GIFT OF THE NILE is a solitaire game where you play the Pharaohs of Ancient Egypt’s many successive ruling dynasties beginning in 2686 BC.
The goal of the game is to build a prosperous, victorious Egyptian Empire. 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 Men-Nefer (better known as Memphis).
All the while, you must civilize the country by building temples to the Gods of Egypt like Isis, Osiris, and Amun-Ra – or suffer their wrath!
In the end, incest and debauchery threaten the Ptolemaic Greek dynasty that produced Cleopatra and you must defeat the brutal and efficient Romans.
Your place in history will depend on your empire-building skills, as well as on a little bit of luck!
Parts Inventory
One 11x17" Game Map
One 24-page Rule Book
One Counter Sheet (88)
One 8½x11" Counter I.D. Card
One 8½x11" Book of the Dead Sheet
One 8½x11" Counter Tray Card
One 8½x11" Chronicles of Manetho Card
Dice and Cups
You will need three normal six-sided dice. The game doesn’t come with dice. You also need three Dunnigan Ceramaceous Randomizers (coffee mugs, preferably dry). One is the “Sepat Cup”, one the “Dynasty Cup”, and one the “God Cup.”
Game Map
The map depicts the lower Nile Valley of
northeast Africa (“Egypt”). Men-Nefer is its hub, your
“capital city”. Five “Paths” emanate from it like spokes, each named for a region whose people threatened Egypt (Tjehenu, Retjenu, Libu, Ta Seti, and Ta Netjer). The letters “tj” and “dj” are pronounced “ch” and “j”.