Euphrates & Tigris is close to a re-implementation of arguably Knizers greatest creation. Many people who have gone from the board game to the card game have been disappointed. I on the other hand went the other way, playing the Euphrates & Tigris before Tigris & Euphrates.

Mechanics & Game Play:
The game begins with eight kingdoms. Players will take turn taking actions to attempt to gain the greatest influence for their dynasty.

Much like its bigger brother each player has four leaders, one corresponding to each of the four spheres of influence. They are.....

Black: The King: The King's sphere of influence is population. The black cards that are played in the game represent settlements. The King has the ability to score any colour when it is played.

Blue: The Farmer: The Farmer's sphere of influence is agriculture. The blue cards that are played in the game represent farms. The Farmer has no ability.

Green: The Trader: The Trader's sphere of influence is trade. The green cards that are played in the game represent markets. The Trader has the ability to score treasures in joined kingdoms.

Red: The Priest: The Priest's sphere of influence is religion. The red cards that are played in the game represent temples. The Priest has no ability.

Each player has a hand of eight cards, the cards are all of one of the four colours. Each player has two actions per turn. The actions they can take are as follows.....

Place A Card: Play one of your cards underneath one of the eight kingdom cards. If you have a leader of that colour (or the King) in that kingdom you may then play another card of that colour from your hand into your score pile. If two adjacent kingdoms have at least four cards in them the card may instead be played to join the kingdoms.

If the resulting kingdom has more than one of any type of leader external conflict erupts. For the conflicting colours each player, starting with the attacker, may play any number of cards from their hand. These cards must be the same colour as the leader in conflict. Both players add the number of cards of their colour on their side of the card used to join the kingdoms, and may add an additional one if they are on a card of their colour. The player who scores lowest is removed, along with all cards of the leaders colour on that side of the card used to join the kingdom. All of these cards are scored by the winner along with one of the cards used from hand.

Place A Leader: Take a leader from in front of you and place them onto a card in play.

If there is already a leader of that colour in play in that kingdom (column of cards) internal conflict erupts. Each player, starting with the player who placed the leader, may play any number of red cards from their hand. If the player's leader is on a red card they may add 1 to the number. Whichever player scores lower is removed from the board. The winner may score one of the red cards used in the conflict.

Play A Catastrophe:
Each player may play their catastrophe card to remove any card in play that does not have a leader on it.

After the player has finished their two actions all players refill their hands to eight cards and the game continues.

Strategy:
The strategy of Euphrates& Tigris is fairly basic, most strategies form around creating the biggest kingdom possible and then removing (by force) other kingdoms.

Similarities To Tigris & Euphrates:
As has been said by a number of people before, the game is very similar to its big brother and is actually a fair primer for playing Tigris & Euphrates. Many of the concepts still exist and the game is easier to teach.

Components:
There are sixteen wooden discs that represent the sixteen leaders from the four factions, as well as a horde of small cards. The cards are of moderately good card stock.

Number Of Players:
The game caters for two to four players. Two player games can be very bloodless, while four player games can be brutal affairs.

Play Time:
Generally most game last between thirty minutes and an hour.

Overall:
Before I played Tigris & Euphrates I would have said that this game is fantastic, and in some ways it still is. However if I have the time I would prefer to play the board game. What this game does do very well is lessen the learning curve to playing Tigris & Euphrates.