Like the first game "Ra", the game "Priests of Ra" spans three epochs, which reflect the history of ancient Egypt:

• the Old Kingdom (2665 - 2155 BC)
• the Middle Kingdom (2130 - 1650 BC)
• the New Kingdom (1555 - 1080 BC)

During these epochs, the players acquire tiles representing various aspects of Egyptian life. They acquire the tiles in auctions, bidding with suns, tokens they receive from Ra.

The selection of tiles in the auctions is ever changing, but tokens from Ra are limited. Wise players choose carefully when and what to bid to get the tiles they want.

They also use their priests wisely to change their tiles and influence the course of history. When an epoch ends, players receive tablets marked with the fame they have earned.

Components

• 1 Game Board
• 174 Tiles
• 48 Tablets
• 20 Ankhs 16 Suns 1 Ra figure
• 1 Bag
• Rulebook

Object of the Game

The player with the most fame after three epochs is the winner.

Setup

Place the game board in the middle of the table.

It has two different tile tracks: the upper with 10 spaces (the Ra track) and the lower with 8 spaces (the auction track).

There are tables that summarize the fame points which are scored at the end of each epoch.

Carefully remove the tiles from their frame before the first game. a Place the tiles in the bag and shuffle them thoroughly.

The area on the table in front of each player is their display area (described below). This is where they place their suns and the tiles and ankhs they acquire.

Also carefully remove the tablets from their frames before the first game. The players take two value 5 tablets each and place them face down in their display areas. Place the remaining tablets face up beside the game board.

Also place the ankhs beside the game board. Separate the suns into groups as shown in the table:

The players decide randomly which player receives which group. The players place their suns face up in their display areas. Place the sun numbered 1 face up on the sun space in the middle of the game board.

Leave any remaining suns in the box. Place the Ra figure beside the game board.

The Display Area

Each player uses his pyramid tiles and pyramid chamber tiles to build a step pyramid. Each subsequent layer of the step pyramid contains one tile fewer than the layer below. The player may rearrange the tiles in his pyramid at any time as he wishes, but he may only build one pyramid during the game.

Game Play

The player with highest numbered sun begins. After his turn, play continues around the table in a clockwise direction. On a player's turn, if he has at least one face up sun, he performs one of the following actions:

• a draw one tile from the bag
• a invoke Ra

A player without face up suns takes no action on his turn. When the auction track is full, the player must invoke Ra.

Draw One Tile From The Bag

The player draws one tile from the bag. When the player draws a Ra tile, he places it on the next empty space on the Ra track and places the Ra figure in his display area. This begins an auction (see below).

When the player draws any other tile, he places it on the next empty space on the auction track.

With the exception of pyramids, priests and plagues, all other tiles have two different sides, and the player decides which side faces up when placing the tile on the auction track. This concludes the player's turn.

When playing with 2 players, the first four spaces of the Ra track are not used; when playing with 3 players, the first two spaces are not used; and when playing with 4 players, the first space is not used.

Invoke Ra

The player says "Ra" and places the Ra figure in his display area. This begins an auction (see below).

Auction

The player whose action caused the auction by drawing a Ra tile or by invoking Ra is the Ra player for this auction. He places the Ra figure in his display area to indicate this.

The auction begins with the player to the left of the Ra player and continues clockwise around the table, ending with the Ra player.

The players are bidding for the tiles on the auction track. The winner will also receive the sun on the sun space on the board. If there are no tiles on the auction track, the winner will get only the sun.

Each player, in turn, may bid one of their face-up suns by placing it on the edge of the board.

Bids subsequent to the first must be greater than the previous bid.

A player may pass, choosing not to bid. However, for an auction held when a player voluntarily invokes Ra, the Ra player must bid if all other players pass. When a player involuntarily invokes Ra because the auction track is full, he may pass even if all others pass. In this case, all tiles on the auction track are returned to the box - not the bag.

When an auction is held due to a Ra tile being drawn, all players may pass, including the Ra player, and the tiles on the auction track remain.

The player with the highest bid takes all tiles on the auction track (if there are any) and places them in his display area, with the same sides face up as they were placed in the auction track.

However, for each priest tile the player receives from the auction track, he may immediately flip over any one tile in his display area. This can be a tile taken in the current auction or a tile from an earlier auction.

The priest's power of flipping a tile must be used right away or not at all; it cannot be saved for later turns.

The player with the highest bid also takes the sun from the middle of the board and places it face down in his display area. Face down suns cannot be used for the remainder of this epoch, but will be turned face up at the beginning of the next epoch. The player then places the sun he bid face up on the sun space in the middle of the board.

After an auction, play continues with the player to the left of the Ra player regardless of the outcome of the auction.

The Epochs

As a player with no face-up suns in his display area (i.e. he has used all his suns) may take no more turns in the epoch, there are decreasingly fewer players to compete for the tiles.

When the last player with face-up suns uses his last sun and completes his turn, the epoch ends. All tiles on the Ra track are placed in the box - not the bag; the sun in the middle of the board remains for the next epoch. In addition, the epoch ends immediately, when the Ra track is full.

In this case, there is no auction (!) and all tiles are removed from both the Ra track and the auction track and placed in the box. Thus only the face up sun remains on the game board.

Unused face up suns in a player's display area remain face up for the next epoch. At the end of an epoch, the tiles in the players' display areas are scored (see below).

After scoring, all face down suns are turned face up. The players will begin each epoch with the same number of suns. However, the players will likely have different numbered suns than they did at the beginning of the game. The player with the highest numbered sun begins the next epoch.

Scoring

At the end of each of the three epochs, the players receive fame for their efforts in the form of tablets. After a players total fame has been calculated, he receives (or loses) tablets equal to the total.

The players keep their tablets face down in their display area. A player cannot lose more tablets than he has, i.e. his overall score cannot go into the negative.

People: Farmers, Warriors, Merchants And Scribes

After each epoch, the four different types of people are scored independently. If a player has at least two farmers and no other player has more farmers than him, the player scores 5 points in fame.

It may occur that no player scores the 5 points, as no player has two farmers, or that several players, who are tied for most, each score the 5 points. Warriors, merchants and scribes are scored independently in the same way.

Furthermore, each player who has at least one tile of all four different types of people receives 2 ankhs. Players who have at least one tile of three different types of people receive 1 ankh. After scoring, all people tiles are returned to the box.

Buildings: Granaries, Fortresses, Markets And Libraries

After each epoch, each player scores 2 points in fame for each complete building in his display area. A complete building consists of two tiles of the same color building type.

Furthermore, each player who has at least one complete building of all four different types scores 10 bonus points. Players who have at least one complete building of three different types score 5 points.

Priests

After each epoch, each player scores 2 points in fame for each priest in his display area.

Furthermore, if a player has three or more priests, he may return one of his plague tiles to the box before scoring plagues. This is the only way to lose plagues once taken.After scoring, all priest tiles are returned to the box.

Plagues

After each epoch, each player loses points in fame dependent on the number of plague tiles in his display area:

Pyramid

The pyramid is only scored after the third epoch. A player scores 20 points in fame for building a step pyramid of height 4 or higher (requiring at least 10 tiles), 10 points for building a step pyramid of height 3 (requiring at least 6 tiles), and 5 points for building a step pyramid of height 2 (requiring at least 3 tiles).

Each player may only score one pyramid.

Furthermore, a player scores 10 bonus points for each set of four or more chambers of the same color, and 5 bonus points for each set of three chambers of the same color.

Ankhs

The ankhs are only scored after the third epoch. A player scores 20 points in fame for four (or more) ankhs in his display area, 10 points for three ankhs, and 5 points for two ankhs.

As players do not need to hold more than four ankhs, there are enough ankhs available for all players.

Suns

Like pyramids and ankhs, the suns are only scored after the third epoch. Each player totals the numbers on all his suns (both face-up and face down). The player with the highest total receives 5 points in fame and the player with the lowest total loses 5 points.

If two or more players tie for most or fewest, each gains or loses 5 points each. If all players have the same total, no points are awarded or lost.

End of the Game

When the scoring after the third epoch is complete, the game ends.

Each player adds all points of fame on his tablets. The player with the highest result wins. If two or more players tie with the highest total, the player, among those tied for the highest total, with the highest numbered sun is the winner.

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