Setup · Men-Nefer

Main Board and shared pieces

Put the Main Board on the table with its solo side up (the side with one dot).
Put the Quarry by the bottom-left corner of the Main Board. Sort the Great Pyramid pieces into Level I, II and III piles, shuffle each, and stack them face up on their Great Pyramid spaces in the Quarry, with the Pyramidion on space IIII.
With 3 players or fewer, put the top Level I piece on the marked Great Pyramid space of the Main Board.
Sort the Queens’ Pyramids pieces into Level I, II and III piles and put them on their Queens’ spaces in the Quarry, with the 3 Pyramidions on space IIII.
Put a Level I and then a Level II piece on each of the 3 Queens’ Pyramids.
Shuffle the Queens’ Pyramids Tiles and put one face up on each of the 3 tile spaces next to the Queens’ Pyramids. Return the rest to the box.
[Promo] Before shuffling, add the Queens’ Pyramids promo tile to the Queens’ Pyramids Tiles and the Horus and Ra tiles to the Deities (steps 3 and 6).
Put the Narrator Token on space I of the Era Track.
Shuffle the 7 Mastaba Tiles and put one face up on each of the 5 Mastaba spaces around the Necropolis. Return the other 2 to the box.
Shuffle the Deities and put one face up on the Temple Altar. Return the others to the box.
Mix the Crafts in their bag and draw 4 into the Craft Market, filling it from left to right.
Mix the Papyri in their bag and draw 4 into the Papyrus Market, filling it from left to right.
Shuffle the 6 City Benefit Tokens and put one face up on the marked space of each City along the Nile.
Sort the Trade Contracts by the value on their back (1, 2, 3) into three face-down piles. Along both banks, fill the first two Cities with value-1 Contracts, the next two with value 2 and the last two with value 3 — face up, in only the unmarked Contract spaces (skip those marked for 3 and 4 players).
Shuffle the 5 Neutral Apprentices Placement Tiles on their 2-player side, draw one and put the Neutral Apprentices in the Houses of Life as it shows. Then return all five tiles to the box.
Two players (and solo): cover the hammer icons under spaces 3 and 8 of the Great Pyramid Track with the 2 Hammer Tiles.

Solo: Imhotep

Give Imhotep a Personal Board and a full set of pieces like a second player, except the Fish and the Ankh: he never gains or spends Food or Heka. He also starts on 10 PP.
Shuffle Imhotep’s 9 Action Tiles into a face-down pile next to his board and keep the die beside it.
Harder game (optional): start Imhotep on 11–15 PP, and/or let him score 5 PP instead of 4 for each Permission he places.

Each player

Take a Personal Board at random (they differ only in the order of their hieroglyphs) and choose a colour.
Put an Apprentice on each of the 3 Apprentice spaces of your board.
Put your 4 Sphinxes in the Sphinx Reserve.
Put your 4 Mummies/Sarcophagi, Mummy side up, in the Mummy Reserve.
Put your 3 Permissions of Khufu in the Permissions Reserve.
Put a Basket on each of the 9 spaces of your Pyramidal Area.
Put your Hieroglyph Counter on the starting space of the Hieroglyph Track.
Put your Ankh on space 2 of the Heka Track.
Put your Heart on its starting space at the left end of the Duat Meter.
Put your Feather on its starting space at the right end of the Duat Meter.
Put a Scarab on the starting space of each of the 5 Specialisation Tracks.
Put your Orb on the starting space at the foot of the Obelisk.
Put your 4 Priestesses in front of the Temple entrance.
Put your 4 Boats on the starting section of the Nile, the port of Men-nefer.
Put one Limestone Block by the starting space of the Great Pyramid Track.
Put your other Limestone Block by the starting space of the Queens’ Pyramids Track.
Put your Seal on space 10 of the Prestige Points Track.
Imhotep is the starting player: his Water Lily goes on space 1 of the Turn Order Track and yours on space 2.
You are second in turn order, so put your Fish on space 4 of the Food Track. Imhotep has no Fish.

Action Tablets

Sort the 20 Action Tablets into piles by the number on their back (1–4) and shuffle each pile face down. Deal each player one type-1, one type-2 and one type-3 Tablet, face up on the Tablet spaces of their board.
Shuffle the leftover type 1–3 Tablets with all the type-4 Tablets and put this pile face up on the Draw Pile space of the Main Board.
Fill the 5 Tablet spaces below the Draw Pile with its top 5 Tablets.

Main Board and shared pieces

Put the Main Board on the table with its solo side up (the side with one dot).
Put the Quarry by the bottom-left corner of the Main Board. Sort the Great Pyramid pieces into Level I, II and III piles, shuffle each, and stack them face up on their Great Pyramid spaces in the Quarry, with the Pyramidion on space IIII.
With 3 players or fewer, put the top Level I piece on the marked Great Pyramid space of the Main Board.
Sort the Queens’ Pyramids pieces into Level I, II and III piles and put them on their Queens’ spaces in the Quarry, with the 3 Pyramidions on space IIII.
Put a Level I and then a Level II piece on each of the 3 Queens’ Pyramids.
Shuffle the Queens’ Pyramids Tiles and put one face up on each of the 3 tile spaces next to the Queens’ Pyramids. Return the rest to the box.
[Promo] Before shuffling, add the Queens’ Pyramids promo tile to the Queens’ Pyramids Tiles and the Horus and Ra tiles to the Deities (steps 3 and 6).
Put the Narrator Token on space I of the Era Track.
Shuffle the 7 Mastaba Tiles and put one face up on each of the 5 Mastaba spaces around the Necropolis. Return the other 2 to the box.
Shuffle the Deities and put one face up on the Temple Altar. Return the others to the box.
Mix the Crafts in their bag and draw 4 into the Craft Market, filling it from left to right.
Mix the Papyri in their bag and draw 4 into the Papyrus Market, filling it from left to right.
Shuffle the 6 City Benefit Tokens and put one face up on the marked space of each City along the Nile.
Sort the Trade Contracts by the value on their back (1, 2, 3) into three face-down piles. Along both banks, fill the first two Cities with value-1 Contracts, the next two with value 2 and the last two with value 3 — face up, in only the unmarked Contract spaces (skip those marked for 3 and 4 players).
Shuffle the 5 Neutral Apprentices Placement Tiles on their 2-player side, draw one and put the Neutral Apprentices in the Houses of Life as it shows. Then return all five tiles to the box.
Two players (and solo): cover the hammer icons under spaces 3 and 8 of the Great Pyramid Track with the 2 Hammer Tiles.

Solo: Imhotep

Give Imhotep a Personal Board and a full set of pieces like a second player, except the Fish and the Ankh: he never gains or spends Food or Heka. He also starts on 10 PP.
Shuffle Imhotep’s 9 Action Tiles into a face-down pile next to his board and keep the die beside it.

Each player

Take a Personal Board at random (they differ only in the order of their hieroglyphs) and choose a colour.
Put an Apprentice on each of the 3 Apprentice spaces of your board.
Put your 4 Sphinxes in the Sphinx Reserve.
Put your 4 Mummies/Sarcophagi, Mummy side up, in the Mummy Reserve.
Put your 3 Permissions of Khufu in the Permissions Reserve.
Put a Basket on each of the 9 spaces of your Pyramidal Area.
Put your Hieroglyph Counter on the starting space of the Hieroglyph Track.
Put your Ankh on space 2 of the Heka Track.
Put your Heart on its starting space at the left end of the Duat Meter.
Put your Feather on its starting space at the right end of the Duat Meter.
Put a Scarab on the starting space of each of the 5 Specialisation Tracks.
Put your Orb on the starting space at the foot of the Obelisk.
Put your 4 Priestesses in front of the Temple entrance.
Put your 4 Boats on the starting section of the Nile, the port of Men-nefer.
Put one Limestone Block by the starting space of the Great Pyramid Track.
Put your other Limestone Block by the starting space of the Queens’ Pyramids Track.
Put your Seal on space 10 of the Prestige Points Track.
Imhotep is the starting player: his Water Lily goes on space 1 of the Turn Order Track and yours on space 2.
You are second in turn order, so put your Fish on space 4 of the Food Track. Imhotep has no Fish.

Action Tablets

Sort the 20 Action Tablets into piles by the number on their back (1–4) and shuffle each pile face down. Deal each player one type-1, one type-2 and one type-3 Tablet, face up on the Tablet spaces of their board.
Shuffle the leftover type 1–3 Tablets with all the type-4 Tablets and put this pile face up on the Draw Pile space of the Main Board.
Fill the 5 Tablet spaces below the Draw Pile with its top 5 Tablets.

Main Board and shared pieces

Put the Main Board on the table with the 2–4 player side up (the side with two, three and four dots).
Put the Quarry by the bottom-left corner of the Main Board. Sort the Great Pyramid pieces into Level I, II and III piles, shuffle each, and stack them face up on their Great Pyramid spaces in the Quarry, with the Pyramidion on space IIII.
With 3 players or fewer, put the top Level I piece on the marked Great Pyramid space of the Main Board.
Sort the Queens’ Pyramids pieces into Level I, II and III piles and put them on their Queens’ spaces in the Quarry, with the 3 Pyramidions on space IIII.
Put a Level I and then a Level II piece on each of the 3 Queens’ Pyramids.
Shuffle the Queens’ Pyramids Tiles and put one face up on each of the 3 tile spaces next to the Queens’ Pyramids. Return the rest to the box.
[Promo] Before shuffling, add the Queens’ Pyramids promo tile to the Queens’ Pyramids Tiles and the Horus and Ra tiles to the Deities (steps 3 and 6).
Put the Narrator Token on space I of the Era Track.
Shuffle the 7 Mastaba Tiles and put one face up on each of the 5 Mastaba spaces around the Necropolis. Return the other 2 to the box.
Shuffle the Deities and put one face up on the Temple Altar. Return the others to the box.
Mix the Crafts in their bag and draw 4 into the Craft Market, filling it from left to right.
Mix the Papyri in their bag and draw 4 into the Papyrus Market, filling it from left to right.
Shuffle the 6 City Benefit Tokens and put one face up on the marked space of each City along the Nile.
Sort the Trade Contracts by the value on their back (1, 2, 3) into three face-down piles. Along both banks, fill the first two Cities with value-1 Contracts, the next two with value 2 and the last two with value 3 — face up, in only the unmarked Contract spaces (skip those marked for 3 and 4 players).
Shuffle the 5 Neutral Apprentices Placement Tiles on their 2-player side, draw one and put the Neutral Apprentices in the Houses of Life as it shows. Then return all five tiles to the box.
Two players (and solo): cover the hammer icons under spaces 3 and 8 of the Great Pyramid Track with the 2 Hammer Tiles.

Each player

Take a Personal Board at random (they differ only in the order of their hieroglyphs) and choose a colour.
Put an Apprentice on each of the 3 Apprentice spaces of your board.
Put your 4 Sphinxes in the Sphinx Reserve.
Put your 4 Mummies/Sarcophagi, Mummy side up, in the Mummy Reserve.
Put your 3 Permissions of Khufu in the Permissions Reserve.
Put a Basket on each of the 9 spaces of your Pyramidal Area.
Put your Hieroglyph Counter on the starting space of the Hieroglyph Track.
Put your Ankh on space 2 of the Heka Track.
Put your Heart on its starting space at the left end of the Duat Meter.
Put your Feather on its starting space at the right end of the Duat Meter.
Put a Scarab on the starting space of each of the 5 Specialisation Tracks.
Put your Orb on the starting space at the foot of the Obelisk.
Put your 4 Priestesses in front of the Temple entrance.
Put your 4 Boats on the starting section of the Nile, the port of Men-nefer.
Put one Limestone Block by the starting space of the Great Pyramid Track.
Put your other Limestone Block by the starting space of the Queens’ Pyramids Track.
Put your Seal on space 10 of the Prestige Points Track.
Pick the starting player at random. They put their Water Lily on space 1 of the Turn Order Track; the others follow clockwise on 2, 3 and 4.
Put your Fish on the Food Track by your turn order: 1st player on 3, 2nd on 4, 3rd and 4th on 5.

Action Tablets

Sort the 20 Action Tablets into piles by the number on their back (1–4) and shuffle each pile face down. Deal each player one type-1, one type-2 and one type-3 Tablet, face up on the Tablet spaces of their board.
Shuffle the leftover type 1–3 Tablets with all the type-4 Tablets and put this pile face up on the Draw Pile space of the Main Board.
Fill the 5 Tablet spaces below the Draw Pile with its top 5 Tablets.

Main Board and shared pieces

Put the Main Board on the table with the 2–4 player side up (the side with two, three and four dots).
Put the Quarry by the bottom-left corner of the Main Board. Sort the Great Pyramid pieces into Level I, II and III piles, shuffle each, and stack them face up on their Great Pyramid spaces in the Quarry, with the Pyramidion on space IIII.
With 3 players or fewer, put the top Level I piece on the marked Great Pyramid space of the Main Board.
Sort the Queens’ Pyramids pieces into Level I, II and III piles and put them on their Queens’ spaces in the Quarry, with the 3 Pyramidions on space IIII.
Put a Level I and then a Level II piece on each of the 3 Queens’ Pyramids.
Shuffle the Queens’ Pyramids Tiles and put one face up on each of the 3 tile spaces next to the Queens’ Pyramids. Return the rest to the box.
[Promo] Before shuffling, add the Queens’ Pyramids promo tile to the Queens’ Pyramids Tiles and the Horus and Ra tiles to the Deities (steps 3 and 6).
Put the Narrator Token on space I of the Era Track.
Shuffle the 7 Mastaba Tiles and put one face up on each of the 5 Mastaba spaces around the Necropolis. Return the other 2 to the box.
Shuffle the Deities and put one face up on the Temple Altar. Return the others to the box.
Mix the Crafts in their bag and draw 4 into the Craft Market, filling it from left to right.
Mix the Papyri in their bag and draw 4 into the Papyrus Market, filling it from left to right.
Shuffle the 6 City Benefit Tokens and put one face up on the marked space of each City along the Nile.
Sort the Trade Contracts by the value on their back (1, 2, 3) into three face-down piles. Along both banks, fill the first two Cities with value-1 Contracts, the next two with value 2 and the last two with value 3 — face up, in only the unmarked Contract spaces (skip those marked for 3 and 4 players).
Shuffle the 5 Neutral Apprentices Placement Tiles on their 2-player side, draw one and put the Neutral Apprentices in the Houses of Life as it shows. Then return all five tiles to the box.
Two players (and solo): cover the hammer icons under spaces 3 and 8 of the Great Pyramid Track with the 2 Hammer Tiles.

Each player

Take a Personal Board at random (they differ only in the order of their hieroglyphs) and choose a colour.
Put an Apprentice on each of the 3 Apprentice spaces of your board.
Put your 4 Sphinxes in the Sphinx Reserve.
Put your 4 Mummies/Sarcophagi, Mummy side up, in the Mummy Reserve.
Put your 3 Permissions of Khufu in the Permissions Reserve.
Put a Basket on each of the 9 spaces of your Pyramidal Area.
Put your Hieroglyph Counter on the starting space of the Hieroglyph Track.
Put your Ankh on space 2 of the Heka Track.
Put your Heart on its starting space at the left end of the Duat Meter.
Put your Feather on its starting space at the right end of the Duat Meter.
Put a Scarab on the starting space of each of the 5 Specialisation Tracks.
Put your Orb on the starting space at the foot of the Obelisk.
Put your 4 Priestesses in front of the Temple entrance.
Put your 4 Boats on the starting section of the Nile, the port of Men-nefer.
Put one Limestone Block by the starting space of the Great Pyramid Track.
Put your other Limestone Block by the starting space of the Queens’ Pyramids Track.
Put your Seal on space 10 of the Prestige Points Track.
Pick the starting player at random. They put their Water Lily on space 1 of the Turn Order Track; the others follow clockwise on 2, 3 and 4.
Put your Fish on the Food Track by your turn order: 1st player on 3, 2nd on 4, 3rd and 4th on 5.

Action Tablets

Sort the 20 Action Tablets into piles by the number on their back (1–4) and shuffle each pile face down. Deal each player one type-1, one type-2 and one type-3 Tablet, face up on the Tablet spaces of their board.
Shuffle the leftover type 1–3 Tablets with all the type-4 Tablets and put this pile face up on the Draw Pile space of the Main Board.
Fill the 5 Tablet spaces below the Draw Pile with its top 5 Tablets.

Main Board and shared pieces

Put the Main Board on the table with the 2–4 player side up (the side with two, three and four dots).
Put the Quarry by the bottom-left corner of the Main Board. Sort the Great Pyramid pieces into Level I, II and III piles, shuffle each, and stack them face up on their Great Pyramid spaces in the Quarry, with the Pyramidion on space IIII.
With 3 players or fewer, put the top Level I piece on the marked Great Pyramid space of the Main Board.
Sort the Queens’ Pyramids pieces into Level I, II and III piles and put them on their Queens’ spaces in the Quarry, with the 3 Pyramidions on space IIII.
Three players: put a Level I piece on each of the 3 Queens’ Pyramids.
Shuffle the Queens’ Pyramids Tiles and put one face up on each of the 3 tile spaces next to the Queens’ Pyramids. Return the rest to the box.
[Promo] Before shuffling, add the Queens’ Pyramids promo tile to the Queens’ Pyramids Tiles and the Horus and Ra tiles to the Deities (steps 3 and 6).
Put the Narrator Token on space I of the Era Track.
Shuffle the 7 Mastaba Tiles and put one face up on each of the 5 Mastaba spaces around the Necropolis. Return the other 2 to the box.
Shuffle the Deities and put one face up on the Temple Altar. Return the others to the box.
Mix the Crafts in their bag and draw 4 into the Craft Market, filling it from left to right.
Mix the Papyri in their bag and draw 4 into the Papyrus Market, filling it from left to right.
Shuffle the 6 City Benefit Tokens and put one face up on the marked space of each City along the Nile.
Sort the Trade Contracts by the value on their back (1, 2, 3) into three face-down piles. Along both banks, fill the first two Cities with value-1 Contracts, the next two with value 2 and the last two with value 3 — face up, in every Contract space except those marked for 4 players.
Shuffle the 5 Neutral Apprentices Placement Tiles on their 3-player side, draw one and put the Neutral Apprentices in the Houses of Life as it shows. Then return all five tiles to the box.

Each player

Take a Personal Board at random (they differ only in the order of their hieroglyphs) and choose a colour.
Put an Apprentice on each of the 3 Apprentice spaces of your board.
Put your 4 Sphinxes in the Sphinx Reserve.
Put your 4 Mummies/Sarcophagi, Mummy side up, in the Mummy Reserve.
Put your 3 Permissions of Khufu in the Permissions Reserve.
Put a Basket on each of the 9 spaces of your Pyramidal Area.
Put your Hieroglyph Counter on the starting space of the Hieroglyph Track.
Put your Ankh on space 2 of the Heka Track.
Put your Heart on its starting space at the left end of the Duat Meter.
Put your Feather on its starting space at the right end of the Duat Meter.
Put a Scarab on the starting space of each of the 5 Specialisation Tracks.
Put your Orb on the starting space at the foot of the Obelisk.
Put your 4 Priestesses in front of the Temple entrance.
Put your 4 Boats on the starting section of the Nile, the port of Men-nefer.
Put one Limestone Block by the starting space of the Great Pyramid Track.
Put your other Limestone Block by the starting space of the Queens’ Pyramids Track.
Put your Seal on space 10 of the Prestige Points Track.
Pick the starting player at random. They put their Water Lily on space 1 of the Turn Order Track; the others follow clockwise on 2, 3 and 4.
Put your Fish on the Food Track by your turn order: 1st player on 3, 2nd on 4, 3rd and 4th on 5.

Action Tablets

Sort the 20 Action Tablets into piles by the number on their back (1–4) and shuffle each pile face down. Deal each player one type-1, one type-2 and one type-3 Tablet, face up on the Tablet spaces of their board.
Shuffle the leftover type 1–3 Tablets with all the type-4 Tablets and put this pile face up on the Draw Pile space of the Main Board.
Fill the 5 Tablet spaces below the Draw Pile with its top 5 Tablets.

Main Board and shared pieces

Put the Main Board on the table with the 2–4 player side up (the side with two, three and four dots).
Put the Quarry by the bottom-left corner of the Main Board. Sort the Great Pyramid pieces into Level I, II and III piles, shuffle each, and stack them face up on their Great Pyramid spaces in the Quarry, with the Pyramidion on space IIII.
With 3 players or fewer, put the top Level I piece on the marked Great Pyramid space of the Main Board.
Sort the Queens’ Pyramids pieces into Level I, II and III piles and put them on their Queens’ spaces in the Quarry, with the 3 Pyramidions on space IIII.
Three players: put a Level I piece on each of the 3 Queens’ Pyramids.
Shuffle the Queens’ Pyramids Tiles and put one face up on each of the 3 tile spaces next to the Queens’ Pyramids. Return the rest to the box.
[Promo] Before shuffling, add the Queens’ Pyramids promo tile to the Queens’ Pyramids Tiles and the Horus and Ra tiles to the Deities (steps 3 and 6).
Put the Narrator Token on space I of the Era Track.
Shuffle the 7 Mastaba Tiles and put one face up on each of the 5 Mastaba spaces around the Necropolis. Return the other 2 to the box.
Shuffle the Deities and put one face up on the Temple Altar. Return the others to the box.
Mix the Crafts in their bag and draw 4 into the Craft Market, filling it from left to right.
Mix the Papyri in their bag and draw 4 into the Papyrus Market, filling it from left to right.
Shuffle the 6 City Benefit Tokens and put one face up on the marked space of each City along the Nile.
Sort the Trade Contracts by the value on their back (1, 2, 3) into three face-down piles. Along both banks, fill the first two Cities with value-1 Contracts, the next two with value 2 and the last two with value 3 — face up, in every Contract space except those marked for 4 players.
Shuffle the 5 Neutral Apprentices Placement Tiles on their 3-player side, draw one and put the Neutral Apprentices in the Houses of Life as it shows. Then return all five tiles to the box.

Each player

Take a Personal Board at random (they differ only in the order of their hieroglyphs) and choose a colour.
Put an Apprentice on each of the 3 Apprentice spaces of your board.
Put your 4 Sphinxes in the Sphinx Reserve.
Put your 4 Mummies/Sarcophagi, Mummy side up, in the Mummy Reserve.
Put your 3 Permissions of Khufu in the Permissions Reserve.
Put a Basket on each of the 9 spaces of your Pyramidal Area.
Put your Hieroglyph Counter on the starting space of the Hieroglyph Track.
Put your Ankh on space 2 of the Heka Track.
Put your Heart on its starting space at the left end of the Duat Meter.
Put your Feather on its starting space at the right end of the Duat Meter.
Put a Scarab on the starting space of each of the 5 Specialisation Tracks.
Put your Orb on the starting space at the foot of the Obelisk.
Put your 4 Priestesses in front of the Temple entrance.
Put your 4 Boats on the starting section of the Nile, the port of Men-nefer.
Put one Limestone Block by the starting space of the Great Pyramid Track.
Put your other Limestone Block by the starting space of the Queens’ Pyramids Track.
Put your Seal on space 10 of the Prestige Points Track.
Pick the starting player at random. They put their Water Lily on space 1 of the Turn Order Track; the others follow clockwise on 2, 3 and 4.
Put your Fish on the Food Track by your turn order: 1st player on 3, 2nd on 4, 3rd and 4th on 5.

Action Tablets

Sort the 20 Action Tablets into piles by the number on their back (1–4) and shuffle each pile face down. Deal each player one type-1, one type-2 and one type-3 Tablet, face up on the Tablet spaces of their board.
Shuffle the leftover type 1–3 Tablets with all the type-4 Tablets and put this pile face up on the Draw Pile space of the Main Board.
Fill the 5 Tablet spaces below the Draw Pile with its top 5 Tablets.

Main Board and shared pieces

Put the Main Board on the table with the 2–4 player side up (the side with two, three and four dots).
Put the Quarry by the bottom-left corner of the Main Board. Sort the Great Pyramid pieces into Level I, II and III piles, shuffle each, and stack them face up on their Great Pyramid spaces in the Quarry, with the Pyramidion on space IIII.
Sort the Queens’ Pyramids pieces into Level I, II and III piles and put them on their Queens’ spaces in the Quarry, with the 3 Pyramidions on space IIII.
Shuffle the Queens’ Pyramids Tiles and put one face up on each of the 3 tile spaces next to the Queens’ Pyramids. Return the rest to the box.
[Promo] Before shuffling, add the Queens’ Pyramids promo tile to the Queens’ Pyramids Tiles and the Horus and Ra tiles to the Deities (steps 3 and 6).
Put the Narrator Token on space I of the Era Track.
Shuffle the 7 Mastaba Tiles and put one face up on each of the 5 Mastaba spaces around the Necropolis. Return the other 2 to the box.
Shuffle the Deities and put one face up on the Temple Altar. Return the others to the box.
Mix the Crafts in their bag and draw 4 into the Craft Market, filling it from left to right.
Mix the Papyri in their bag and draw 4 into the Papyrus Market, filling it from left to right.
Shuffle the 6 City Benefit Tokens and put one face up on the marked space of each City along the Nile.
Sort the Trade Contracts by the value on their back (1, 2, 3) into three face-down piles. Along both banks, fill the first two Cities with value-1 Contracts, the next two with value 2 and the last two with value 3 — face up, in every Contract space.

Each player

Take a Personal Board at random (they differ only in the order of their hieroglyphs) and choose a colour.
Put an Apprentice on each of the 3 Apprentice spaces of your board.
Put your 4 Sphinxes in the Sphinx Reserve.
Put your 4 Mummies/Sarcophagi, Mummy side up, in the Mummy Reserve.
Put your 3 Permissions of Khufu in the Permissions Reserve.
Put a Basket on each of the 9 spaces of your Pyramidal Area.
Put your Hieroglyph Counter on the starting space of the Hieroglyph Track.
Put your Ankh on space 2 of the Heka Track.
Put your Heart on its starting space at the left end of the Duat Meter.
Put your Feather on its starting space at the right end of the Duat Meter.
Put a Scarab on the starting space of each of the 5 Specialisation Tracks.
Put your Orb on the starting space at the foot of the Obelisk.
Put your 4 Priestesses in front of the Temple entrance.
Put your 4 Boats on the starting section of the Nile, the port of Men-nefer.
Put one Limestone Block by the starting space of the Great Pyramid Track.
Put your other Limestone Block by the starting space of the Queens’ Pyramids Track.
Put your Seal on space 10 of the Prestige Points Track.
Pick the starting player at random. They put their Water Lily on space 1 of the Turn Order Track; the others follow clockwise on 2, 3 and 4.
Put your Fish on the Food Track by your turn order: 1st player on 3, 2nd on 4, 3rd and 4th on 5.

Action Tablets

Sort the 20 Action Tablets into piles by the number on their back (1–4) and shuffle each pile face down. Deal each player one type-1, one type-2 and one type-3 Tablet, face up on the Tablet spaces of their board.
Shuffle the leftover type 1–3 Tablets with all the type-4 Tablets and put this pile face up on the Draw Pile space of the Main Board.
Fill the 5 Tablet spaces below the Draw Pile with its top 5 Tablets.

Main Board and shared pieces

Put the Main Board on the table with the 2–4 player side up (the side with two, three and four dots).
Put the Quarry by the bottom-left corner of the Main Board. Sort the Great Pyramid pieces into Level I, II and III piles, shuffle each, and stack them face up on their Great Pyramid spaces in the Quarry, with the Pyramidion on space IIII.
Sort the Queens’ Pyramids pieces into Level I, II and III piles and put them on their Queens’ spaces in the Quarry, with the 3 Pyramidions on space IIII.
Shuffle the Queens’ Pyramids Tiles and put one face up on each of the 3 tile spaces next to the Queens’ Pyramids. Return the rest to the box.
[Promo] Before shuffling, add the Queens’ Pyramids promo tile to the Queens’ Pyramids Tiles and the Horus and Ra tiles to the Deities (steps 3 and 6).
Put the Narrator Token on space I of the Era Track.
Shuffle the 7 Mastaba Tiles and put one face up on each of the 5 Mastaba spaces around the Necropolis. Return the other 2 to the box.
Shuffle the Deities and put one face up on the Temple Altar. Return the others to the box.
Mix the Crafts in their bag and draw 4 into the Craft Market, filling it from left to right.
Mix the Papyri in their bag and draw 4 into the Papyrus Market, filling it from left to right.
Shuffle the 6 City Benefit Tokens and put one face up on the marked space of each City along the Nile.
Sort the Trade Contracts by the value on their back (1, 2, 3) into three face-down piles. Along both banks, fill the first two Cities with value-1 Contracts, the next two with value 2 and the last two with value 3 — face up, in every Contract space.

Each player

Take a Personal Board at random (they differ only in the order of their hieroglyphs) and choose a colour.
Put an Apprentice on each of the 3 Apprentice spaces of your board.
Put your 4 Sphinxes in the Sphinx Reserve.
Put your 4 Mummies/Sarcophagi, Mummy side up, in the Mummy Reserve.
Put your 3 Permissions of Khufu in the Permissions Reserve.
Put a Basket on each of the 9 spaces of your Pyramidal Area.
Put your Hieroglyph Counter on the starting space of the Hieroglyph Track.
Put your Ankh on space 2 of the Heka Track.
Put your Heart on its starting space at the left end of the Duat Meter.
Put your Feather on its starting space at the right end of the Duat Meter.
Put a Scarab on the starting space of each of the 5 Specialisation Tracks.
Put your Orb on the starting space at the foot of the Obelisk.
Put your 4 Priestesses in front of the Temple entrance.
Put your 4 Boats on the starting section of the Nile, the port of Men-nefer.
Put one Limestone Block by the starting space of the Great Pyramid Track.
Put your other Limestone Block by the starting space of the Queens’ Pyramids Track.
Put your Seal on space 10 of the Prestige Points Track.
Pick the starting player at random. They put their Water Lily on space 1 of the Turn Order Track; the others follow clockwise on 2, 3 and 4.
Put your Fish on the Food Track by your turn order: 1st player on 3, 2nd on 4, 3rd and 4th on 5.

Action Tablets

Sort the 20 Action Tablets into piles by the number on their back (1–4) and shuffle each pile face down. Deal each player one type-1, one type-2 and one type-3 Tablet, face up on the Tablet spaces of their board.
Shuffle the leftover type 1–3 Tablets with all the type-4 Tablets and put this pile face up on the Draw Pile space of the Main Board.
Fill the 5 Tablet spaces below the Draw Pile with its top 5 Tablets.