Sailing Toward Osiris

In Ancient Egypt, the Pharaoh has passed without an heir, and his funerary barge slowly sails down the Nile towards Osiris's judgment. To ensure the gods' favor for the king's spirit and, incidentally, to contend for the throne, the land's governors must erect the grandest monuments in his honor. But beware: resources are limited, the gods are unpredictable, and time is short! The memorials must be completed before the barge reaches Osiris's temple. Sailing Toward Osiris is a eurogame that puts you in the shoes of one of these ambitious governors, combining worker placement and resource management with a touch of pattern building. In each of the game's four 'seasons,' which track the barge's progress on the Nile, players draw workers from a communal bag and take turns performing a series of quick actions. You can send workers to gather resources, acquire cards in cities, lead or follow caravans, hire more labor, trade at the market, plan and build monuments (sphinxes, obelisks, and pylons), or use city and boon cards. The goal is to accumulate glory points by constructing monuments in strategic river locations and in specific configurations. As the game progresses, the scarcity of resources and building sites increases, demanding creativity and planning. The governor with the most glory at the end of the game will be crowned the new Pharaoh. A historical tidbit: the game is inspired by the real events surrounding the death of Ramses XI and the ascension of Smendes, a powerful governor of Lower Egypt.