I have a weakness for Ben Madison solo designs. Probably, I love the system author is using 🙂 State of siege is series of games in which the player is the commander of a desperate situation. Surrounded by enemies in every direction (paths!), your decisions regarding your scarce military, political and economic resources decide the game.

So when the new title appeared, I knew I need to get it! Gift of the Nile is – of course – a solitaire game where you play the Pharaohs of Ancient Egypt’s many successive ruling dynasties beginning in 2686 BC. As I am not too familiar with that part of history, my curiosity about that design immediately grew!

Ok, so the goal of the game is to build a prosperous, victorious Egyptian Empire – seems straightforward. How to do it? On a map of Northeast Africa, you will annex the various “Sepats” (chiefdoms) that you encounter. As you build enduring monuments like the Pyramids and the Valley of the Kings, hostile foreign powers like Kush, Persia, and the Hittites will aim to push you back to your Nile Valley heartland and threaten your vast capital city at Memphis. At the same time, you must civilize the country by building temples to the Gods of Egypt like Isis, Osiris, and Amun-Ra – or suffer their wrath!

Wow! That really looks like a fantastic, deep dive into the Egyptian history! Could not pass on it. Today I am showing the components, game content and also explain some game mechanics. More content to come!