CineGeek.com
Stephen Lackey
September 2005
USA
Here's what I love about games from Out of the Box
Games: they are easy to teach and learn but challenging
to play. When I get a large group of folks together
for gaming I don't want to spend an hour trying to
teach them how to play the game. At the same time
though, some games that are too simple to play can
get old quick. This isn't the case with other Out
of the Box Games we reviewed such as Apples to Apples
and happily it isn't the case here either.
Gameplay
Tutankhamen has a unique play area with tiles laid
out into a path of the game leaders creation that
leads to a pyramid. Each tile has a different image
of treasure on it. Each player, 2 to 6 of them, takes
a pawn and places it at the opposite end of the trail
from the pyramid. Each player is also given a stack
of coins. Once gameplay begins the unique feel of
the game is obvious. The goal of the game is to collect
the most tiles of a given set. Each tile has a number
on it that represents the number of tiles in that
set. At the beginning of a turn no dice is rolled,
instead the player decides where he/she wishes to
place their pawn. A player can move as far up the
path as they want but they cannot move backward.
So, once they have past tiles they can't go back
for them. Once all players have past tiles those
tiles are removed from the path. Once every tile
in a given set is collected scoring for that set
immediately occurs. The person with the most tiles
from the set gets the highest score. The point value
for a set is presented by the number of tiles in
that set. So, if there are eight tiles in the set
then the person with the most tiles scores eight.
The second place score half that number. Once points
are distributed the players place coins for each
point earned into the pyramid. The first player to
dispose of all of their coins is the winner.
There are some special tiles thrown in to stir the
game up a bit. Bag of gold allows a player to buy
a tile from another player, the Pharaoh tile is a
wild tile that can be used with any set to increase
a players quantity of a given set.
The game is very easy to teach and fun to
play in a social setting. The strategy isn't so complex that
players have to concentrate intently on each move
so conversations are possible while gameplay is occurring.
The biggest strategy is involved with players trying
to decide which sets to go for and far up the board
to go each turn. Each time a player moves along the
path they lose opportunities to get tiles and going
after the larger sets means bigger score but everyone
is going after a piece of those sets. The game is
challenging and fun but not overly long and draining.
We found the game to be the most fun with three of
four players. When we played with the maximum six
the game was a bit chaotic but still manageable.
The only major issue is that players do have to pay
attention to when sets have been completed as scoring
for that wet should happen as soon as it's complete.
Other than that, we found the game to be perfect
for families with children as well as for light parties
and get togethers.
9/10
Presentation
We love the design of the pyramid and the tile design.
Everything is built very sturdy and the Egyptian
artwork is well done. Also, we enjoyed being able
to do our own layouts of the play area. The game
looks different with each lay of the tiles. The other
thing is the lack of a board makes the packaging
very small and no big deal to bring along to a party.
Even the box the game comes in is made of a very
thick and durable card board.
9/10
Overall
Strategy gamers may find the game to be to simplistic,
and we like the more challenging games too, but if
we're just going to a party with friends this is
the perfect game to bring along. Also, the rules
are simple enough that families with younger children
can all play and enjoy it together.
9/10
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