Review

One of my favorite lines from the movie "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade" is in the middle of a big fight sequence when Sean Connery turns to Harrison Ford and says, "You call this archaeology?" Front Porch Classics' latest release, Valley of the Pharaohs, fits that statement well.

In the same genre as "The Mummy" or "Raiders of the Ark," this game pits players against each other on the sands of Egypt in a race to come up with the resources needed to find a key that allows them to recover an ancient Egyptian artifact hidden somewhere in the Valley of the Pharaohs. In this case, that artifact is the lost Scepter of Amun-Ra.

The game is as much about archaeology and fame and glory as it is about double-crossing your fellow players and keeping one step ahead of the cursed mummy!

In a word, Valley of the Pharaohs is beautiful. It includes high-quality metal, wood, and cloth game pieces, features different levels of play for two to six players, and is packaged in a wood box that looks like a book with a secret compartment.

The main quest of the game is to be the player that acquires the Scepter of Amun-Ra and returns to Alexandria with it.

While that may sound like enough to keep one busy during the game, players also have to visit dig sites to find pieces for the key to the Valley of the Pharaohs; contend with obstacles such as bandits, sandstorms and snakebites; and keep ahead of the restless mummy that wanders the land.

And if that isn't enough, players can raid each other's camps for resources and money or to steal the scepter itself.

The game is played on a cloth board that features a map of Egypt. Players begin the game in Alexandria with an assortment of resource cards, coins and a guide for the artifacts they need to assemble one of the nine keys.
As players move around the board, they may visit a city (to buy resources), an oasis (to sell resources or spin the wheel of fate), or one of nine dig sites in search of artifacts (scarabs). Players may impede the progress of their fellow adventurers by playing obstacle cards on each other, such as sandstorms or cliff faces. What's more, any player that rolls doubles gains control of the mummy and may direct it into the path of the other adventurers.

The game also includes Reversal of Fortune cards, allowing a player to change the outcome of events, evade the mummy or take another turn.

Game play is fast, and fortunes change quickly, so no one has an advantage for long. Depending upon the number of players, a game can last from 20 to 60 minutes.

There are five optional rules listed at the back of the game booklet, and I'd recommend putting them all into use. One of my favorites has each player draw a personality card at random (there are 12 in all), which becomes their adventuring character.

The characters add a lot of flavor to the game, and each character has a special talent that should prove useful to the player, as well as an archenemy to spice up the story.

Valley of the Pharaohs, like many of Front Porch Classics' other games, is a well-crafted, high-quality game. The mechanics are fairly easy to pick up, although, given the number of different elements in play all at once, I'd be more inclined to recommend age 10 (instead of 8) as a starting age.