From the back of the box:
Akhenaton, Pharoah of Upper & Lower Egypt, God among men, all powerful sovereign, he trembles before no-one. There is, however, one mistake that even an immortal king cannot afford to make: forgetting his wedding anniversary. Especially when his wife is the exquisite Nefertiti.
Alas, the powerful monarch has almost made such an unforgivable blunder, remembering the event a mere two days before it is to take place. Now, he must find a veritable shower of queenly gifts.
The task of finding beautiful & original gifts falls upon his councilors - YOU!
It's time to play! Send you servants to the four corners of Egypt, from Gizeh to Abou Simbel & gather up the most impressive objects the realm has to offer. If your gifts are noteworthy and please Nefertiti, there is no doubt that the Pharaoh will reward you most generously.
- engaging auction mechanic
- set collection synergy
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- auction style bidding — auction/bidding with set collection as a core idea
- open/closed economy — closed-economy feel with auctions and bidding
- Worker Placement — workers placed to bid in auctions
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- it's a relatively lightweight card game
- looks very pleasant
- i would love to try at some point
- aesthetically pleasing vibe
- i'm genuinely curious to learn more about this
References (from this video)
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- I think I might be kind of done with it
- the best solution for us right now is my iphone
- we filmed two more playthroughs and those realistically should be the first ones that go public
- I really can't wait to hear what people think
- we're hoping to put out the gallerist later this month
References (from this video)
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- this sounds really boring but essentially i built a database of all of the content that i've made over the last eight years
- it's an incredible number i was shocked to see that
- it's now publicly available to everybody you can go to johngetsgames.com/games and that'll take you right to a read-only version of it
- these are essentially passion projects that i'm working in amongst the paying work that I do
- this is essentially a 1.0 version of the junkets games database
- it's possible at some point i will upgrade this into an actual website
References (from this video)
- Area control and set collection provide strategic depth
- Powerful action tokens
- Diverse scoring for different buildings/monuments
- monuments and royal monuments
- Ancient Egypt
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Area Control — Players place meeples on the main board to gain buildings or actions
- area_control — Players place meeples on the main board to gain buildings or actions
- Set Collection — Players collect sets of tiles/monuments to score
- set_collection — Players collect sets of tiles/monuments to score
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- mechanics are area control and set collections
- my favorite is the one that lets me take a towel from the boat outright
- the second to last part is removed the game ends immediately
- the player with the most points from all the money wins
References (from this video)
- clever auction twist with dilution mechanic
- fast pacing and tension in bidding choices
- cards/auction cards can confuse at first glance
- set collection with item ownership dilution mechanics
- Ancient Egypt; auction/collection motif
- thematic auction-driven
- For Sale (set-collection bidding parallel)
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- auction/bidding — players bid to claim cards; items held by multiple players dilute value
- Set Collection — cards collected form scoring sets generated through auctions
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- it's a very tense um small and compact little area majority game
- it's definitely one of the best two-player games to come out in quite some time
- the way that these tokens kind of go on the border lines between two different areas
- this is a really cool little filler all this building i suppose but it's mainly a set collection style game
- it's a real pleasant experience that you know what
- the word association is a bit more difficult and it's the pairing of words sometimes just do not go together
References (from this video)
- unique auction mechanics with varied end conditions
- tight, restrictive economy that intensifies decisions
- engaging for fans of bidding games seeking variety
- a few character cards feel superfluous; symbolography unclear
- could be less accessible to casual gamers due to bidding complexity
- auction, set collection, monopolization of items
- Ancient Egypt, artifacts auction
- clever bidding with end-state auction rules
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Auction / Bidding — auctions end based on patterns (lines, totals, chains) and trigger end conditions
- auction and set collection — players bid to acquire artifacts and score by collecting sets
- Closed Economy — no money is added to the pool; budgeting and spending matter
- monopolization incentive — holding all of a type yields extra points; strategy involves blocking others
- multi-end auctions — auctions end based on patterns (lines, totals, chains) and trigger end conditions
- opportunity cost of bids — players can recoup or spend to claim other items, balancing risk and reward
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- the gameplay is really strong and it feels quite different to anything else out there on the market
- the game is Rock Solid
- I was blown away with the way this game was designed
- this is a Hidden Gem
- Chairman's Commendation