Teach the Game

A script to teach Men-Nefer at the table: how you win, the boards, an era, the end, every way to score and what each resource is for.

How you win

“We are citizens of Men-nefer — Memphis — the capital of ancient Egypt. Over three Eras, one to two hours, we build the pyramids of Khufu, bury nobles in the Necropolis, make offerings in the Temple of Ptah, trade along the Nile and raise sphinxes. Whoever has the most Prestige Points after the third Harvest wins.”

What you need, and how you get it:

• Points at the end of each Era — almost all of them come from the Harvest: your Heart and Feather, Trade Contracts, Sarcophagi in the Necropolis, your Orb on the Obelisk, your Limestone on the Great Pyramid Track and your Permissions on the Queens’ Pyramids. Each Era scores them again, so what you build early pays three times.
• Stronger actions — every time you specialise in a House of Life your Scarab climbs that House’s track, and the higher it is, the better the actions you can pick there.

The loop: send an Apprentice to a House and use its Action Tablet → specialise it to climb the House’s track → take a new Action Tablet, three times each per Era — 27 turns in the whole game.

The boards

1. Duat Meter — your Heart walks right, your Feather walks left; they should cross.
2. Papyrus Market — 4 Papyri for your Book of the Dead.
3. Craft Market — 4 Crafts to offer in the Temple.
4. Prestige Points Track — runs around the board edge; everyone starts on 10.
5. Necropolis — Sarcophagi go in its spaces; the 5 Mastaba Tiles around it score them.
6. Action Tablet market — Draw Pile, 5 Tablets and the action beside each.
7. Era Track and Turn Order — the Narrator Token and the Water Lilies.
8. Temple of Ptah — 4 Rooms where your Priestesses make Offerings.
9. Obelisk — your Orb climbs it for Heka, the Deity and points.
10. Great Pyramid Track — your Limestone Block builds the Great Pyramid.
11. Houses of Life — 5 Houses, each with Sun and Moon spaces and a Scarab track.
12. Great Pyramid — each piece placed gives two Favours of Khufu.
13. Queens’ Pyramids Track — building here needs a Permission of Khufu.
14. Sphinx Pedestals — scattered around the City, levels I–III.
15. The Nile and its Cities — Boats fish on the river and trade in the Cities.
16. Quarry — the pyramid pieces still to build.
17. Queens’ Pyramids and their tiles — each tile says what your Permissions there score.

1. Sphinxes — Reserve on the left, carved Sphinxes to its right.
2. Mummies and Sarcophagi — Reserve, then embalmed Sarcophagi ready to bury.
3. Permissions of Khufu — Reserve, then available Permissions.
4. Food Track — Fish counter, 0–10.
5. Heka Track — Ankh counter, 0–10.
6. Hieroglyph Track — matching hieroglyphs give 1 PP or a Scarab step.
7. Pyramidal Area — 9 Craft spaces in three levels, each with a Basket.
8. Tablet and Apprentice spaces — each Apprentice uses the Tablet above it.
9. Contract spaces — the Trade Contracts you collect.
10. Book of the Dead — Papyri, left to right; extra spaces cost Heka.

A round

The game has 3 Eras. Each Era has three Seasons (full rules):

1. Flood (skipped in Era I) — advance the Narrator; take Food for Boats past the Fishing Boats and Heka from the Obelisk; take your Apprentices home; Neutral Apprentices move down one House; refill empty Contract spaces; the lowest score goes first.

2. Sowing — take turns. On each turn do one of:

   • Visit a House of Life — put an Apprentice on a House’s Sun space and do the actions of the Tablet above it; then discard that Tablet.
   • Specialise — slide one of your Apprentices from Sun to Moon, move your Scarab up that House’s track and do the actions of its space (or of any space below it).
   • Obtain an Action Tablet — take one of the 5 Tablets into an empty slot of your board, pay or gain the Food beside it, and do the board action next to it or any action below it.

   You do each option exactly 3 times: 9 turns per Era. A crowded House costs Food: 1, 3 or 5 for 1, 2 or 3+ Apprentices already there.

3. Harvest — everyone scores (Harvest).

How the game ends

After the Harvest of Era III. Most PP wins. Tie: add the values of the spaces under your Heart and your Feather on the Duat Meter — the higher sum, the “purer heart”, wins. Still tied: shared victory.

Ways to score

Source	How	When
Duat	1 PP per marked space between Heart and Feather: lost if they haven’t crossed, gained once they have	Each Harvest
Trade Contracts	Flip every Contract you fulfil; score the back value of all flipped Contracts	Each Harvest
Necropolis	Each Sarcophagus: the PP of the 2 Mastaba Tiles in line with it	Each Harvest
Obelisk	The last scoring space your Orb has reached	Each Harvest
Great Pyramid Track	The last scoring space your Limestone Block has reached	Each Harvest
Queens’ Pyramids	Per pyramid: your Permissions there × the element on its tile	Each Harvest
Immediate points	Hieroglyph matches, Craft spaces with 1–2 PP, carving with an empty Sphinx Reserve, board and tile icons	During your turn
Lost points	Only the Duat. You never drop below 0	Harvest

[Promo] The Promo Tiles add a Queens’ Pyramids tile that scores your furthest Scarab.

What each resource is for

Picture	Resource use
Food	Why: Crowded Houses, Crafts and some Tablets cost Food; Get: Flood income from Boats, river sections, Favours, Tablets; 3 Food when you can’t pay a House; Use: Pay 1/3/5 for crowded Houses, the Craft price, Tablet costs. Max 10
Heka	Why: Papyri cost Heka twice: the market price and the board space; Get: Flood income from the Obelisk, Favours, Tablets, Crafts; Use: Buy and place Papyri. Max 10
Apprentices (3)	Why: Your workers; Get: Back home every Flood; Use: Visit, then Specialise
Scarabs (5)	Why: Better actions; Get: Specialising; steps; Use: Pick the actions of the reached space or any lower one
Crafts	Why: Fuel for Offerings; Contracts and a Queens’ tile count them; Get: Obtain a Craft; Use: Offered from their Basket: level I, I+II or I+II+III actions
Priestesses (4)	Why: Make Offerings; Get: Start at the Temple door; Use: Move up the Rooms; lie down after an Offering
Papyri	Why: Move your Feather; Get: Obtain a Papyrus; Use: Rolled up at Harvest: 1 Feather step each, +1 per completed Drawing
Mummies (4)	Why: Necropolis points and Mastaba actions; Get: Embalm; Use: Funerary Rite
Sphinxes (4)	Why: One-off strong bonuses; Get: Carve a Sphinx; Use: Erect on a Pedestal
Limestone Blocks (2)	Why: Pyramid points and Favours; Get: Transport Limestone; Use: Build the Great and Queens’ Pyramids
Permissions of Khufu (3)	Why: Queens’ Pyramid points; Get: Obtain the Permission of Khufu; Use: Placed when you build a Queens’ Pyramid
Boats (4)	Why: Food and Contracts; Get: Advance Boats; Use: Activate: Food on the river, Benefit + Contract in a City
Action Tablets	Why: Your Visit actions; Get: Obtain an Action Tablet; Use: Used up when an Apprentice visits

Teaching tips

• Teach the three turn options first and say “three of each, every Era” — the first turn of each Era is always a Visit, because nothing else is possible yet.

• Show one Specialisation Track: “you may always take a lower space”, and the actions get stronger as your Scarab rises.

• Explain the Duat early: everyone starts with a big negative gap, and Papyri, Offerings and Necropolis spaces close it.

• Finish with the Harvest list in order — it is the same six steps every Era.

• Show a Visit to a Sun space with two Apprentices: pay 3 Food, or keep your Food and gain 3 while skipping the Tablet actions. Practice example.