Nile

Nile
Zach Hoekstra
Use your workers to build the great pyramids of Egypt
:Players	Players:	2
:Time	Length:	Long
:Complexity	Complexity:	Medium
Trios per color:		5
Number of colors:		5
Pyramid trios:
Monochr. stashes:		5
Five-color sets:		5
- - - - - - Other equipment - - - - - -
Chessboard, 3 six-sided dice, 5-6 "Favor" tokens
Setup time:		2 minutes
Playing time:		30 min - 1 hour
Strategy depth:		Medium
Random chance:		Little
Game mechanics:
Theme:		Egyptian
BGG Link:		[[1]]
Status: Complete (v1.0), Year released: 2010

In the game of Nile, you and your opponent are rival builders of the great pyramids, using your workers to collect resources and build pyramids.

Setup

Organize the treasure(yellow pyramids) and supplies(green pyramids) into trees and set them each to the side in a line, numbering each tree from one to 5, with an additional empty slot for stacks numbered 6. These are known as the Treasure stash and the supply stash. Each player chooses to be either red or blue, and takes all pyramids of that color into their stash. Each player also takes two small workers (opaque pyramids) and one medium worker. Set the rest of the workers aside into the unclaimed worker pool. Leave a space on the side of the board between both players for the resources pool.

Treasure

The yellow pyramids are the treasure pieces. Treasure is used to construct pyramids, buy workers, and upgrade workers. Several different actions require you to use a certain size of treasure. If you do not have this size, or do not wish to use it, you may instead use a larger size, or use two pyramids of one size smaller. You may only use pyramids of one size smaller. (A large may be replaced by two mediums, but not by four smalls)

Supplies

The green pyramids are supplies. Supplies are used to construct pyramids. Like Treasure, if anything requires that you use a certain size of supplies, you may replace it with a larger size or two of the next smallest size.

Spending Treasure and Supplies

When you use a treasure or supply piece, place it on top of any of the six stacks, so long as it is not larger than the top piece of the stack.

Workers

Workers are the opaque pyramids. Workers are used to collect resources and build pyramids. Standing workers are ready and may be used to compete an action. Workers that are tired are set lying down and may not be used to complete an action.

Pyramids

The red and blue pieces are the players pyramids. They are kept in each players stash until they are brought out into play onto the board. When you place a pyramid on the board, place it in any empty space that is not orthogonally adjacent to any other pyramid under construction or completed. A pyramid is under construction until it has one worker, one treasure, and one supply piece of it's size stacked on top of it. one additional small piece of either type of resource must also be stacked on top for every one of your opponents pyramid that exerts influence on your pyramid(Explained below). When this happens, the pyramid is completed. Take the worker(s) and place them tired back into your supply. Return all treasure and supply pieces to their stashes.

Influence

Completed pyramids also exert influence. Small pyramids exert influence on pyramids up to three spaces away. Medium pyramids exert influence on pyramids two spaces away. Large pyramids exert no influence. As noted above, influence makes your opponents pyramids more expensive to construct.

Small Pyramid

Medium Pyramid

Dice

Standard 6-sided dice are used to randomly determine which resources will be available this turn.

Favor Tokens

Favor tokens are used during the game to track how many times you have passed. You can use pennies, other Icehouse pieces, or even the dice. Any sort of token will do.

Gameplay

Gameplay consists of several round in which players will take turns performing actions. Each round, switch off who gets to perform the first action.

Phase 1. Bring out resources

Take the three dice, and roll them. For each number rolled, take the top piece of the corresponding treasure stack and place it into the resources pool. Take two of the dice, and roll them again. for each number rolled, take the top piece of the corresponding supplies stack and place it into the resources pool. If a stack is empty, no resource is put into the pool.

Phase 2. Perform actions

Starting with the player whose turn it is to go first, each player takes turns performing one of the following actions:

Buy Worker

Use a small treasure to take a small worker from the worker pool and add it tired to your stash. If there no small workers in the pool, you may not take this action.

Train Worker

Use a treasure of one size larger than the worker you are upgrading, put the worker into the pool, and replace it with a worker of one size larger. Place this new worker into your stash tired

Claim Resource

Take a worker from your supply and place him tired next to a free resource in the resource pool. Place the tired worker pointing away from you to indicate that your worker is claiming the resource. If you wish, you may place your worker onto a resource your opponent has claimed, so long as your opponents worker is smaller than yours. You opponent must immediately move his worker to a new free resource, or return his worker to his supply tired.

Create Resource

Tire a worker. Take the top piece from any stack in either resource stash and add it to the resource pool, so long as the new resource is not larger than the worker you tired. You may tire two workers of the same size instead to create a resource of one size larger than the tired workers.

Start Pyramid

Take a free pyramid and a single free worker from your stash, stack the worker on top of the pyramid, and place it in any legal space on the board. The new pyramid is now under construction.

Continue Construction

take a free worker or resource and stack it on top of one of your pyramids still in construction. If this completes it, return all workers to your stash tired and return all resources to their stashes.

Exception: You may not place small workers or resources on large pyramids

Pass

You pass, giving up your action. Take one Favor Token from the token pile. Two consecutive passes ends Phase 2.

Phase 3. Bureaucracy

Collect all claimed resources and workers assigned to them.

Turn all workers to standing up.

If you have more Favor tokens than your opponent, for every favor token you have over your opponent, take one small resource from either the treasure stash or the supply stash. (Ex: If at the end of the round you have 3 favor tokens and your opponent has one, you get [3-1] 2 small resources.) If there are no small resources in either stash, you may take medium resources. If there are no small or medium resources, you may take large resources.

Both players then discard their Favor Tokens.

Phase 4. Check for end of game

If one player has fully constructed at least 7 pyramids of any size, the game is over. If the game is not over, start again at Phase 1.

End of game

Players score the following:

• 1 point for each small pyramid completed
• 3 points for each medium pyramid completed
• 7 points for each large pyramid completed
• -1 point for each uncompleted pyramid

The player with the most points wins and the losing player is thrown to the crocodiles, although this last rule may be ignored outside of Ancient Egypt.

FAQ and Edge Cases

When you say spaces... Count spaces orthogonally, like a rook who can only move one space at a time. This creates a "jagged diamond" area of effect.

Can I assign a small worker to a large pyramid? No. Since a Large pyramid requires either a large worker or two medium workers, a small worker cannot be assigned to construct a large pyramid.

What happens if I assign all workers to in-construction pyramids? Technically possible, but a very stupid move. Passing constantly might give you the resources to complete a pyramid, but you should really be striving to complete a pyramid the turn you start it, since not completing one loses you a worker this turn and the next one

What if I can't return a resource to the supply when I spend it? There is one and only one case when this should apply, and I've never seen it. If for some reason this happens, go ahead and place the resource on the bottom of any of the stacks.

If a pyramid has three pyramids influencing it, I can use a 3-pip pyramid to "pay" for the influence, right? No. It's one additional piece of any size per influencing pyramid.