Dahschur: Die Rote Pyramide

Dahschur: Die Rote Pyramide Rulebook

Table of Contents

Game Idea

Pharaoh Snofru commands that the Red Pyramid be completed by building a splendid avenue and filling the burial chambers. The player with the most recognition points (Anerkennungspunkte, AP) at the end becomes the new Grand Vizier and wins.

Game Components

1 game board
1 die
1 cloth bag
3 x 12 gemstones (glass stones red/green/blue)
1 rulebook
1 starting player marker Pharaoh
4 x 1 merchant (wooden figure)
4 x 10 goods stones in the 4 player colours: blue (lapis lazuli), red (pottery), orange (papyrus) and white (myrrh)
4 x 1 recognition marker (round disc)
4 x 6 prince cards (value 1-6 each)
10 city cards (numbers from 6-15)
10 gold discs (yellow, value 4x 4, 3x 5, 3x 6)
10 silver discs (grey, value 2x 1, 4x 2, 4x 3)
24 offer cards
24 marble plates (small triangular tiles)

Before the first game, the yellow discs are each fitted with a gold number sticker (front) and a gold eye sticker (back). Proceed in exactly the same way with the grey discs and the silver stickers.

Setup

The game board is placed in the middle of the table. The die and the cloth bag with all gemstones are placed next to the board. The game box is opened and placed against the board. The burial chambers (Grabkammern) are placed on the false bottom.
The starting player is determined and receives the starting player marker Pharaoh.
Each player receives in their colour: 1 merchant (placed on the assembly point (Versammlungsplatz) at the beginning of the market street), 10 goods stones, 1 recognition marker (placed on space 0 of the obelisks) and the prince cards with value 1 to 6 (in hand).
The city cards are shuffled and placed as a face-down draw pile next to the game board. 4 city cards are drawn from it and placed face up on the 4 city spaces.
The gold and silver discs are shuffled face down and laid ready. Each of the 4 face-up city cards receives 1 face-down gold disc and 1 face-down silver disc.
The offer cards are shuffled and laid ready as a face-down draw pile. For each market stall, 1 card is drawn and placed face up in the display area in front of the market stalls.
For each market stall, 1 gemstone is drawn from the bag. It is placed on the oval space on the offer card.
The marble plates are first sorted by player symbol and each pile is shuffled face down. From each pile, 1 plate is taken face down, these are mixed with each other and laid out face up one after another on the spaces of the splendid avenue (Prachtstraße), starting from the assembly point. This is repeated until all marble plates have been laid out.

Board areas: Obelisks (recognition points), Splendid avenue (marble plates), Assembly point (merchant figures), Procession, Cities (city cards), Prince's gift (prince cards), Market (offer cards), and the two player aids (Rewards; Actions).

Course of the Game

The game is played over 4 rounds. Each round consists of 2 phases:

Phase 1: Actions of the princes (playing and using the prince cards) Phase 2: Reward of the princes and city tribute (evaluation of the prince cards)

Phase 1: Actions of the Princes (Playing and Using the Prince Cards)

The fellow players lay 1 of their prince cards (1 to 6) in turn, face up, for the active player (at the start this is the starting player) on any space of the prince's gift (Fürstengabe). The prince cards on these spaces must always show different values.

Should a player (towards the end of the game) be left holding only values in hand that are already on display on the spaces here, he shows his cards to the other players and plays any 1 of them.

The active player now has 3 actions available. For each action the active player chooses any 1 prince card from the spaces of the prince's gift and gives it back to its owner. The owner lays the prince card face up in front of himself on the table.

Each prince card from a space of the prince's gift allows 1 arbitrary action from the areas: Market, Splendid avenue and/or Procession. The overview on the game board shows the 3 possible actions that a player can perform in any order (also several times in his turn).

Market

The active player has the choice between buying a gemstone or taking back goods stones:

a) Gemstone purchase: For this he moves his merchant up to as many steps (market stalls) in any one direction as the number on the prince card indicates. If he moves fewer steps than indicated, the surplus steps are forfeited.

Initially the merchant starts on the assembly point and moves along the street from market stall to market stall. The assembly point may no longer be entered. Several merchants may stand at one market stall.

(Example: card 4 = max. 4 steps.)

Important: The merchant may not turn around during 1 action. If he reaches the last market stall of the street, he must stay there and can only be moved in the other direction with a new prince card.

The active player can acquire the gemstone that lies at the market stall reached. At each market stall lies an offer card with 3 differently (coloured) priced items. If the player wants the gemstone, he pays 1-3 goods stones in his player colour as shown on the offer card. The active player takes the required number of goods stones from his supply and places them on the corresponding market stall. He takes the gemstone from the offer card and places it face up in front of himself.

The active player can acquire a gemstone only if

the merchant has moved at least 1 market stall,
goods stones of his player colour are also demanded on the offer card at the market stall,
he has enough goods stones of his colour in his supply.

After the purchase the offer card is immediately discarded and a new one is drawn from the draw pile. If this is used up, the discard pile is shuffled and laid ready. A new gemstone is drawn from the cloth bag and placed on the offer card.

b) Taking back goods stones: For one prince card the active player takes back 1 of his goods stones from any one market stall into his supply.

Splendid Avenue

Every player may collect any number of gemstones. With the action of a prince card the active player can set 1 up to a maximum of 4 of his gemstones on the splendid avenue (independent of the number on the prince card). The gemstones are set on the columns of the splendid avenue starting from the assembly point, in the direction of the arrow. No marble plate may be skipped. The gemstone to be set here is depicted on the column of the marble plate (green = emerald, red = ruby, blue = sapphire).

(Max. 4 gemstones/action.)

Before setting the gemstones (or even without setting gemstones), during this action the player may once swap any 1 marble plate with 1 other arbitrary marble plate. However, these may not yet be occupied by gemstones. The number on the prince card indicates how far apart these may be at most (the distance may also be smaller).

(Example: card 5 = max. 5 plates distance.)

For setting gemstones on the splendid avenue the active player immediately receives recognition points (AP):

Gemstones	AP
1 gemstone	2 AP
2 gemstones	4 AP
3 gemstones	6 AP
4 gemstones	10 AP

The recognition marker of the active player is advanced accordingly on the track of the obelisks. If the recognition marker exceeds 14 (or 29) on the track of the obelisks, it immediately changes to the next higher track of the obelisks.

(Example: 1 gemstone was built, the active player receives 2 points.)

The fellow players also score. For this, the different player colours/symbols are depicted on each marble plate.

Depending on the order in which the active player sets the gemstones on the marble plates, the fellow players receive the following AP:

First gemstone set = 1 AP for the fellow players Second gemstone set = 2 AP for the fellow players Third gemstone set = 3 AP for the fellow players Fourth gemstone set = 4 AP for the fellow players

The recognition markers of the fellow players are advanced accordingly on the track of the obelisks.

If the active player sets 1 gemstone on 1 marble plate with his own colour/symbol, he receives no additional AP. Instead, for each gemstone set he chooses 1 arbitrary market stall and takes back all his goods stones from it. These return to his supply. They are immediately available to him again.

Procession

With the action of a prince card the active player can take 1 goods stone from his supply as an offering and advance it by up to as many spaces on the procession in the direction of the arrow as indicated on the prince card. If one or more of his offerings are already in the procession, the active player can choose whether to move one of these further or to draw a new goods stone from the supply as an offering onto the spaces of the procession.

(Example: card 3 = max. 3 spaces forward.)

Important: On each space only max. 1 offering (regardless of colour) may stand. Already occupied spaces are jumped over and not counted. If the foremost space (at the assembly point) is reached, or if the spaces ahead are occupied, surplus steps are forfeited.

If the active player has no goods stone in his supply, he can only move 1 of his offerings in the procession.

Offerings that already stand in the procession cannot be moved back and cannot be removed from the spaces.

Change of the Active Player

Once the active player has had all 3 prince cards resolved and returned to the fellow players, the left neighbour becomes the active player.

The fellow players now lay 1 prince card each in turn from their hand on the prince's gift. The active player performs his actions as described above. In this way each player becomes active player once per round.

If a fellow player receives the second prince card back from the active player, he also lays it face up in front of himself. It must be placed to the right of the first face-up prince card. The third prince card he receives back he again lays face up to the right of the two cards already lying there.

(Example: 3, 2, 6, then the next space to the right.)

Important: The order of the face-up prince cards may not be changed at any time.

Once every player has been active player once and each player has 3 prince cards lying face up, Phase 2 (reward of the princes and city tribute) takes place.

Phase 2: Reward of the Princes and City Tribute (Evaluation of the Prince Cards)

The prince cards lying face up in front of the players are now compared with each other. First, each player whose face-up prince card is the highest at one of the different positions (left/middle/right) receives a reward. Afterwards the player can also use the total sum of all 3 prince cards for the city tribute.

A) Rewards

1. Reward (prince card on the left). The player whose prince card on the left position shows the highest value chooses 1 face-down silver disc from one of the 4 face-up city cards. He places it face down in his supply (the player may look at the gold and silver discs in his own supply at any time).

2. Reward (prince card in the middle). The player whose prince card on the middle position shows the highest value chooses from 2 possible rewards:

a) He places a goods stone from his supply, or one of his offerings in the procession, on the foremost free space of the procession at the assembly point. or b) He takes 1 gemstone of his choice from the cloth bag.

3. Reward (prince card on the right). The player whose prince card on the right position shows the highest value immediately receives 2 AP on the track of the obelisks.

Tie rule. If several players have the highest prince card at one position, the die decides. The players involved in the tie roll (until there is a clear result). The player with the highest die value wins the tie and receives the reward described above. Fellow players with the lower die value have the choice:

a) They place (starting with the starting player) 1 goods stone from their supply on the first free space of the procession or advance 1 of their offerings by 1 space in the procession. or b) They take 1 of their own goods stones back from any 1 market stall into their supply.

B) City Tribute (Total Sum of the 3 Prince Cards)

After the rewards have been completed, the city tributes are determined:

Each player calculates the total sum of his 3 face-up prince cards.

If it matches one of the numbers on the face-up city cards, the player may place the gold or silver disc of this city (if present) face down in his supply.

(Example: prince cards 2, 6, 3, sum = 11; the player takes the disc of the city card with number 11.)

If no disc is left on the city card, the player goes away empty-handed.

Tie rule. If several players have the same total sum, the die decides. The players involved in the tie roll (until there is a clear result).

The player with the highest die value wins the tie and may choose one disc of this city.

The player with the second highest die value takes (if present) the remaining disc.

If no disc is left, this player and all fellow players who lost when rolling have the choice:

The city spaces that have become free are refilled with new city cards from the draw pile. Only on these are immediately placed 1 gold and 1 silver disc face down each. The other city cards remain on their city spaces. They are not refilled.

City cards without gold and silver discs are laid face up next to the game board.

The starting player marker Pharaoh passes to the left neighbour. He begins the new round as active player, for whom the fellow players play a prince card.

The game lasts 4 rounds in total. Every player is starting player once.

End of the Round

At the end of the round, each player, starting from the starting player, chooses 1 of his 3 face-up prince cards. In rounds 1-4 he places this card above the door of the burial chamber (1-4) corresponding to the round, with his player symbol. (Prince cards with the same value may also be chosen here.) The two other prince cards return to the hand.

(Example: the chosen card is laid into the burial chamber of the current round; the other two return to the hand.)

End of the Game

The last round ends immediately as soon as each player has laid his 4th prince card into a burial chamber. Now the burial chambers are opened: the players try to place their collected gold and silver discs in the burial chambers. The player whose offering stands furthest forward in the procession chooses first 1 of his collected gold or silver discs.

If the number on this disc matches the number on a prince card in a burial chamber that he has laid there, the player may lay the disc face up on the round symbol of the corresponding prince card.

(Example: a gold disc 5 is laid on the round symbol of a prince card 5 in a burial chamber.)

He receives AP on the track of the obelisks equal to the value of the placed disc. If the disc is placed on one of his own prince cards, nothing further happens.

If, however, the disc is placed on a prince card of a fellow player, this fellow player receives 2 AP for a placed gold disc or 1 AP for a placed silver disc.

The order of the offerings in the procession determines the further order when placing collected gold or silver discs.

Per offering only 1 gold or 1 silver disc may be placed at a time.

If there are no matching prince cards in the burial chambers of the pyramid any more, or if a player has no offering left in the procession, this player can no longer place his remaining gold and silver discs. Their value is forfeited.

The game ends as soon as no more gold and silver discs can be placed by the players.

If a player still has gemstones in his supply, he receives 1 AP per gemstone.

The player with the most AP is appointed Grand Vizier and thus wins the game.

Tie-Break at the End of the Game

In case of a tie, the player with the most goods stones in his supply wins. Should there also be a tie here, the Pharaoh divides the office of Grand Vizier between both. There are 2 winners.

City Tributes: Tip

The face-up city cards should be taken into account from the very beginning when planning the prince cards to be played as prince's gift for the active player. It is advantageous to stay as flexible as possible here in order to secure gold and silver discs that bring additional AP at the end of the game.

All combination possibilities for the individual city tributes (prince card values making up the sum):

City tribute	Combination 1	Combination 2	Combination 3
6	1-2-3
7	1-2-4
8	1-2-5	1-3-4
9	1-2-6	1-3-5	2-3-4
10	1-3-6	1-4-5	2-3-5
11	1-4-6	2-4-5	2-3-6
12	1-5-6

Supplements (for 3 Players)

Setup

Each player draws 2 gemstones from the cloth bag and places them in front of himself.

Recognition marker, merchant, goods stones and marble plates of the unchosen colour remain in the box. The prince cards of the unchosen colour are shuffled and laid ready face down as the neutral colour next to the game board.

Course of the Game

The game is played over 3 rounds. Before the fellow players lay the prince card for the active player into the prince's gift, the top card is drawn from the neutral prince cards and laid face up on a space of the prince's gift.

If the active player has performed 1 action with the neutral prince card, it is discarded next to the draw pile. It is without significance for the granting of rewards.

The third prince card of each player does not go into the prince's gift. Each player (starting with the starting player, to the right of his 2 already face-up prince cards) lays it face up in front of himself. Here, too, only prince cards with different values may be played again.

No neutral prince cards go into the burial chambers. When the starting player changes, all neutral prince cards are newly shuffled and laid ready as a draw pile for the new round.

End of the Game

The last round ends immediately as soon as each player has laid the 3rd prince card into a burial chamber of the pyramid.

Expert Variant (for 2 Players)

Note: It is advisable to play a few games with 3 or 4 players before the 2-player variant.

Setup

Only 3 city cards are laid out.

Each player draws 2 gemstones from the cloth bag and places them in front of himself.

Recognition markers, merchants and goods stones of the two unchosen colours remain in the box. The prince cards of one unchosen colour are shuffled and laid ready face down as the neutral colour next to the game board. The marble plates of this neutral colour remain in the box.

The marble plates of the other unchosen colour are distributed among the marble plates of the two players on the splendid avenue.

The prince cards of this colour are used as so-called MARKET PRINCE CARDS and are distributed on the market stalls, starting from the assembly point, so that the number on the game board matches the number on the market prince card.

On each market prince card is placed an offer card with a gemstone from the cloth bag.

Course of the Game

The game is played over 4 rounds. Each player is starting player 2 times.

Before the fellow player lays his prince card for the active player into the prince's gift, the top card is drawn from the neutral prince cards and laid face up on a space of the prince's gift.

If the active player has performed 1 action with the neutral prince card, it is discarded next to the draw pile. It is without significance for the granting of rewards.

If a player acquires a gemstone at the market, he may additionally lay the market prince card lying beneath it into the prince's gift. In doing so, all 3 prince cards must again show different values.

This also applies if prince cards have already been used up before the market prince card was taken. Otherwise the market prince card may not be taken and the player receives only the gemstone.

A player may take a maximum of 1 market prince card per turn. Only by taking a market prince card does the player receive a 3rd action.

If the player uses a market prince card from the prince's gift, he lays it face up on the corresponding position in front of himself on the table. It counts for rewards and city tribute. (Here it is possible that the number of a prince card and of a market prince card occurs twice.)

The third prince card of each player does not go into the prince's gift. Each player (starting with the starting player, to the right of his 2 or 1 already face-up prince cards) lays it face up in front of himself on the table. Here, too, only prince cards with different values may again be played.

Should a player have no market prince card lying in front of him, he can only take part in the distribution of the first two rewards and in the city tribute. Neutral prince cards and market prince cards do not go into the burial chambers.

When the starting player changes, all neutral prince cards are newly shuffled and laid ready as a draw pile for the new round. Market prince cards that were taken by the players are returned to their place in the market.

End of the Game

The last round ends immediately as soon as each player has laid the 4th prince card into a burial chamber of the pyramid.