Amun-Re

By Reiner Knizia

In the Land of the Pharaohs

Amun-Re takes place in ancient Egypt during the time of the Pharaohs. Players take
on the role of rival Dynasties. During the course of the game, they will use their
influence to take control of different Provinces and erect Pyramids. As soon as each
player controls 3 Provinces, the Old Kingdom ends and a first scoring round takes
place. Points are awarded, especially for completed Pyramids. Then the entire
board is emptied, with the exception of Pyramids and Building Blocks. The second
half of the game begins with the New Kingdom. The game plays in the same way,
and ends with a second scoring round. The player with the most points is the
winner of the game.

Game Components
66 Gold Cards (18 x 1, 12 x 2, 12 x 5, 9 x 10, 10 x 20, 5 x -3
39 Power Cards
n.b. backs of Gold and Power Cards are identical.
15 Province Cards
15 Single Pyramids
15 Double Pyramids
15 Building Blocks for Pyramids
10 Player Blocks in the 5 Player colours (1 Bidding Block and one Scoring Block in
each)
1 Amun-Re Temple
1 Pharaoh for the Starting Player
15 Province Markers in the 5 Player colours (3 each)
45 Farmers
5 Summary Cards
1 Board
1 Rules

Note – throughout these rules I have used ‘he’ to represent he, she or it. No offence is
meant!

Setting Up
Before the first game, all the cardboard pieces must be popped out of the frames. The
Amun-Re Temple and the Pharaoh must be assembled as they consist of two pieces each.

The Playing Board is laid out in the middle of the table.

Each player takes one ‘Master Builder’ card from the Power Card deck into his hand –
the rest of the Power Cards are shuffled and placed face down next to the board.

The 15 Province Cards are shuffled and placed face down next to the board.
All the Pyramids, Building Blocks and Farmers are placed near the board.

Each player chooses a colour and takes the 2 Player Blocks and 3 Province Markers of
that colour, as well as an Summary Card, and Gold Cards to the value of 20, plus one -3
Card. Each player places one of their Player Blocks on the ‘0’ space of the scoring track
as a Scoring Block.

The oldest player sorts the Gold Cards into their respective values and acts as banker for
the rest of the game. With less than 5 players, the remaining -3 cards are placed back in
the box, as they are not required.

The Amun-Re Temple is placed on the space to the left of the Temple Track.

The oldest player takes the Pharaoh, and becomes the Starting Player for the first Round.

The Details of the Playing Board and when they are needed.
Phase 1 and 2
 Symbol and Name of Province
 Free Power Card
 Free Building Block
 Free Power Card and Free Gold

Phase 3
 Power Card (to buy)
 Cultivation Area (for farmers)
 Flat Land (for pyramids)
 Price Table

Phase 4
 Temple Track
 Start Space for Amun-Re Temple

Phase 5
 2 farmers (BAHARYA)
 Income (guaranteed)
 Income (not guaranteed)

Phase 6
 Temple in the Province
 Dividing Line between Lower and Upper Egypt
 Scoring Track

Playing the Game

The game is divided into two halves, one in each of the Old and the New Kingdom. Each
half consists of 3 Rounds, and each Round consists of 5 or 6 Phases :-
Phase 1 – Reveal the Province Cards
Phase 2 – Acquisition of the revealed Provinces
Phase 3 – Player Actions (purchase and use of Power Cards, Farmers and Building
Blocks)
Phase 4 – Offering to Amun-Re
Phase 5 – The Harvest and other Income
Phase 6 – Scoring (only at the end of 1st and 2nd game halves.)

After 3 Rounds, the Old Kingdom ends, and the Provinces are scored. In the New
Kingdom a further 3 Rounds are played, after which the Provinces are scored once again,
to end the game.

1st Game Half – The Old Kingdom

Phase 1 – Reveal the Province Cards

The starting player draws the same number of cards from the face-down deck of Province
Cards as there are players, and places these on their respective Provinces on the board.
In some Provinces, additional Free Power Cards (BUTO, DAKHLA, EDFU, THEBES –
2 cards each), Free Building Blocks (ABYDOS, MEMPHIS – 2 stones each) or Free
Gold (DAKHLA – 12 Gold) are placed. The free materials are only placed in the
provinces indicated by symbol(s) in a box. The Free Power Cards are drawn face down
from the deck and placed, still face down, underneath the Province Card. The Free
Building Blocks and Free Gold are taken from the general supply and placed in the
Provinces.

Example:
The following 4 Province Cards are revealed, and placed in the appropriately named
Provinces. (4-player game)
In BAHARYA Province there are already 2 Farmers printed on the board. There are no
Free Materials (no box showing Free Materials).
In DAKHLA Province, 12 Free Gold and 1 face down Free Power Card are placed.
In ABYDOS Province 1 Free Building Stone is placed.
In SAWU Province, as in BAHARYA, no Free Material is placed.

Phase 2 – Acquisition of the Revealed Provinces

Each Player acquires exactly one Province. How does this work?
The Starting Player takes his Offering Stone and places it on one of the value spaces on
any one of the face up Province Cards. Thus he has placed a bid. The other players
follow in a clockwise direction.
 Each one in turn places his Bidding Block on any vacant number space on one of
the Province Cards.
  If a Bidding Block is placed on a Province Card on which Bidding Blocks have
already been placed by other players, then it must be placed on a higher value
space than the existing Blocks.

After each player has placed their Bidding Blocks, players check to see if any player has
been out-bid. If this is not the case, then the Bidding Phase ends and each player takes
possession of their province. However, if at least one player was outbid, then the
Bidding Phase continues. Going in a clockwise direction, each player that was outbid
places their Bidding Stone on another Province Card, as before. The stone may not be
placed on the Province it was just outbid on, and when placed on a new Province card,
must be placed in the highest position (if available). Thus it continues in a clockwise
direction, omitting those players who were not overbid. When there is only one Bidding
Block on each Province Card, then each player takes possession of their own Province.

Example:
In the first Bidding Round, Red began and placed his Bidding Block on the ‘3’ space in
ABYDOS. Black chose to place his on the ‘1’ space in SAWU. Blue outbid Red in
ABYDOS and placed his Bidding Block on the ‘6’ space. White outbid Blue in his turn,
and placed his Bidding Block on the ‘10’ space in ABYDOS.

In the second Bidding Round it is now Red’s turn, and he must choose another Province
Card. He places his Bidding Block on the ‘0’ space in DAKHLA. Now it is Blue’s turn.
He places his Bidding Block on the ‘6’ space in SAWU and thereby outbids Black.

In the third Bidding Round, Black must find a new Province. He decides on BAHARYA
and therefore places his Bidding Block on the ‘0’ space. Now there is one Bidding Block
on each of the Province Cards and the Bidding Phase is over. Each player now pays the
appropriate amount and takes their Province.

White pays 10 Gold, Blue pays 6 Gold, Red and Black pay nothing.

Players pay the required Gold to the bank, and take back their Bidding Blocks. The
Province Cards are placed face up in a discard pile next to the face-down deck of
Province Cards. Each player then puts one of his Province Markers on the Symbol Space
of the Province he has just bought. If there is a Free Power Card or Free Gold symbol
in the Province, the player takes these into his hand, as indicated. If there are Free
Building Block symbols, the blocks are placed in the Province. The player can use them
in Phase 3 to build a Pyramid.

Players must not bid higher than they can afford to pay. If this occurs, the offending
player must give up all his Gold, and the Bidding Round starts again.

Note: In Phase 2, the Power Cards ‘Bid Blockade’ and ‘Outbid in the Same Province’ can
be played. See ‘Description of the Power Cards’.
Phase 3: Player Actions (Purchase and use of Power Cards, Farmers and Building
Blocks)

Beginning with the Starting Player, each player can now carry out the following 3 actions
in the indicated order: Buy and Use Power Cards, Farmers and Building Blocks. Each
player carries out all of his desired actions. Then the next player takes their turn in a
clockwise direction. A player can carry out less than 3 actions or forego carrying out any
action if they wish.

The prices for items are always the same – 1 piece of any type (Card, Farmer or Block)
costs 1 Gold, 2 pieces cost 3 Gold, 3 pieces cost 6 Gold etc. (see Price Table on the
board.) More than 7 pieces can also be bought (8 pieces cost 36 Gold, 9 pieces cost 45
Gold, 10 pieces cost 55 Gold etc.)

Example:
2 Power Cards cost 3 Gold - 4 Farmers cost 10 Gold - 3 Blocks cost 6 Gold
The player pays a total of 19 Gold.

Action a. Buying and Using Power Cards

A Player may buy Power Cards. Purchased Power Cards can be played immediately or
my be retained for later Rounds. Power cards always feature positive actions, which can
be used in different rounds. How and when Power Cards can be used is explained in
detail on page 12.

How many Power Cards can a player buy? The highest number (card limit) that is shown
in the top margin of the Provinces controlled by a player is the highest number of cards
that player can hold.

Example:
In Round 3, Red owns MEMPHIS, AMARNA and AVARIS Provinces. He can buy up to
3 Power Cards, because MEMPHIS’ card limit is 3, which is the highest.

In Round 2, Blue owns BUTO and MENDES Provinces and therefore cannot buy any
Power Cards, because no Power Cards are shown in the top margin of either Province
(card limit = 0)

A player may hold as many Power Cards in his hand as he wishes. When played, a
Power Card is put on a discard pile, face up near the face down Power Card draw pile.
Players may discard Power Cards at any time during the game. For each Power Card
discarded to the discard pile, the player receives 1 Gold from the Bank.
If the face down draw pile is exhausted, the discarded Power Cards are shuffled and
turned over to form a new draw pile.

Action b. Buying and Using Farmers

A player may buy Farmers, who will bring him Gold at Harvest. If he buys any, he must
place them immediately. He announces how many he wishes to purchase, and pays the
price according to the Price Table on the board. He may then distribute them as he wishes
amongst his provinces. However, each province may only take as many farmers as it has
free Cultivation Spaces. Exception – ‘Free Farmer’ (see ‘Description of Power Cards’ on
page 12).

Example:
Red owns BAHARYA and BERENIKE Provinces. So far, no Farmers have been placed
in these provinces, however there are two already printed in BAHARYA, which Red does
not have to buy. He buys 2 Farmers, therefore pays 3 Gold to the Bank and places the 2
Farmers on BAHARYA. No Farmers can be placed in BERENIKE, as there are no
Cultivation Spaces in this Province. Exception – if Red plays the ‘Free Farmer’ Power
Card, he can put one on BERENIKE, placing it on the flat land.

Note: the ‘Free Farmer’ Power Card can be used here (see ‘Description of the Power
Cards) .

Action c. Buying and using Building Blocks

A player may buy Building Blocks in order to build Pyramids, which score points in both
Scoring Phases of the game.
If a player buys Building Blocks, he must place them immediately. He announces how
many he wishes to purchase, and pays the price according to the Price Table on the board.
He may then place them as he wishes in his provinces. As soon as a player has 3
Building Blocks in a Province, he immediately returns the Blocks to the general pile, and
places a Pyramid in their place. If a player builds a second Pyramid in a Province, he
replaces the Single Pyramid with a Double Pyramid, as long as there is one left in the
general pile. Pyramids and Building Blocks may not be moved from one Province to
another.

Example:
In MEMPHIS there are two Building Blocks and in MENDES there is one Pyramid and
one Building Block. Red buys 3 Building Blocks (paying 6 Gold). He places one
Building Block in MEMPHIS. There are now 3 Blocks there, so he exchanges them for a
Pyramid. He places the other two Blocks in MENDES so he has a total of 3 Building
Blocks there. He exchanges them also for a Pyramid (and can exchange his two Single
Pyramids for a Double Pyramid.)

Note:The ‘Master Builder’ Power Card can be used here (see ‘Description of the Power
Cards’ .)

Phase 4: Offering to Amun-Re

Now an offering must be made to Amun-Re. The success or failure of the Harvest
depends on the level of the Offering. How does this take place?
Each player must choose one or more of their Gold cards or the ‘ -3’ card and place them
face down in front of themselves. The ‘ -3’ card must be played on its own! (Exception:
‘Change the Offering). In order to keep the number of cards offered secret, players may
cover them with their hand. Any errors made are considered to be an Offering of -3.
Now all players reveal their Gold cards. The total of all the Gold cards (including ‘-3’
cards) is the value of the Offering. The Amun-Re Temple is moved to the space on the
Temple Track corresponding to the Offering total.

Example:
Offering Bids
Red: 9 Gold
Blue: 4 Gold
Black: -3 Gold
White: -3 Gold

Total Offering: 7 Gold

The Amun-Re Temple is moved to the second space on the Temple Track, because the
Offering is in the 3 – 12 range.

Amun-Re now rewards the players who have brought him the largest offerings with
Power Cards, Farmers and Building Blocks. The player with the highest bid may take 3
items of his choice in any combination; (e.g he can take 2 Farmers and 1 Building Block,
or 3 Power Cards.) Next, the player with the second highest bid may take 2 items of his
choice, then all other players who have not offered their -3 card may take one item each.
In the case of two or more players offering the same amount, the Starting player always
has the advantage, or the next player following him in a clockwise direction.

A player who lays a ‘-3’ does not take an item (he has stolen 3 Gold from Amun-Re’s
Offering). He draws 3 Gold from the Bank.

Specific Rules when drawing Items:

 If a player draws Power Cards, he is not bound by the Card Limit in his
Provinces.
 If a player draws Farmers, they must be placed on unoccupied Cultivation Areas
in his Province. The ‘Free Farmer’ Power Card cannot be played now!
 If a player draws Building Blocks, they must be placed immediately in one or
more of his Provinces. If this results in 3 or more Building Blocks being in a
Province, they must immediately be exchanged for a Pyramid. The ‘Master
Builder’ Power Card cannot be used now!

The player who bid the most gold will be the new Starting Player, and becomes Pharaoh.
If all players bid ‘ -3’, the Starting Player does not change. The offered Gold is put in the
Bank.
Note: The Power Card ‘Change the Offering’ can be played during Phase 4. Following is
a brief explanation, but see also ‘Description of the Power Cards’.
What is it, and what does it do?
A player lays the ‘Change the Offering’ card together with his chosen Gold cards or the’-
3’ card, face down in front of him (this is the only exception to the rule that the ‘-3’ card
must be played on its own). After the calculation of the value of the Offering, any player
who has played a ‘Change the Offering’ card, beginning with the Starting Player, says if
he wants to increase or decrease the total value of the Offering by 3 Gold. The total is
then amended accordingly.
Attention: the ‘Change the Offering’ card always changes the total value of the offering,
and does not affect the individual bid of the player playing the card.

Phase 5: The Harvest and Additional Income

Beginning with the Starting Player each player now draws Gold from the Bank. There
are two types of income – Harvest Payments and Other Income. Harvest Payments are
made wherever there is a Farmer. Other Income comes from Provinces where there is a
picture of a coin, with or without a camel. Some Provinces deliver both types of Income
(e.g ABU).

Harvest Payments:
For each Farmer in his Province, a player is entitled to the number of Gold indicated by
Amun-Re’s Temple.

Additional Income
The owners of ABU and BERENIKE Provinces always receive 4 or 8 Gold.
The owners of KHARGA, SAWU, and AVARIS Provinces receive 5, 7 or 8 Gold if
Amun-Re’s Temple is on the first or second space of the Temple Track. A camel is
pictured on these spaces as well as on the Province to indicate this. (The ancient
Egyptians would sell camels during a bad harvest.)
Attention: Players receive this additional income regardless of whether they have
Farmers in their Provinces or not.

Example:
The Amun-Re Temple is on the second space of the Temple Track and Red owns
MEMPHIS, ABU and SAWU.
The position of the Amun-Re Temple means that each Farmer earns 2 Gold as Harvest
Payment. SAWU also earns 7 Gold in Additional Income (because of the camel!)

Red earns:
In MEMPHIS
1 Farmer 2 Gold
In ABU
2 Farmers 4 Gold
Additional Income 4 Gold
In SAWU
Additional Income 7 Gold

Red earns a total: 17 Gold

Note: The Power Cards ‘8 Gold’ and ‘Harvest Increase’ can be played in Phase 5 (see
‘Description of the Power Cards’).

When all players have received their Income, the next round begins at Phase 1. Phase 6
only takes place at the end of the first and second halves of the game.

Phase 6: Scoring (only at the end of the first and second game halves).

During scoring, players earn points, which are marked on the scoring track.
Points are earned for the following:

1. For Pyramids
Each Pyramid is worth 1 Point. (4 Pyramids = 4 Points)

2. For complete lines of Pyramids

Each complete line of Pyramids (one Pyramid in each of a player’s Provinces) is worth 3
Points. Each further complete line is also worth 3 Points.

Complete Line 3 Points

Complete Line 3 Points
Incomplete Line 0 Points

Red earns 6 Points

(For reasons of clarity, no Double Pyramids are shown in this example).

3. For the Province with the most Pyramids, both west of the Nile and east of
the Nile.
The owner of the Province earns 5 Points. If there is more than one Province with the
highest number of Pyramids, the number of Building Blocks in the Province is counted.
If there is still a tie, then all tied players receive 5 Points each.

West of the Nile Blue owns the Province with the most Pyramids (EDFU).
East of the Nile both Blue and White own Provinces with the most Pyramids and
Building Blocks (ABU and BERENIKE).
Blue gets 10 Points
White gets 5 Points

4. For temples in the Provinces of DAMANHUR, EDFU and AMARNA

A Temple is worth 1, 2, 3 or 4 Points depending on the space that Amun Re’s Temple is
on on the Temple Track at the end of the first and second halves of the game.
Black gets 3 Points for each Temple in DAMANHUR
Black gets 6 Points

5. For Bonus Power Cards

Each of these cards is worth 3 Points, as long as their condition is fulfilled.

6. For Gold (Gold is only counted at the end of the second half of the game – on
other words, at the end.
The player with the most Gold gets 6 Points. The player with the second highest amount
of Gold gets 4 Points, and the player with the third highest amount gets 2 Points. The
other players receive nothing. In the case of a tie, all tied players get the full amount –
the next position is then void.
For example: 2 players have the most Gold. Both receive 6 Points. The player with the
second highest amount only receives 2 Points.

Example of Scoring in the second half.

Blue plays the following Bonus Power Cards:

Blue gets the following Points:

1. He has built 7 Pyramids 7 Points
2. He has 1 complete line of Pyramids 3 Points
3. He has the Provinces with the most Pyramids:
West of the Nile 5 Points
East of the Nile 5 Points
4. He has a temple in EDFU. The Amun-Re Temple
is on the first space of the Temple Track 1 Point
5. He has played 2 Bonus Power Cards, and
their conditions are fulfilled 6 Points
6. We assume that he has the least Gold of 4 players 0 Points

Blue gets 27 Points

Between the Old and the New Kingdom

After the Scoring Phase of the first half of the game, all players remove their Province
Markers from the board. All farmers are removed from the board and returned to the
general pile. The Pyramids and Building Blocks are left where they are. They are
acquired when the Province is purchased under the New Kingdom.
All the revealed Province Cards from the Old Kingdom are shuffled and placed face
down to form a new Province deck fro the New Kingdom. Attention: Any unplayed
Province Cards from the Old Kingdom (only in a 3 or 4 player game) are not used in the
New Kingdom and should be returned to the box.

2nd Game Half – The New Kingdom

This half plays exactly as the Old Kingdom. The Starting Player begins the 1st Round
with Phase 1.

End of the Game and Final Scoring

The game ends at the end of the second half, therefore after 6 rounds.

The player whose Scoring Block is furthest along the Scoring Track is the winner. If
there is a tie, then the player with the most Pyramids is the winner. If there is still a tie,
then Building Blocks are counted. In the event of there still being a tie, then several
winners are announced …

Description of the Power Cards

Generally, and additionally to those already described, the following conditions apply to
Power Cards:
 They may only be used in the indicated Phases
 They can be exchanged for Gold with the Bank at any time (1 card is worth 1
Gold)
 A player can never play 2 identical Power Cards at the same time.

Example:
In Phase 3 (Player Actions) a player plays a ‘Master Builder’ card and converts 2
Building Blocks into a Pyramid. He has another ‘Master Builder’ card, but he cannot
now play it here, nor in another Province.
Example:
In Phase 6 (Scoring) a player plays a ‘Farmer Bonus’ card. He has another ‘Farmer
Bonus’ card in his hand. He cannot now play this, although he can play other Bonus
Power Cards.

Power Cards [I have included the German titles in square brackets]

Bid Blockade (x2) [Bietblockade]

Other players must outbid this player by at least 2 spaces higher on the Province card. If
the owner of the Province changes the Province card, this Power card also applies to the
new Province.
Use in Phase 2.

Outbid in the Same Province (x2) [Überbieten in gleicher Provinz]

The player may outbid players on the same Province card. They do not therefore have to
change cards when re-bidding.
Use in Phase 2.

Free Farmer (x5) [Gratisbauer]

The player takes one free Farmer from the general pile. He must immediately place it on
the flat land of one of his Provinces.
Use in Phase 3.

Master Builder (x8) [Baumeister]

The player may exchange 2 Building Blocks in one Province in return for a Pyramid.
Use in Phase 3.

Change the Offering (x4) [Opferkorrektur]

This card can change the total value of the Offering by plus or minus 3 Gold.
Use in Phase 4.

Harvest Increase (x5) [Erntesteigerung]

The player lays this card in one of his Provinces. The Harvest Payment in this Province is
increased by 1 Gold per Farmer.
Use in Phase 5.

8 Gold (x3)
The player lays this card in one of his Provinces and receives 8 Gold. However, the
Harvest Payment and Additional Income do NOT now take place in this Province.
Use in Phase 5

Farmer Bonus (x2) [Bauernbonus]

If a player has at least 9 Farmers in his Provinces, he gets 3 Points.
Use in Phase 6.

Province Bonus – West or East of the Nile (x2) [Provinzbonus – Nilseite]

If a player’s 3 Provinces all lie West of the Nile, or if they all lie East of the Nile, he gets
3 Points.
Use in Phase 6.

Power Card Bonus (x2) [Machtkartenbonus]

If a player has at least 7 Power Card Symbols in his 3 Provinces (Power Cards in the top
border, plus Free Power Cards), he gets 3 Points.
Use in Phase 6

Province Bonus – Upper / Lower Egypt (x2) [Provinzbonus Unter-/Oberägypten]

If a player’s 3 Provinces all lie in Upper Egypt, or if they all lie in Lower Egypt, he gets 3
Points.
Use in Phase 6.

Province Bonus – Bank of the Nile [Provinzbonus Nilufer]

If a player’s 3 Provinces all lie on the bank of the Nile, or if none of them lie on the Bank
of the Nile, he gets 3 Points.
Use in Phase 6.