RA by Reiner Knizia

(Note: This review pertains to the Rio Grande Games 1999 release of RA.)

A Snapshot Look
RA, by Reiner Knizia and published by Rio Grande Games has got to be one of the most satisfying games I have played in quite some time. RA is sure to please fans who love Knizia’s unique auction mechanics and subtle, yet complex strategies.

General Game Info:
Players: 3-5 (2 with variant)
Play Time: 60 minutes (less with experienced players)
Game Weight: Light to Medium Light
Game Mechanics: Auction/Bidding
Theme: Ancient Egypt

Gamer Suitability:
Casual/New gamer = 5
Moderate Experience = 5
Experienced/Heavy Gamer = 4

Production Value (See Details Below):
Theme = 3
Presentation = 5
Components = 5
Gameplay = 5

Freshness Factor:
Fresh Experience with Every Play: Medium High
Replay Value Over Time: Medium High

Other Factors to Consider:
--Should play about 45 minutes with experienced players.
--Unique components make this game a gem.
--Easy to learn, nearly impossible to master.
--Games by Reiner Knizia are almost always worth the money invested—especially RA.

Overall Score = out of 5


The Details

Theme
RA spans 1500 years of ancient Egyptian history. Over the course of three rounds (epochs), players attempt to gain fame and power by bidding on tiles that allow them to influence pharaohs, build monuments, farm the Nile, pay homage to the gods, and advance the culture. At the end of three epochs the player with the most fame points wins the game.

It is always fun to play a game with an Egyptian theme, which may be why Reiner Knizia uses this theme in quite a few of his games. RA takes no exception as it truly is a fun game. However, the game itself is unrelated to the Egyptian theme and could be played with other theme tacked on instead (for instance, like Razzia!—a mafia-themed playing card version of this game). This is not to say that RA fails to create an atmosphere worthy of an Egyptian theme. Everything about RA’s manufacturing design screams Egyptian and is done in an outstanding fashion. At the same time, the game itself stands alone without the theme to support it. It is for this reason RA gets a decent score here—the theme by itself is done quite well and the game itself is also done quite well. Connected or not, both the game and the theme are excellently presented.
(Theme Score: )


Presentation
As with all other Alea bookshelf games, RA comes in a high quality cardboard box. RA is the first game in the Alea large bookshelf series of games. To please collectors, Rio Grande has printed a nice big #1 on the side of the box to represent RA’s place in the series.



Inside the box, RA is a perfectly designed setup for those anal retentive, organizational, types like me. The plastic insert is perfectly designed to hold game components in such a way that the box can be stored in an upright position without spillage and disorganization—a huge plus for this reviewer.



The rulebook is eight pages long and is clear and concise, leaving little room for misunderstanding or interpretation. The illustrations give clear direction on some of the details of the rules. The rules also have the very useful “review column” for those who have not played RA for a while and simply need a refresher on gameplay—another useful extra to this reviewer.
(Presentation Score: )


Components
RA’s components are the usual high quality from Rio Grande and most definitely reflect the Egyptian theme with atmosphere. Upon opening the box for the first time, players will discover a single fold playing board made of high quality cardboard and printed colorfully designed Egyptian pictures and hieroglyphics. Printed on the board are 4 unique zones: 1) a central bidding zone, 2) the RA tile zone for determining the end of an epoch, 3) an auction zone to see what is up for bid, 4) and a scoring tool zone to help players in scoring. Although the board is not really necessary to play the game it is quite useful in keeping the game organized.



The heart of the game is found in the 180 tiles (made of high quality cardboard and should fair well with repeated play) for which players bid over the course of the game:

1) RA tiles (30)—these are used in determining the end of each epoch and ultimately the end of the game.

2) Egyptian god tiles (8)—these are extremely valuable tiles. A player who holds a god tile may trade it, on her turn, for a different tile—thus removing that tile from the auction for free. Playing god tiles adds a strategic element as they can also be held for bonus points during scoring.



3) Pharaohs (25)—these represent the influence a player has with the Egyptian pharaohs. The player that wins the most pharaohs in auction receives a scoring bonus during the scoring phase of the game.

4) Nile river tiles (25)—these represent land that the player has farmed. The more river tiles a player wins in auction, the greater fame he receives during scoring. However, river tiles are only scored if that player also holds at least one . . .

5) Flood tiles (12)—scored the same as Nile river tiles, at least one flood is required for river tiles to earn fame points during scoring.

6) Civilization tiles (25)—these represent the civilization advancements a player has accomplished by winning them in auction. The more advancements a player wins, the greater fame points he receives during scoring. However, at least 3 civilization advancement tiles must be won in order to receive bonus, and at least one must be won to avoid a penalty.

7) Gold tiles (5)—these simply act as free fame points during scoring. Players automatically receive three fame points for each gold tile won.



8) Monument tiles (40)—these are collected over the course of all three epochs (rounds) and are only scored after the third epoch ends. Players receive fame points for the number of unique monuments collected as well as the number of matching sets of monuments collected. Games can be won or lost by how a player wins and loses monument tiles.



9) Funeral tiles (2)—these are penalty tiles that force a player to immediately discard two previously won Pharaoh tiles.

10) Drought tiles (2)—these are penalty tiles that force a player to immediately discard two previously won River and/or Flood tiles, beginning with Floods first.

11) Unrest tiles (4)—these are penalty tiles that force a player to immediately discard two previously won Civilization tiles.

12) Earthquake tiles (2)—these are penalty tiles that force a player to immediately discard two previously won Monument tiles



Players bid on these tiles using wooden bidding suns in a unique and simple —yet, at the same time, challenging—auction system (see below for more). These bidding suns alone make this game worth the price as they are some of the most elegant game pieces I have ever seen in any game.



Also included is a wooden RA figure used to represent the player that called for an auction to begin. Though not used for more, this piece is also quite elegant and adds to the value of the game simply because of its unique design. This piece, along with the suns, raises the bar for quality in game design. All game publishers should pay attention to the quality Rio Grande has invested in this game.

Finally, included are 48 scoring tablets of 4 denominations. Made of the same quality cardboard as the game tiles, these tablets can be a bit challenging to decipher until the player gets used to them. Instead of using standard numbers to represent the value, each tablet has an Egyptian number printed. This is really no problem because it is easily interpreted (especially after a few plays).



All in all, RA has some of the best, highest quality, components of any game on (or off) the market today.
(Components Score: )


Gameplay
The gameplay of RA is really quite aimple and very fast-paced. On each turn, a player may take one of three simple actions:

1) Turn over one tile—the player draws a tile from the face down pile and places it on the auction track of the game board. This tile is now included, with other tiles already on the track, in the next auction that takes place (when it is called). If the player draws a RA tile, it is instead placed in the RA tile zone of the board—thus bringing the end of the epoch (and the scoring phase) closer. When the RA tile zone is filled completely, the epoch ends and is immediately (thus no auction) scored.

2) Play an Egyptian god tile—the player may play a previously won Egyptian god tile, allowing him to take, for free, a face up tile off of the auction track. A player may play as many god tiles as he can, but he may not take another god tile that is on the auction track.

3) Invoke RA—by invoking RA, he calls for an auction, thus putting all tiles on the auction track up for bid. By invoking RA, the player takes the RA figure and is allowed to bid last after all other players have placed one bid or withdrawn. Each player may only bid one time, using one of the wooden suns in his possession that are still in play. By winning the auction, the player receives all face up tiles on the auction track as well as the lone bidding sun from a previous auction (though it must be placed face down and cannot be used until the next epoch). He must pay for the items with the sun used in winning the auction. This sun now becomes part of the next group up for auction.

Though a simple mechanic, the auction is the most challenging part of RA. With only one opportunity to bid, a player must decide if he wants to bid high, thus losing a valuable sun to the next auction, or bid lower hoping to get a great deal on the tiles available. Decisions are aplenty and a player never knows with certainty the long term value of the tiles on which he bids. There is definitely a tension here that is found in few auction games.

When the last player uses her final bidding sun, the epoch immediately ends and is scored. Details of the scoring system will not be covered in this review, but I will point out that it is quite simple, especially with the scoring aid printed directly on the game board.

RA is a unique game in that it is extremely simple to play, yet offers a depth in decision making that few games are able to achieve. This gives RA a high score in gameplay.
(Gameplay Score: )



Closing Comments
RA is a fast-paced game that offers many options and choices, thus making it a great game for just about any gaming group. Players will never run out of things to do and the game will always seem to end before they can finish their plans. This is one of the things that make Knizia’s games great.

Rio Grande Games and Reiner Knizia have once again given us a great game that can be enjoyed time and time again.

Overall Score = out of 5

Thanks. A most practical review.