You might be intrigued because of the experiences you’ve had with regular Imhotep and, again, I cannot tell you how it compares to that (yet). I thought it was a deceptively simple, but quintessential Eurogame that had lots of paths to win that balances short term AND long term planning in a very easy-to-grasp, visual way. Watching the pyramid and obelisk emerge from game boards is eye-catching, and the overall presentation of Imhotep is high. If your opponent chooses, they may not be as kind to you (unless you’re not giving them other options, which is also fun).

When there is only one boat remaining (and five boats have been removed from play), the game immediately ends. I wasn’t sold, when reading the instructions, about the 3×3 grid for worker placement and everything but it all turns out to be a fine-tuned system with far more player interaction opportunities than I would have believed. The great thing is, you’re actually building these structures using the chunky wooden blocks that come with the game, so by the time you’ve finished the playing area will be full of slightly unwieldy monuments. The real star of the show comes from the multiple tile types and how they are all used in different ways along your “player board” area. I get why the pieces are black and white, but I’m surprised they’re not, say, grey or brown or something more thematic.

You may move any ship to any open board, provided that it has the minimum required number of stones (pictured on the front of the ship). In short, I see why Imhotep is on the Spiel des Jahres jury’s radar, and I could see it winning the award, even if it wouldn’t have been one of my picks.

Score the most points by moving your blocks from your quarry to your sled, to a boat, and finally to a location board. This usually means that if you’re unloading the last boat, choosing one that sticks your opponent with a bunch of blue tokens that they can’t use is often a fantastic strategy. The aim of the game is simple; collect the most points before all the boats bar one have left the harbour. Taking stones could mean giving your opponents the opportunity to move the boats to a building site that greatly benefits them while not benefiting you very much. The Burial Chamber – much like the Pyramid, stones are added to the Burial Chamber in columns from the top down.The game is easy enough to learn, with most of the actions and ways to score points being intuitive, but experience and tactical play matters. You might have heard the name from the 1999 film The Mummy, but in this game, Imhotep isn’t the Bad Guy! Face the evil minions of Sauron on the field of battle in a desperate attempt to delay their onslaught, while you lead the Fellowship of the Ring in the Quest for Mount Doom.

Like the ‘A’ side any additional stones that are delivered are worth one point and all the pyramid stones are scored as soon as the stones are placed. Since those workers will come off the board and need to be replaced, any time you force them into the unload they don’t want to take, you are slowing them down. The War Of The Ring is a grand strategy board game that allows its players to immerse themselves in the world of J. As the Free Peoples player you command the proud hosts of the most important kingdoms of the Third Age.Mine your quarry, load up your boats, and set sail as you compete to build the great Egyptian monuments.