal connections are not allowed).
Special Cases
You can place a tile on top of 4 other tiles if its color matches at least one of the "base" tiles.
A tile placed in this way costs 1 fewer resource (of your choice) to purchase.
If you form a group of 5 or more adjacent tiles of the same color (green, in this example), take a bonus token (
).
If you form a group of 5 or more adjacent animals of the same type (jackal, beetle, or falcon), take a bonus token ().
Additional Actions
Before or after taking the main action of your turn, you may spend ankh tokens.
For each ankh token you spend, you may perform 1 of the following actions (C or D):
C. Refresh the Tiles
-
Remove the leftmost tile of the row (mandatory!).
Ignore this step in a 3 or 4 player game!
-
Shift the remaining tiles, if any, to the left.
-
Choose one of the 2 draw piles.
-
Draw new tiles from the chosen draw pile to fill the offer from left to right.
Note: If you deplete one of the draw piles while placing new tiles, continue filling the offer by drawing from the other one.
D. Move One of your Tiles
-
Move a base tile (that is not supporting a tile of a higher level) to another space adjacent to one or more base tiles.
OR
-
Move one tile residing on a higher level to another space, as long as it remains supported by 4 other tiles (you can ignore the color requirement).
- If you split a group of 5 (color or animal) tiles, you must return the bonus token ()
- 1 ankh token allows you to refresh the tiles OR move a tile, but not both.
- You are allowed to spend 2 ankh tokens in the same turn.
- A higher level tile is adjacent to the 4 tiles that support it.
The Other Tiles
In addition to the animal tiles and the 2 VP tiles mentioned above, there are 3 other types of tiles in each family: the warehouse, the scribe, and the desert.
When you purchase a warehouse, immediately place a token of the same color (taken from the supply, if at least 1 is available) on it. This token can be used like any other token you have.
Once spent, this warehouse serves as an additional storage space (in addition to the normal 2 ankhs/5 resources). IMPORTANT: It may only hold a resource matching its color. Storage is prohibited if supporting a tile of a higher level.
When you place a tile on a warehouse with a token on it, immediately return that token to the supply.
When you purchase a scribe, immediately take a bonus turn. Treat it exactly like a normal turn.
A desert tile has no special effect or animal, but it still counts toward scoring for groups of 2 or more tiles of the same color, and bonus tokens for groups of 5 or more.
End of the Game
When a player places their 13th tile, they trigger the end of the game: complete the current round so that all players have played the same number of turns. Then calculate every one's victory point (VP) total.
Scoring
Proceed as follows:
-
Add the numbers shown on your bonus tokens and tiles.
-
Each animal tile belonging to a group of 2 or more adjacent animal tiles of the same type is worth 1 VP. A single animal tile is worth nothing.
-
Each colored tile belonging to a group of 2 or more adjacent tiles of the same color is worth 1 VP. A single colored tile is worth nothing.
-
Score 1 VP for every 3 leftover tokens you have (regardless of type).
Scoring Example:
2 VP for the group of white tiles, 5 VP for the group of green tiles (+ a 3 VP bonus token), 3 VP for the group of red tiles;
3 VP for the group of jackals, 2 VP for the group of beetles;
6 VP for the values shown on the tiles;
0 VP for leftover tokens.
Total =24 Vp
Note:
The green jackal does not score, as it is not adjacent to another jackal.
The group of 2 scarabs scores, even though the blue tile is a single colored tile.
The 2 VP of the white tile count, even though it is a single colored tile.
The higher level tiles do not split the green group, so you retain the 3 VP bonus token.
Victory
The player with the most points wins. In case of a tie, the player with the fewest tiles wins. If there is still a tie, the player with the fewest tokens wins. If the tie still persists... well, it's a tie!
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