Ra Gameplay Overview

Actions

1. Draw a Tile

Draw one tile from the bag and place it on the next empty space of the auction track.

1. Draw one tile blindly from the bag.
2. If it is a normal tile, place it on the next empty auction track space.
3. If it is a Ra tile, place it on the Ra track instead, then an auction is immediately triggered (involuntary auction).
4. If the auction track is completely full (8 tiles), an auction is triggered automatically before placing the tile.

• You may not draw a tile if the auction track is full. You must invoke Ra or use a God tile instead.

2. Invoke Ra (Voluntary Auction)

Call 'Ra!' to start a voluntary auction for the tiles currently on the auction track.

1. Announce 'Ra!' to begin an auction.
2. Bidding begins with the player to your left and proceeds clockwise.
3. Each player may bid one of their face-up sun tokens or pass.
4. You (the invoker) bid last.
5. The highest sun token wins all tiles on the auction track.
6. The winner takes the center sun (face-down) and places their winning sun in the center (face-up).
7. If nobody bids (including you), nothing happens. Tiles remain on the auction track.

• You can invoke Ra even if the auction track is empty (to waste other players' suns), but this is rarely useful.

3. Use a God Tile

Spend one of your God tiles to take any single tile from the auction track.

1. Discard one God tile from your collection.
2. Take any one tile of your choice from the auction track and add it to your collection.
3. Resolve disaster tiles immediately if taken.

• You cannot use a God tile if the auction track is empty.
• This does not trigger an auction.

Involuntary Auction (Ra Tile Drawn)

When a Ra tile is drawn, an auction is triggered. It works the same as a voluntary auction with one key difference.

1. Place the Ra tile on the Ra track.
2. Run the auction exactly as a voluntary Ra: bid clockwise from the drawer's left, the drawer bids last, and the highest sun wins the lot.
3. The key difference: if nobody bids, all tiles on the auction track are DISCARDED from the game (in a voluntary auction they would stay).

• If this Ra tile fills the Ra track, the epoch ends after this auction resolves.

Epoch End & Scoring

An epoch ends when the Ra track is full OR all players have used all their suns.

1. Discard any tiles remaining on the auction track.
2. Score Pharaohs (compare tile counts):
3. Score Gold: +3 VP per Gold tile, then discard all Gold tiles.
4. Score Nile -- only if you have at least 1 Flood tile:
5. Score Civilizations by number of distinct types, then discard all Civilization tiles:
6. Keep: Pharaoh tiles, Nile tiles, Monument tiles, God tiles.
7. Flip all face-down suns face-up. These are your suns for the next epoch.
8. Clear the Ra track. Begin the next epoch.

• After the third epoch, also perform final scoring (see End Game).

Key Concepts

• Sun Token Economy: When you win an auction, your bidding sun goes to the center face-up, and you take the old center sun face-down. Face-down suns can't be used until next epoch. High suns win auctions but become available to opponents. Managing sun values across epochs is a key strategy.
• Disaster Tiles: When you win disaster tiles in an auction, resolve them immediately: Funeral = discard 2 Pharaoh tiles. Drought = discard 2 Nile or Flood tiles. Unrest = discard 1 Civilization tile. Earthquake = discard 1 Monument tile. If you don't have enough tiles, discard what you have. Disasters are then removed from the game.
• Tile Retention Between Epochs: KEPT: Pharaohs, Nile tiles, Monuments, God tiles. DISCARDED: Gold, Flood tiles, Civilizations. This makes monuments a long-term investment and civilizations a per-epoch challenge.