The Kemet: Blood and Sand board gameis a re-implementation of Kemet, which was originally released in 2012. Now, I never played the original so this board game review is going to be entirely based in a vacuum from my experience with the reboot. I am running out of prayer points.” Move your token to the prayer symbols and gain 2 prayer points. Divine intervention cards and power tiles with a day symbol are benefits for that phase in the game. The cities available on the mainboard are determined by the number of players. For 2 to 3 players, only use the area on the east side of the Nile. Sandstorms cover the uninhabitable cities.

Before the morning, reset your action tokens and determining who goes first. Going first is a bonus but it means you are not as popular as the other Gods. Is It Worth My Time Playing God? On each turn—early game rounds include five turns for each player, though that can change—you choose and execute one (1) of several actions on your player board. These include moving, praying, recruiting, purchasing power up tiles, and constructing a stage of your pyramid. That’s it. Like I said, it’s much more approachable than it looks. A player board. Kemet: Blood and Sand has tension in droves! The map is only so large and all of it feels decently accessible at any point in the game. So the threat of warfare is immediate and constant. There’s no escaping it! Victory points were scored by winning battles, claiming pyramids and temples, performing sacrifices, and gaining access to certain magical powers. Once a player gathered between eight to ten victory points - depending on the total number of people playing - they were declared the winner.Kemet: Blood and Sand is played over a series of Rounds, each of which consist of a Day and Night Phase. During the Day, players are taking a total of 5 actions that can consist of the following: Once you internalize a few small pieces of rule grit, though, it’s pretty straightforward. I’d even say it’s dumb. Gloriously dumb. A tribute to the possibilities of Dumb. The God player boards are dual layered with beautiful artwork. The icons are simple and easily recognisable for the action you can perform. The board pieces are nicely designed and solid.

During the night, the temples are a safe haven and could gain you fame. The price to pay is sacrificing your troops. Gain prayer points, divine cards and resurrecting troops to aid you the next day but there is always a cost. Spend your veteran tokens wisely or you will lose them. All of these changes are for the best, and two are worth looking into at length. Count ‘Em Up The score board at the end of a game. Troops don’t automatically get removed from the board in Kemet combat. It may just be that they retreat. One of the strategic nuances in Kemet, as both aggressor and defender, is figuring out your goal. Do you want to prioritize winning the fight and taking/holding the territory, or are you more interested in keeping your troops around to fight for the same scrap of land again? Are you trying to win or are you trying to thin out the opponent’s ranks, regardless of outcome? Do you want to have the space when the dust settles, or do you just want the other player not to? Different cards serve different goals. Kemet: Blood and Sand is a 2 to 5 player game, where you are a God. Taking control of your armies of followers and become the most famous God in ancient Egypt.Of course, there are a lot more details to each of the actions and phases of the game, but in a nutshell this is a very tight wargame that rewards risk-taking. There are going to be a lot of battles going on! Staking OurC.L.A.I.M. on Kemet: Blood and Sand! Components The miniatures are beautifully designed and the whole production is outstanding. The rulebook needs work and there were times when learning, it wasn’t easy to find an answer to the question. I found the board bland. This may be deliberate so that the miniatures stand out on it. Why do you only use half the board in a 2 or 3 player game? I want to play on the whole board every game. So brush up on your hieroglyphics because it’s time to dive into Kemet: Blood and Sand! Kemet: Blood and Sand Gameplay Let the battles begin. Planning is essential. Ensure your chances of winning increases with divine cards, power tiles and creatures. Selecting a battle card is not easy but giving up a second card is a downer giving less choice in the next battle. Even worse you could win but lose all your troops and the area you want to control. At Night Your Troops Can Rest… I like the look of that power tile.” Put your token on the ‘Buy A Power Tile’ space. You can buy a power tile up to the level of that coloured to Pyramid but it will cost you.

The first thing you notice is the miniatures. The creatures are outstanding, beautifully designed and detailed. I wish I had the time and the patience to paint them. The scarab beetle, temple and battle fame tokens are nicely designed. A tray is included to store these tokens. The cards are either smaller or bigger than standard and the icons are simply designed. And What About The Boards? Since the Kemet: Blood and Sand board game is a game with troops on the board, everyone wants to know what those troops are like! Let me put your mind at ease; this game has really great table presence with its miniatures. Despite the small size of the normal units, there is a surprising amount of detail in the sculpts that would allow them to take well to those miniature paints that you’ve been sitting on. The combat system is wonderful. Each player starts the game with the same set of eight battle cards, choosing one to use and one to set aside at the beginning of each fight. The cards, which are the same for all players, include some amount of a strength bonus, a damage modifier, a self-damage modifier, and a defense modifier. Strength wins you the fight, damage removes enemy troops, self-damage removes your own troops, and defense protects your troops from enemy damage. Your battle cards. A few provisos if this is your first Big Game Rodeo, born out of my experiences with my play group:

What More You Could Want

This is kind of game the EOG loves: great production, relatively easy rules but lots of options for strategy, and a fantastic theme just dripping with atmosphere. Will your God’s power tiles save the day or the creature help claim victory? Each victory gives your God a fame point. At night, the temple is a safe haven, or is it? To control the land, your God needs the most fame points. Being sacrificed is an honour and will help your God win. Death is not the end; you may rise and fight another day.