Ra

Overview

Ra is an auction game spanning three epochs of ancient Egyptian history. Players bid with numbered sun tokens to acquire tiles representing pharaohs, monuments, the Nile, civilizations, gods, and gold. The auction mechanism is distinctive: one sun token per bid, the winner swaps their sun for the one on the board. After each epoch, players score fame points based on their collected tiles. The player with the most fame after three epochs wins.

Components

Component	Quantity
Game board (Ra track + auction track)	1
Tiles	180
VP tokens (1, 2, 5, 10 point denominations)	48
Sun tokens (numbered)	16
Ra figure	1
Cloth bag	1

Tile breakdown: 30 Ra, 8 God, 25 Pharaohs + 2 Funerals, 25 Nile + 12 Floods + 2 Droughts, 25 Civilizations (5 types x 5) + 4 Unrest, 5 Gold, 40 Monuments (5 types x 8) + 2 Earthquakes.

Setup

1. Place board centrally. Put tiles in the bag and shuffle.
2. Each player takes VP tokens worth 10 points (face down).
3. Distribute sun token groups based on player count:
   • 2 players: 4 suns each; 3-4 players: 3 suns each; 5 players: 3 suns each
4. Place sun #1 face-up on the board’s sun space.
5. Ra track spaces: skip first 4 (2p), 2 (3p), or 1 (4p) spaces.

Turn Structure

On your turn, perform exactly one action:

1. Draw a tile from the bag, or
2. Play a God tile, or
3. Invoke Ra (call an auction)

Actions

Draw and Place a Tile

Draw one tile from the bag. If it is a Ra tile, place it on the Ra track and an auction begins immediately. Otherwise, place it on the next empty auction track space (8 spaces total).

Play God Tile(s)

Spend one or more God tiles from your play area to take one tile per God from the auction track (not God tiles or Ra tiles). Return played Gods to the box. Fill gaps later.

Invoke Ra (Auction)

Place the Ra figure in your area. Bidding goes clockwise from your left, ending with you. Each player may bid one face-up sun or pass. Each bid must exceed the previous. The highest bidder takes all auction track tiles and swaps their bid sun for the board sun (bid sun goes face-up on board; board sun goes face-down in player area). Face-down suns cannot be used until next epoch.

Auction rules:

• If you invoke Ra voluntarily and everyone else passes, you must bid.
• If Ra was invoked because the auction track is full and you don’t play a God, you may pass even if all others pass (tiles are returned to box).
• If a Ra tile triggers the auction, all players including the Ra player may pass (tiles stay).

Disasters

When won at auction, disasters must be fulfilled by discarding 2 tiles of the matching category:

• Funeral: discard 2 Pharaohs
• Drought: discard Floods first, then Niles (total 2)
• Unrest: discard 2 Civilizations (your choice)
• Earthquake: discard 2 Monuments (your choice)

If you have fewer than 2, discard what you have.

Scoring / Victory Conditions

Scoring occurs at the end of each epoch:

Category	Scoring	Tiles Kept?
Gods	+2 per God tile	No (removed)
Pharaohs	Most: +5; Fewest: -2 (ties: all affected)	Yes
Nile + Floods	+1 each, but only if at least 1 Flood	Niles kept; Floods removed
Civilizations	0 types: -5; 3 diff: +5; 4 diff: +10; 5 diff: +15	No (removed)
Gold	+3 per Gold tile	No (removed)
Monuments (epoch 3 only)	1-6 diff: +1-6; 7 diff: +10; 8 diff: +15; plus 3 same: +5; 4 same: +10; 5 same: +15	N/A
Suns (epoch 3 only)	Highest total: +5; Lowest total: -5	N/A

Epoch End

An epoch ends when: all players have used all suns, OR the Ra track is full (no auction occurs; all tiles returned to box).

Game End

After the third epoch’s scoring, the player with the most total fame wins. Tiebreaker: highest-numbered sun.

Special Rules & Edge Cases

• A player with no face-up suns takes no turns for the rest of the epoch.
• Minimum score is 0 per game (cannot go into debt across epochs, but can lose all points).
• Ra track size: 6 spaces (2p), 8 (3p), 9 (4p), 10 (5p).
• Tiles removed from game may not be examined.

Player Reference

Player Count	Suns per Player	Ra Track Spaces
2	4	6
3	3	8
4	3	9
5	3	10

Action	Description
Draw tile	Draw from bag; Ra tile triggers auction
Play God	Trade God tile for any auction track tile
Invoke Ra	Start an auction; must bid if all others pass