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Travis Cooper
United States
Salt Lake City
Utah
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Priests of Ra Play Log
Priests of Ra
Shortly after my first game of Ra I was hooked. I had never really played an auction game before because I didn't think they would be very interesting. I was very surprised at how much I enjoyed that first play. Sadly, the game wasn't in print, but I quickly found out that a new version would be coming out soon. I purchased it and as soon as Priests of Ra came out I just had to buy that too.
I think the part the I really enjoy about this is the combination of the once around auction with the sun tiles. The back and forth bidding based on the amount of money you have can be interesting too, but I just don't find it as intriguing as the way Knizia does it here. Knowing the bid won't came back to me again, and only having a few actual bidding options makes for some very interesting decisions.
For those that have played Ra, but not Priests of Ra, or for those looking into one or the other, I enjoy Priests of Ra more. You can see my review that goes into more details about the two games. I think the biggest thing I like about Priests of Ra is the double sided tiles. Other than that, they really are very similar games. I definitely don't think you need to own both, unless you just have to have it like me.
Today's Game
Today we had a 5 player game going on. I had a pretty slow start, only scoring 2 points and I didn't have hardly any tiles that would stay for the whole game. I was able to get 2 ankhs to give me a good start at getting all 4. Amanda got a pretty decent first round score and had some good buildings ready to go into the second epoch. She ended up picking up more buildings to get 3 different sets which would score her quite well for two more rounds. The problem was she wasn't able to get much out of her 1, 4, and 7 going into the last epoch. John and Jeff were going after the pyramids and they were both able to get a few chambers. I didn't think I'd be able to compete with what they were getting. I again kept getting people and not much staying power. I did get quite a few majorities and by the end of the game had all 4 ankhs. I ended with 1 pair of buildings and only 3 pyramid tiles, but the steady stream of people and the 20 points at the end from my ankhs were enough to secure the win.
Does this work for lunch?
Absolutely, this works for a lunch time game. We've never had games go over an hour, even with teaching a new person or two. It is a nice change of pace, in my opinion, to get in an auction game to shake things up. The style is different and makes you think different in order to do well. Everybody we've taught it to has seemed to really enjoy the game, and I think the more you play it, the more in depth you can become. I have realized that Ra/Priests of Ra is more about calling Ra and getting the most out of your suns than it is about drawing tiles. I feel that most people call Ra far too infrequently. There is a lot to learn with this game and I think your group will love it.
I have tried it with 2 and I realize the new Rio Grande version has official rules for 2, but I think it's better with more. There are some that might disagree with that, but I feel that forcing people to use their sun tiles and the intricacies of the bidding just aren't as good with only 2 players. 3 players is slightly better but I think this game really shines with 4 and still works great with 5.
So, if you're looking for a change of pace, give Ra or Priests of Ra a try. I think you'll enjoy it and I haven't been able to find a better auction game yet.
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