Ra
About the Game
Ra is an auction and set-collection game with an Ancient Egyptian theme. Each turn players are able to purchase lots of tiles with their bidding tiles (suns). Once a player has used up his or her suns, the other players continue until they do likewise, which may set up a situation with a single uncontested player bidding on tiles before the end of the round occurs. Tension builds because the round may end before all players have had a chance to win their three lots for the epoch. The various
Reviews
Ra
I have a soft spot for classic auction games, and **Ra** might be my favorite of them all. It still feels fresh each time I play. The gameplay is brilliantly simple yet packed with tension – on your turn you either draw a tile or start an auction, and that choice is always tense. I love the press-your-luck element: do I draw one more tile to sweeten the lot, or will I pull the dreaded Ra tile and end the round? Every auction is a dramatic showdown, with players eyeing each other’s sun disks and timing bids carefully. And while the auctions are the star, the set-collection scoring adds extra strategy – it’s so satisfying to collect a perfect set for big points. Best of all, Ra plays quickly and keeps everyone involved; even my non-gamer friends have a blast with it. Ra isn’t without quirks. There’s definitely luck: sometimes the tiles don’t go your way, or an opponent lucks into great draws. And with five players it can get chaotic, since the lot may change drastically before your turn comes around. But those are minor issues to me – Ra remains a gem of an auction game that stands the test of time.
✓ Pros
- • Simple rules yet incredibly tense decisions
- • Brilliant auctions with push-your-luck
- • Plays fast and fun for almost any group
✗ Cons
- • Luck of tile draws can swing outcomes
- • Chaotic at the full five players
- • Some editions’ artwork not loved by all
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