I have really enjoyed my plays of several solitaire games designed by R. Ben Madison. He has a knack for including elements of the history into the gameplay while placing the events into the framework of his chosen system, which is usually the States of Siege Series…but not necessarily always. His newest offering is called Gift of the Nile: The Rise and Fall of Ancient Egypt from White Dog Games and is a solitaire only game that uses the States of Siege Series System and delves in Ancient Egypt and the rule of the Pharaohs covering over 30 dynasties starting with the Old Kingdom in 2,600 BC to the Late Period starting in 700 BC and ending with the intervention of Rome. This is a long and involved game (ranging from 36 turns to something less based on certain conditions happening or a player loss) that really gives the player a good feel for the might and power of the Egyptians, as well as the various threats and enemies they had to deal with to survive for nearly 3,000 years, and I really want to share my experience with you in this First Impressions type post.

Roots of the Game are from Mound Builders

One of my favorite games designed by Ben Madison is the fantastic and interesting Mound Builders published by Victory Point Games in 2014. Mound Builders tells the history of 2 of the largest pre-Columbian Indian “mound builder” cultures that dominated eastern North America from before the time of Christ until the coming of the European colonists in the 17th century. The player’s empire represents the earlier Hopewell culture and the later Mississippian culture that derived from it. This game focuses on the building up and expansion of these cultures while then having to survive the oncoming Spanish and other cultures trying desperately to keep hold of what their society means and its identity.

That model was used in this game as well and borrows many of the same elements with the most important being the way resources are used to earn Action Points. See as the player expands and builds their kingdom during the Old Kingdom, they conquer or incorporate established Sepats (chiefdoms) into their fledgling empire. As the empire expands, if you happen to have 2 different Sepats with the same Trade Good, you can count that as having that Trade Good to build your economy during the Nile Phase as it will earn an Action Point from the Trade Goods List if the dice say you will. These Sepats each have a different type of Trade Good that they are good at procuring and once that Sepat has become a part of your empire the player can Temple it (spend Action Points to build a temple in the area) and it will be more valuable as it will create a Trade Good on its own without having to rely on having two of that Trade Good to create an Action Point.

The Old Kingdom is about expanding your empire’s reach into the various lands located on the Tracks surrounding Men-Nefer so you can earn more Action Points in order to take more Actions each turn to build your empire including things such as building Monuments, attacking interloping civilizations called Khastis who have wandered into your kingdom, hiring mercenaries and troops to aid you in this fight and improving the education and literacy of your people. Each of these different Actions are each important and the player must make many decisions about how to spend their scarce resources over the course of the game to build and expand.

Historical Minutae

The really great thing about Ben Madison and how he designs these games is that he innovates with each of them to create a different and unique experience that attempts to tell the specific story of the culture he is modeling. While Gift of the Nile uses an established system that was used in Mound Builders, there are lots of changes and inclusions to that system to tailor it to the history. This is one of Ben’s best talents as he can really work hard to incorporate all of the historical minutiae into a large 3-4 hour game to make it feel very different.

Let’s take a look at some of these elements that have made the game not only an interesting simulation of the 3,000+ year history of the Egyptians but also that has taught me some things that I didn’t quite know before hand. One of my favorite elements that he included was the concept of the literacy of the people of Egypt and how this level allows or doesn’t allow further advancements in certain areas of development of the civilization and culture. For example, one of the most important Actions that players can take near the end of the game is Invading a Country. This allows the player to make a roll to defeat the existing Khasti force located in their home country and if they do successfully defeat them to place an Egyptian Rule counter there which means that when that Khasti would activate they would skip that activation that turn and only remove the Egyptian Rule counter from their home country. This represents the Egyptians having successfully invaded deep into their confines and causing them to have to clean up the aftermath of this incursion. But, a player can only use this Action near the end of the game if they have invested in Literacy and they are in either the Demotic or Coptic. I like to think that their investment into language and literacy has allowed the Egyptian ambassadors and spy networks to work behind the scenes in these distant lands to better learn and understand their weaknesses and how to exploit them allowing for this type of conquest. Without the player having invested the costly 5 Action Points to increase their literacy for each of the three steps (Hieratic, Demotic and Coptic), they would be unable to take this important Action. What I found through the game was that I was forced to really think about my overall goal first, before even having to think about the more immediate and pressing matters such as Khasti forces on the doorstep of Men-Nefir or even protecting your cash cow in the gold fields of Nubia. I would find that when I had a lot of Actions in a given turn, either because of a good roll during the Nile Phase or that I picked up some extra Actions because of a better Dynasty chit having been drawn, I would consider investing in the Literacy Track or even in building one of the most expensive Megaprojects. This kind of historical integration of aspects from the time is very well done and really makes the game stand out from the other States of Siege Series games that I have played.

This literacy also allowed me to Build Ma’at Tiles, which represent the religious culture of Egypt in their worship of many gods including Ma’at who was the goddess of truth, balance, harmony and order. These tiles are placed into the House of Life box and can be used to perform a multitude of different Actions such as Templing a Sepat, Attacking a Rival Dynasty or improving morale. These elements of history make the game that much more deep and interesting and I am really appreciate of Ben’s approach with these pieces as he has done this with most of his games.

Megaprojects and Revival Chits

The game is very difficult. There are many elements that are going to destroy you and the Khasti forces will always be knocking on the gates of Memphis. So you have to prepare for the worst. And because of this, the Revival Chits and how they are earned by building Megaprojects is a very important part of the game for players. If they do not plan well, then they will be unable to maximize their benefit and will only be able to acquire a few of these key pieces. When the player pays Action Points to construct a Megaproject, such as the Great Pyramid at Giza, the Temple of Ipet-Isut or the Valley of Kings at Wast, they will have the chance to purchase what are referred to as Revival Chits. You can purchase up to 2 of these Revival Chits for 1 Action Point each upon the successful completion of a Megaproject but only at that time. There are a total of 6 of these Revival Chits and if you wish to do well, or even finish the game, you have to have them as they can also resurrect your culture and civilization after it has been conquered by a Khasti.

So the player needs to keep in mind that they cannot build a Megaproject unless they can afford to spend a few extra Action Points. This sounds like it is not wise counsel but the 5 Survival Points you will gain from one Megaproject will not help you if you cannot finish the game. Also, protecting these valuable life savers is of the utmost importance as well as during the game there will be events that will cause you to lose one of these Revival Chits due to Tomb Robbers unless you have enlisted the assistance of the Medjai Police and purchased this counter to protect the Revival Chits. When the Tomb Robbers event comes up, if you have the Medjai Police in place, you will roll a d6 and will only lose a Revival Chit, as well as the services of the police, if you roll a 1. This can happen but investing in the Revival Chits without also investing in their security is folly!

So what role does a Revival Chit play? Well, if a Khasti force has entered Men-Nefir at anytime during the Khasti Evolution or Activation Phase, the player will have been sacked. You finish out the current round by doing what you would normally do in collecting Action Points, spending them, etc. but you have been conquered. At the end of the round, if you do not have an available Revival Chit, your civilization’s rise is complete and you will lose the game. But if you do have a Revival Chit, you can start again from the smoking embers of your failed civilization. These Revival Chits are in many ways a do over or reset as you will be able to continue the game and continue your effort to build up the greatness of Egypt. Simply discard an available Revival Chit at the end of the round and you will be able to choose the best of the Dynasty Tiles (a) and continue into the next dynasty. You must remember though that this will ultimately effect your score in the long run but doesn’t do much negative to you at this point. But you will have to lose the 7 Survival Points that having a Revival Chit would have given you at the end of the game but at least you are still in the game. I love this design choice by Ben as historically the Egyptians were conquered by the Hyksos, Nubians, Assyrians, Persians and the Greeks but have always seemed to endure and attempted to make a comeback.

Minor Issues

The game is very good but has a few issues that I will highlight here. First off, there are a lot of tiny little rules and exceptions that you have to keep in mind or you will miss them. I have already talked about a few of those, such as the Literacy Track and being able to use certain actions if you have achieved a certain level, but there are some that are really important and for me are just hard to keep track of. An example are all of the little rules and requirements of Actions and what you have to have accomplished to do them. Another is that some of the events from the Chronicles of Manetho are really difficult to remember. Some will give you bonuses but you have to remember them and use them at the right time. Some of the events will cause you to move certain tokens on the board, such as the Libyan Migrants who advance toward Men-Nefer and end up adding their culture to your Dynasty Cup to be drawn out rather than your better Dynasties or the Jewish People who are enslaved, released into the Wilderness, wander the deserts to 40 years, come into Palestine and establish their homeland, etc. There is just a lot to remember and it is very easy to overlook something or even forget it totally. Thankfully there is a really good player aid that can help you with this problem but it will persist with you throughout your first few plays. I found that in around play 3, I could remember all of the little rules and exceptions.

The next problem can be seen as a bit larger. The play time for the game is somewhere between 3-4 hours. The game is long, including 38 turns of Dynasties, and involved and contains so many things that you have to move slowly or you risk overlooking something. That has been my experience at least. And I have found that this has been my experience with several of Ben’s similar designs including Mound Builders, Jeff Davis: The Confederacy at War, Kaiserkrieg!: The Great War 1914-1918, Global War and The Mission: Early Christianity from the Crucifixion to the Crusades. These are all very involved and very lengthy games. And there is nothing wrong with that. You just need to understand that this is not your typical 45 minute play time for a States of Siege Series game. But it is very rewarding and evocative and thinky and the player choices are really tough! I find myself thinking through options every turn and then having to revisit my overall plan at the end of each turn so I can understand what I need to do next turn. That to me is the reward and payoff for the game’s length. The decisions. And you have to make a lot of decisions as your resources are scarce, and get even more scarce as time moves on, and the dangers grow as Kahsti advance and take out your Sepats and leave you broken and bleeding. Your economy struggling now because of those losses. And you have to keep fighting and that is the genius of the game. I really love Gift of the Nile and look forward to playing it more.

Obviously, I just cannot cover each and every aspect of a design this deep. But, I wanted to share my thoughts about the game and how it plays. I love it and have really enjoyed my 4-5 plays at this point. I have done better than I expected as sometimes the dice don’t hate me. But that doesn’t mean that I didn’t have to work for those victories. They were very hard fought and the decision points are really intense as you have to consider what to do each and every turn. This game rewards planning as well as thinking ahead and not just about the problem in your face.

If you are interested, we posted an interview on the blog with the designer Ben Madison and you can read that at the following link: https://theplayersaid.com/2024/03/11/interview-with-r-ben-madison-designer-of-gift-of-the-nile-the-rise-fall-of-ancient-egypt-from-white-dog-games/

I have already shot two separate 1-hour playthroughs of the Old Kingdom (3rd Dynasty through 10th Dynasty) and the Middle Kingdom (11th Dynasty through the 17th Dynasty) and am still working on finishing that series. I also plan to do a full video review but you will have to be patient as we have a backlog of videos and already have content out through May.

If you are interested in Gift of the Nile: The Rise & Fall of Ancient Egypt, you can order a boxed copy for $57.00 (Print and Play copy for $30.00) from the White Dog Games website at the following link: https://www.whitedoggames.com/gift-of-the-nile

-Grant