Objective of the Game

Welcome, future Pharaohs, to the sun-drenched lands of Ancient Egypt! In **Ra**, you'll step into the sandals of a royal lineage, striving to maintain *ma'at* – the essential balance and harmony of life – across three grand **epochs**. Your goal is to wisely manage your reign, build a thriving society, and enhance your culture by acquiring valuable **Auction tiles**. The gods are watching, and only the player who has pleased them enough to amass the highest score by the end of the Third Epoch will secure their place in the Field of Reeds in the afterlife and claim victory!

Setup

Let's get our ancient kingdom ready for play!

1. Place the **Auction board** in the center of the table, making sure the side with the **Sun Boat icon** is face up.
2. Place the majestic **Ra statue** nearby.
3. Position the **Sun Boat marker** on the **Ra track** (at the top of the Auction board) on the starting space that matches your player count.
4. Put the **Epoch counter** on the upper right corner of the Ra track, with the "First Epoch" side facing up.
5. Each player randomly receives their own **player board**. Make sure it's turned to the side showing the correct number of players inside the blue ovals.
6. Take all the **Auction tiles** and toss them into the **cloth bag**. Give the bag a good shake to mix them up!
7. Each player gets two **5-point scoring tokens** placed face down in front of them.
8. Place the rest of the **scoring tokens** face up near the Auction board, ready for when you score.
9. Put the "1" **sun disk** on the space in the center of the Auction board.
10. For each blue oval on their player board, each player takes the **sun disk** matching the value shown next to their player count and places it on that space. Remember, these starting values vary by player count!

The Game Turn

A game of Ra unfolds over three **epochs**, each a distinct period of your reign. Within each epoch, players take turns performing actions to build their society and earn rewards. The player with the highest-numbered **sun disk** kicks off each epoch. Play then proceeds clockwise. On your turn, you *must* perform exactly one of these actions:

Draw a Tile

Reach into the **cloth bag** and draw one tile.

• If it's a **Ra tile**: This is a big moment! Discard the **Ra tile** and advance the **Sun Boat** one space to the right on the **Ra track**. Then, you take the **Ra statue** and immediately trigger an **auction**!
  • *Heads up!* If the **Sun Boat** moves onto the final space of the Ra track, the epoch *immediately ends* without an auction.
• If it's any other tile: Place it in the leftmost open space on the **auction track**.

You *cannot* **Draw a Tile** if the **auction track** is full.

Invoke Ra

Feeling bold? Declare "I invoke Ra!" and take the **Ra statue**. This immediately triggers an **auction**! The **Sun Boat** does *not* advance when you choose this action.

Spend God Tile(s)

If you've acquired any **God tiles** from previous auctions, you can discard one to grab any *non-God tile* from the **auction track**.

• The **God tile** is discarded from the game.
• The tile you acquired from the **auction track** is placed face up in front of you.
• If the acquired tile is a **Disaster tile**, resolve it immediately!

You can repeat these steps to spend additional **God tiles** during the same action, resolving each exchange fully before starting the next one. Once you've completed your action, your turn ends, and play continues clockwise. If you run out of face-up **sun disks**, you can no longer take actions in that epoch. Your turn simply passes to the next player.

Auctions

Auctions are central to Ra! They are triggered in two ways:

• When a **Ra tile** is drawn during a **Draw a Tile** action.
• When a player performs the **Invoke Ra** action.

The player who triggered the auction takes the **Ra statue**, becoming the **Ra player**. Bidding starts with the player to the left of the **Ra player** and goes clockwise.

Bidding

When it's your turn to bid:

• You can bid by placing one of your face-up **sun disks** near the edge of the game board.
• The first bid of an auction can be any value.
• Each subsequent bid *must* be a higher value than the previous bid.
• If you can't or choose not to bid, you can **pass**. Each player can bid (or pass) only once.
• The auction always ends with the **Ra player**.

The conditions for passing vary slightly depending on how the auction started:

• Ra tile drawn: All players can pass. If everyone passes, the **Auction tiles** on the track and the **sun disk** on the Auction board remain in place.
• Invoke Ra when the Auction track is full: All players can pass. If everyone passes, all **Auction tiles** on the track are discarded from the game. The **sun disk** on the Auction board remains.
• Invoke Ra when the Auction track is NOT full: All players *except* the **Ra player** can pass. The **Ra player** *must* bid if all others pass. Otherwise, the **Ra player** may pass.

Winning an Auction

The player with the highest bid wins!

• The winner takes all **Auction tiles** from the **auction track** and places them face up in front of their player board. Each tile type has a designated spot around your board.
• All other players return their bid **sun disks** face up to their player board – they can use them again!
• The winning player exchanges the **sun disk** they used to win for the **sun disk** on the Auction board. The newly acquired **sun disk** is placed face down on their player board.
• Finally, if the winner acquired any **Disaster tiles**, they must resolve them immediately before play resumes.

Disaster Tiles

If you acquire a **Disaster tile**, you must discard two **Auction tiles** from your board that match the icon shown on the **Disaster tile**, if you have them. If you only have one, discard that one. If you have none, nothing happens. Then, the **Disaster tile** is discarded from the game. For a **Drought tile**, discard **Flood tiles** first, then **Nile tiles**.

End of Game and Scoring

An epoch ends and scoring is triggered immediately if either of these conditions are met:

• All players' **sun disks** have been played and are face down.
• The **Sun Boat** has reached the rightmost space of the **Ra track** (the one with the Epoch marker or icon). Remember, the **Sun Boat** reaching this space does *not* trigger an auction!

When scoring occurs, players earn points based on the **Auction tiles** in front of them. Record your scores by taking the corresponding **scoring tokens** from the supply, keeping them face down and hidden. Your score can never drop below zero. The icons on your player board tell you when certain tiles score:

• This set scores at the end of the First, Second, and Third Epochs.
• This set scores only at the end of the Third Epoch.

Scoring During the First or Second Epochs

All **Auction tiles** next to your player board are scored according to their criteria, *except for Monuments*, which only score at the end of the Third Epoch. After scoring, you begin a new epoch!

Scoring During the Third Epoch

This is the big one! All **Auction tiles** next to your player board are scored, *including Monument tiles*. In addition, your **sun disks** are scored:

• Add the values of all your **sun disks** (face up and face down) to get your sun total.
• The player with the highest sun total gains 5 points.
• The player with the lowest sun total loses 5 points.
• In case of a tie, all tied players gain or lose the full points. If all players have the same total, no points are gained or lost.

The game is now over!

Beginning a New Epoch

After scoring in the First or Second Epoch:

• Each player discards all **Auction tiles** on the right side of their player board (indicated by the icon). These tiles are gone for good!
• All **Auction tiles** on the left side of your player board (indicated by the icon) remain until the end of the game, unless a **Disaster tile** removes them.
• Any **Auction tiles** left on the **auction track** are discarded from the game. The **sun disk** on the Auction board stays put.
• Return the **Sun Boat** to its starting space on the **Ra track**.
• Adjust the **Epoch counter**: if it's on "First Epoch," flip it to "Second Epoch." If it's on "Second Epoch," discard it to reveal the "Third Epoch" icon on the board.
• Finally, all players flip their **sun disks** face up. The player with the highest-valued **sun disk** takes the first turn of the new epoch.

Winning the Game

After the Third Epoch scoring, the player with the highest total score wins! If there's a tie, the tied player with the highest-numbered **sun disk** breaks the tie and claims victory.

Auction Tile Effects and Scoring Breakdown

Here's a quick look at how different tiles score:

• Monument tiles (8 types): Score *only* in the Third Epoch.
  • Multiplicity: Groups of 3/4/5 identical **Monument tiles** are worth 5/10/15 points.
  • Diversity: 6 or fewer different types give 1 point per type. 7 types give 10 points, 8 types give 15 points.
• Pharaoh tiles: Score in all epochs.
  • Player(s) with the most **Pharaoh tiles** gain 5 points.
  • Player(s) with the fewest **Pharaoh tiles** lose 2 points.
• Nile tiles: Score in all epochs.
  • If you have at least one **Flood tile**, you score 1 point for each **Nile tile**. Without a **Flood tile**, **Nile tiles** are worth 0 points.
• God tiles: Score in all epochs.
  • Gain 2 points for each unspent **God tile**. Remember, you can spend them as an action!
• Gold tiles: Score in all epochs.
  • Gain 3 points for each **Gold tile**.
• Civilization tiles (5 types): Score in all epochs.
  • A player with 3/4/5 different types of **Civilization tiles** earns 5/10/15 points (only score your largest set).
  • A player with no **Civilization tiles** loses 5 points.
• Flood tiles: Score in all epochs.
  • Gain 1 point for each **Flood tile**. Having at least one **Flood tile** also lets you score your **Nile tiles**!

Tips for Winning

Ready to rule like a true Pharaoh? Here are a couple of pointers to get you started:

1. Manage Your Sun Disks Wisely: Your **sun disks** are your currency for winning auctions, but they also contribute to your end-game score! Don't spend your highest-valued disks too early if you can help it, as having the highest total at the end of the Third Epoch can net you a crucial 5 points. Conversely, being stuck with the lowest total can cost you!
2. Know When to Invoke Ra: Sometimes, the **auction track** fills up with tiles you desperately need, or perhaps tiles that your opponents need more. **Invoking Ra** allows you to trigger an auction on your terms, potentially forcing opponents to spend their valuable **sun disks** or letting you snag a great set of tiles. It's a powerful tool for controlling the pace and contents of the auction.