Ra (Gamefound – Standard Edition)

Board Game Geek Reviews

1. 8 out of 10

   aaj94

   Played June 26 Plays before challenge: 15 Rating before challenge: [BGCOLOR=#33CC99] [b]9.0[/b] [/BGCOLOR] Ra was the first Knizia auction game I played, and somehow it might be my least favorite. That doesn't mean it's at all a bad game, in fact, it's still one of my very favorites. It's also one of my most-played of the set (the others being [thing=118][/thing], [thing=220][/thing], and [thing=46][/thing]). On your turn, you draw tiles from the bag one by one, gradually adding to the lot of tiles that are available for auction. Each turn, the active player will decide if they want to draw another tile, or bid on the lot and claim it for their tableau. The catch? Each player has only three tokens to bid with -- and they may not be the value he'd like to spend on the lot. As such, Ra is a game of evaluating the bids everyone else has remaining, deciding when to pick up a lot with a bid, and making sure to avoid the end of the era. Ra tiles make the game even harder, forcing an auction on that turn -- when the board fills up with Ra tiles, the first age is over. After two more ages, the game ends. There are many ways to score points: from civilizations, to monuments, to Nile-side farms, to powerful God tiles. Some you must collect every round, others score only at the end of the game. All in all, the meat of this game comes down to evaluating the current lot, deciding when to bid, and deciding when to push your luck. This is a brilliant game. I still think [thing=220][/thing] is my top game of the set, but Ra is close behind. Modern Art and Medici are both excellent, but I haven't played them nearly as much. It's still a [BGCOLOR=#33CC99] [b]9.0[/b] [/BGCOLOR] in my book.

2. 7.5 out of 10

   Abdul

   Great auction game, puts the Ra in Random. Not my favourite of Knizia auction games though, as it is more focused on pushing-your-luck and set collection. I like the sun token bidding, as it both limits the number of auctions you can win in a round, and sets up your bidding potential for the next round.

3. 8.1104 out of 10

   Aelf

   Ra, Ra, Rasputin, Lover of the Egyptian Theme. The single most important reason for enjoying Ra is for the improbable comedy headwear the ancient Egyptian Gods were so fond of wearing. It's a lot like an ancient animal-based leather fetishist fashion show. Ra's "Spaceball Bingo Hat" just edging out the God King-Croco-Snap's precariously balanced stack of waffles.