Ra (board game)

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Ra was also the title of a 1981 board game by Marco Donadoni
Ra

The Rio Grande Games edition Ra Cover
Designer Reiner Knizia
Publisher Alea
Rio Grande Games
Überplay
Players 3 to 5
Age range 12 and up
Setup time 5 minutes
Playing time 45 - 60 minutes
Random chance Medium
Skills required Auction

Ra is a board game for three to five players designed by Reiner Knizia and based on ancient Egyptian culture. Originally published in Germany, it was republished in an English language translation by Rio Grande Games. Ra won the 2000 International Gamers Award, placed 2nd in the 1999 Deutscher Spiele Preis, and is one of the top 20 user-rated games at BoardGameGeek

Ra is an auction game, where the players are all competing for the same resources. The game is played in three rounds, called Epochs. Players use their sun tokens to bid against each other on auctions for tiles. At the end of an epoch, points will be scored for the number and types of tiles a player managed to win. The price of the tiles is determined by the players bidding for them, and values can shift rapidly. Players are faced with a constant balance between "what should be done eventually" and "what can actually be done now", which is a hallmark of many Knizia games, and of German-style board games in general.

Contents

[edit] History

Ra was published in 1999 by Alea in Germany. In an interview with FunAgain Games[1], Knizia explains how he created the game : "Ra actually has a good story behind it; it was the first game I did after my retirement. Two or three weeks after my retirement I said, 'Okay, now let's get started.' That's the time, when I do a big game, that the world around me stops. I concentrate on this game and nothing else. And since I had more time, this concentration became even more extreme. For four to six weeks I did nothing but work on this game. "

Almost immediately the game was picked up for distribution and English translation by Rio Grande Games. Rio Grande owner Jay Tummelson explains how he chose Ra for distribution so early in its life[1]: "Games I like are likely to be liked by others. With Ra, I saw it at Essen last year and decided I would like to do it in English. I approached Alea and offered to do it. We negotiated and I did it. I try to get involved earlier in the process…. I am working with some companies on games they are considering for next year, but have not decided on final theme or look."

999 Games published a Dutch edition of Ra in the Netherlands in 2000. Besides these three officially published language translations, fans of the game have translated the rules into Hungarian, Italian, Spanish, and French. All of these translations, along with reviews, photos, and discussions about the game can be found on BoardGameGeek.com, a board game database and fan community.

Ra quickly sold out, and was out of print for several years. In October 2005 Überplay reprinted the English version. The Überplay edition has minor differences from earlier editions: slightly larger tiles, a slightly larger board, a cloth sack to pull the tiles from, a smaller box (thanks to the board being quad-fold), a scoring summary printed on the board, and marks on tiles to indicate which are kept at the end of a round. In 2005 Knizia, working with Michael Menzel, also designed a new game called Razzia, which is the basic game of Ra with a mafia theme.

[edit] Components

  • A game board
  • 180 cardboard tiles:
    • 30 Ra tiles
    • 8 God tiles
    • 25 Pharaoh tiles
    • 25 Nile tiles
    • 12 Flooded Nile tiles
    • 25 Civilization tiles
      • (5 each of five types of Civilization)
    • 40 Monument tiles
      • (5 each of eight types of Monument)
    • 5 Gold tiles
    • 10 disaster tiles
      • (2 funerals, 2 droughts, 2 earthquakes, and 4 unrests)
  • 48 Tablets (for scorekeeping):
    • 10 1-point tablets
    • 8 2-point tablets
    • 20 5-point tablets
    • 10 10-point tablets
  • 16 Suns (numbered 1 – 16)
  • 1 Ra figure
  • A black drawstring bag (to draw tiles from)
  • Full-color eight-page rulebook

[edit] Rules

[2]

[edit] Setup

  • Each player takes two 5-point score tablets.
  • Place all tiles in a draw bag or face down in the box or on the table.
  • Place the sun numbered 1 in the sun space on the board.
  • Separate the suns into groups as shown on the table below:
  3 players 4 players 5 players
Group 1 13 – 8 – 5 – 2 13 – 6 – 2 16 – 7 – 2
Group 2 12 – 9 – 6 – 3 12 – 7 – 3 15 – 8 – 3
Group 3 11 – 10 – 7 – 4 11 – 8 – 4 14 – 9 – 4
Group 4 10 – 9 – 5 13 – 10 – 5
Group 5 12 – 11 - 6
  • The groups are distributed randomly, one to each player and placed face up.
  • The player with the highest numbered sun starts the game.

[edit] Turn overview

The player with the highest numbered sun starts each round. On your turn:

  • As long as you still have at least one sun face-up in front of you, choose one of the following 3 actions:

1. Draw a tile from the bag 2. Exchange a God tile from your hand with any tile on the board 3. Invoke Ra.

  • 1 – Draw one tile. If the auction track is full, a player may not choose this action.
    • Is it a Ra tile?
NO: Place it on the first empty space on the auction track of the game board. Your turn is over.
YES: Place it on the Ra track.
    • Is the Ra track full?
NO: The player who drew the Ra tile takes the Ra figurehead and begins an Auction (see Auction, below).
YES: This epoch ends. It is time for players to determine their scores. Start scoring phase (see Scoring, below).
  • 2 – Exchange God tiles.
Place the God tile face-down out of play and take any tile of your choice from the auction track (except another God). Put the new tile in front of you. More than 1 God tile may be exchanged this way during a turn.
  • 3 – Invoke Ra.
Say "Ra!"
Take the Ra figurehead and begin an Auction (see Auction, below).
When all players' suns are turned face-down, or when the last Ra tile is placed, the epoch ends and the scoring for the epoch occurs (see Scoring, below).

[edit] Auction

  • Starting to the left of the player holding the Ra figure, each player has one chance to either increase the bid or pass. The player that caused the auction (by drawing a Ra tile or by invoking "Ra") will be the last player to bid.
    • Bids are made only with face-up suns.
    • The number printed on the sun is the value of the bid. A player can freely choose which face-up sun to use as a bid, or may pass.
  • If all players pass (no one bids), the lot of tiles remains on the board, except for the following two special cases.
    • If a player voluntarily invoked Ra as their action, and all other players passed, then that player MUST bid.
    • If track was full and all players pass, all action tiles on the board are placed face-down out of the game.

Winner of Auction: take all action tiles from the board and place them face up in front of you. They are yours. Replace the sun on the board with the winning bid and place the sun from the board face-down in play area. You now have one fewer face-up sun.

Disaster Tiles (black border): Each disaster tile taken in an auction requires that 2 of the winner’s related tiles must be removed from the game immediately. Tiles to discard may come from tiles already in the player’s area or from those won in the same auction as the disaster tile.

  • Funeral: Two Pharaohs must be discarded.
  • Drought: Two River tiles must be discarded. Flood tiles must be discarded before any non-flood Nile tiles are discarded.
  • Unrest and Earthquake: it is the player’s choice which two Civilization or Monument tiles to discard.

[edit] Scoring

  • The epoch ends when no player has a face-up sun remaining or the Ra track fills up.
  • At the end of each epoch, points are scored as follows:
God: +2 each
Gold: +3 each
Civilization: -5 for none; +5/10/15 for 3/4/5 different types
River: must have at least 1 Flood, then score +1 each for both Flood and River tiles
Pharaohs: +5 for player(s) with most; -2 for player(s) with least number. No score if all players equal.
Remove from game any God, Gold, Civilization, Flood tiles that were won that Epoch. Other tiles won in auctions remain in each player's area for use in next epoch.
  • ONLY at end of 3rd epoch:
Monuments: score for both number of different types AND number of identical copies.
Different types: +1 for each type up to 6 OR +10 for 7 types, +15 for all 8 types.
Identical: +5/10/15 for each set of 3/4/5 copies.
Suns: +5 for player(s) with highest total; -5 for player(s) with the lowest total.

[edit] Game end

At the end of the third epoch, there is a final scoring round. The winner is the player with the highest total score. The highest numbered sun breaks ties.

[edit] Two player variant

A two player version of Ra can be played with initial sun distribution as follows:

  • 4 Rounds: 9–6–4–2 and 8–7–5–3
  • 5 Rounds: 11–8–6–4–2 and 10–9–7–5–3
  • 6 Rounds: 13–10–8–6–4–2 and 12–11–9–7–5–3
  • 7 Rounds: 15–12–10–8–6–4–2 and 14–13–11–9–7–5–3

Gameplay and scoring proceed as usual.

[edit] Strategy

There are three objectives a player must manage in order to win a game of Ra.

  1. A player should strive to achieve more fame points than all other players in each Epoch.
  2. A player should strive to maximize long term investments while gaining the most appropriate short term investments.
  3. A player should prepare for a large gain of fame points through Monument tiles in the Third Epoch.

At first glance, Ra may seem a simple auction game requiring a fair amount of luck. The true game of Ra is in the economics of the game. It’s all in the timing. This article will provide some of the underlying strategies to be considered when playing Ra. While there is no true strategy that will work in every situation, this may help understand the forces behind Ra. To begin, the basic mechanics and strategy will be detailed.

[edit] Basic Strategy

Ra Tiles
The first element to be discussed is the drawing of a Ra tile. This simulates the passage of time during each epoch. As more Ra tiles are drawn, the epoch gets closer to ending. This is a very important thing to monitor. During the beginning of the epoch, the sense of urgency is low. There is plenty of time to bid on a set of tiles that will gain the greatest advantage. As the epoch nears the end, the sense of urgency will increase, thus requiring players to bid more frequently and more expensively for a lesser set of tiles.
The basic strategy for the drawing of Ra tiles is very simple. During the beginning of the epoch, do not bid often or expensively without reason. There is time to gain a set of tiles that would gain a greater advantage. During the middle of the epoch, bid more often, and do not be afraid of bidding a higher sun. Time is running out, and it is important to get good sets of tiles before the end of the epoch. Near the end of the epoch, bid on anything that gives an advantage to the tiles that are already possessed.
Auctions
The second element to be discussed is the auction and the auction track. An auction can occur in one of two ways: the drawing of a Ra tile or the current player Invoking Ra and taking the Ra token. The player who calls Ra receives a slight advantage in the auction as the player can place the final bid or pass. Calling an auction voluntarily ensures that the current tiles on the auction track will be won by some player. If a player calls an auction through the draw of a Ra tile, they have the last bid and may adjust their bidding strategy based on the timing of the epoch. If a player has the highest numbered sun when an involuntary auction begins for a full auction track, that player has a significant advantage to gain eight tiles. Calling a voluntary auction earlier will prevent this. If a player refuses to call an auction and draws a non-Ra instead, it gives the next player an advantage: that player will have one additional tile drawn to the auction track. The next player may then call an auction to gain the bidding advantage. Understanding when to call a voluntary auction is imperative to winning Ra.
A good summary mentioned by Alan Kwan in the Boardgamegeek discussion referenced below:
A player should call an auction when that player wishes to prevent:
  1. improving a lot for an opponent who will buy it with a sun which is larger than one's own smallest sun;
  2. the loss of all the tiles on the track due to end of epoch when the last Ra tile is drawn;
  3. an opponent from taking a critical tile with a god;
  4. an excellent lot from being ruined by an inopportune disaster tile.
Suns.
The third element of timing is the sun tokens. During each Epoch, the maximum number of auctions a player can win is three; one for each sun. Once a player has used all their suns, that player will not be able to take any other actions until the next Epoch. The typical effect of this will be larger tile sets on the auction track for the remaining players, depending on the sense of urgency created by the number of Ra tiles drawn.
God Tiles.
When a God tile is used, an auction is not called and a tile is not added to the auction track. Although the advantage of voluntarily calling an auction is refused, the overall value of the tile set is decreased for the next player.
Epochs.
The last element of timing is the Epochs themselves. At the end of each Epoch, scoring occurs. Some tiles that a player holds will be discarded; others will be held for the next Epoch. It is vital to have made the proper investments which will allow a player to have the best score for the future as well as minimizing risk of negative profit.
Probability
The probability to draw a specific tile is as follows:
These percentages will change slightly throughout the game based on which tiles have already been drawn. The overall percentages are not that disparate, so it is hard to predict what tiles will be drawn. The key is not only getting the right tiles at the right time, but also leveraging the tiles that are drawn for maximum benefit.

[edit] Intermediate Strategy

Suns - Money Management
Highest Sun:
A player with the highest numbered sun can win any auction because they cannot be outbid. There are a number of different strategies a player can employ when that player has the highest sun.
  • A. This player may not wish to call auctions as frequently in hopes of a large tile set on the auction track. This is generally safer to do at the beginning of an Epoch, but not at the end.
  • B. This player may call auctions for a set of tiles that are very beneficial to the highest sun holder. This may cause other players to bid more aggressively in hopes that the highest sun holder will win the auction with the highest sun. The highest sun holder may refuse the auction to force a player to win an auction that is not beneficial to the bidding player. This will also put a high numbered sun in the center sun space. It may also give the highest sun holder the two highest suns for bidding, allowing that player to win two auctions uncontested.
  • C. This player may call auctions for any set of tiles that the other players value. The idea is to goad the other players to bid more aggressively. Again, it will put a high numbered sun into the sun space, possibility give the player the two highest suns in the Epoch, and have more suns than the other players (see also Cash Rich). Or the player may be able to get a set of tiles with a low numbered sun.
Lowest Sun:
The value of a tile set on the auction track usually increases each time a new tile is added. A player with the lowest numbered sun may call an auction with a low number of tiles on the auction track, for a number of different reasons.
  • A. Should the player win with a low sun, they usually prevent adding value to the tiles set by drawing another tile. They may also trade a low numbered sun for a higher value sun from the center sun space.
  • B. Should another player play a sun higher than the lowest sun, that player may bid too high for the value of the tiles. It limits the number of auctions that the winning player can potentially win. It may also promote another low numbered sun in the hand of the lowest sun holder to a better position to win a future auction, or make a greater trade for the sun in the center sun space.
  • C. When the value of the tiles in the auction set is high to one or more players, there is little risk that the lowest sun holder will win the action. Therefore, it will cause someone else to take a lesser set of tiles, thus limiting their profitability for the Epoch.
The Center Sun Space:
The number of the sun in the center sun space can affect the value of the tiles on the auction track. Winning an auction with a sun less than the value of sun in the center sun space is usually beneficial. If the numbers are very far apart (e.g. you win with a 2 and you gain a 12), it’s very beneficial. If they are not far apart, it’s less beneficial (e.g. you win with a 7 and gain an 8).
Cash Rich:
If at any time a player holds more suns than the other players, that player is Cash Rich (e.g. one player holds three suns while two other players each hold one sun), especially when the player has the highest value sun. The remaining players may only win one more auction, so their priority will be to win an auction with the most significant value. By calling an auction with a lesser number of tiles, the cash poor players may not bid if the auction doesn’t contain significant value. If they do bid and win, then the Cash Rich player may be able to gain larger tile sets or win decent tile sets for a lesser numbered sun.
Third Epoch Sun Scoring:
At the end of the Third Epoch, the player with the highest sun total gains an extra 5 fame points. The player with the smallest sun total loses 5 fame points. When evaluating tile sets during an auction during the Third Epoch, higher numbered suns add more value than lower numbered suns.
Long Term Investments
Tiles that stay from one Epoch to the next, i.e. Niles, Monuments, and Pharaohs. Winning these tiles are generally profitable investments. However, in order to be profitable, certain conditions need to be met.
Niles
In order to gain fame points for the Nile tiles, a player must also have a Flood tile at the end of the Epoch. Floods are discarded at the end of the Epoch, so each Epoch a new Flood tile must be won to gain fame points that Epoch. There are 25 Niles in the game, while there are only 12 Flood tiles. With 180 tiles in the game, the probability of drawing a Flood tile is roughly 7%. If a player is heavily invested in Niles, that player will value Flood tiles greatly. Also, tile sets with a Drought disaster tile will significantly decrease the value for a player who already possesses a flood tile, as the player must discard Floods first.
Pharaohs
The player with the most Pharaohs in an Epoch gains 5 fame points. The player with the least amount of Pharaohs in an Epoch loses 2 fame points. A player with Pharaohs will place more value on a tile set that will give that player a majority. The value of a tile set will increase slightly if a player will no longer have the minority in Pharaohs.
Monuments
Monuments are long term investments as they only score during the Third Epoch. Generally, they have less value to a player until the winning of a tile set will achieve one of the larger scoring conditions for Monuments. Each different monument type scores 1 point. Allowing a player to get the seventh type of monument earns 10 fame points. Allowing a player to get an eighth type of monument earns 15 points. While it may be impossible to prevent a player from scoring these points, it is possible to try and force the player to spend a higher numbered sun for the seventh or eighth type of monument. The other way a player may get points for monuments is to collect a set of the same type of monuments. Three of the same type earns 5 fame points, four earns 10, and five earns 15.
The important fact is that tile sets that contain monuments add value to a player when it is different from the monuments they currently own, or will create a set of three or more. But keep in mind that a player will only get points for monuments once, and that is when the Third Epoch ends.
Short Term Investments
Tiles that do not stay from one Epoch to the next, i.e. Civilization tiles, God tiles, Flood tiles, and Gold, may not be profitable from one Epoch to the next. However, they may be vital in an Epoch to gain or prevent the loss of points within a given Epoch.
Civilization tiles
If a player does not have a Civilization tile at the end of an Epoch, that player loses 5 fame points. If a player has 3, 4, or 5 different Civilization types, the player can earn 5, 10, or 15 fame points respectively. The loss of 5 fame points can hurt significantly. Generally, it is good to get one Civilization tile to prevent the loss of fame points. Getting a set is generally more difficult and has a higher Opportunity Cost than tiles that remain from one Epoch to the next.
God tiles
A God tile, if unused, will be worth 2 fame points when scored. The God tile also has a powerful ability to use on a player’s turn. He may discard the God tile in exchange for any one tile on the Auction track. A player should only do this when the player will gain more through the exchange than the 2 fame points. For example, using the God tile to grab the first and only Civilization to be seen near the end of an Epoch, will prevent the loss of five points. So the player will have lost 2 fame points, but prevented losing 5 fame points. The net income for this transaction is a gain of 3 fame points, which is greater than the gain of 2 fame points for keeping the God tile until the end without gaining a Civilization tile. A God tile can also help a player who has lower numbered suns, allowing that player to exchange for a tile that will substantially benefit that player while lowering the value of the tile set.
Flood tiles
Flood tiles have value when a player owns Niles. In order to score one point for every Nile, that player must obtain a Flood tile. There are not many Flood tiles in the game, and they are extremely vulnerable to Drought tiles. Generally, if a player who does not have a Flood but has Niles, that player will generally bid higher to obtain the fame points.
Gold tiles
Gold is worth 3 fame points at the end of the Epoch. Obtaining a Gold tile help with the net profit of a given Epoch by off-setting any fame point losses due to various sources (i.e. smallest number of Pharaohs, no Civilization tile, and smallest sun total). Generally, Gold adds value to any tile set, but it is important to evaluate the tile set based on other tiles on the auction track.
Disaster tiles
There are four types of Disaster tiles in Ra; Drought, Earthquake, Funeral, and Unrest. If a Disaster tile is won in an action, the winning player must discard two tiles related to the disaster. The tiles to be destroyed may be chosen from the player’s existing tiles or the tiles won in the current auction. If a player does not have any of the corresponding tiles to destroy, then the tile does not affect the value of the set. If a player has the corresponding tiles of a Disaster, then the value of the tile set is effectively lowered. When deciding to bid on a set of tiles that contain a disaster, it is important to evaluate the net gain of the tiles on the auction track. The gain and the loss should be evaluated to determine the net profit.
Evaluating Auctions
When a player is determining the relative value of a tile set on the auction track, a player has to determine how many fame points each player would earn should that player win the auction, modified slightly by the strength of the sun in the center space as well as the number of long term investments versus short term investments. This evaluation should be done when an auction is called.
If the tile set has a greater benefit for other players, then a player may decide to bid a sun in hopes that the opponent will use a higher numbered sun to win. This is done when a player has an opportunity to gain a decent tile set or promote the rank of a sun.
If the tile set has equal benefit with one or more players, then a player has to decide if the overall value of the tiles set, the numbers on the suns of the rival player(s), and bid what they would hope to win or lose.
If there is a small gain to the tile set, then that player should either bid a sun lower then the sun in the center space, or pass the auction completely.

[edit] Advanced strategy

Value
In Thomas T. Nagle’s and Reed K. Holden’s book on pricing, The Strategy and Tactics of Pricing: A Guide to Profitable Decision Making[3], it is shown that setting price has nothing to do with the cost of the goods. Price is set by the relative value of the product. If a product is perceived valuable, consumers would be willing to pay a higher price. The inverse is true. If the product is perceived valueless, consumers will not pay a higher price. In order to set high price points, marketing must create value in a product. This is a core concept of Ra. To get other players to pay a high sun for a set of tiles, the set must be perceived as more valuable. The inverse will also be applied in Ra. To win a set of tiles cheaply, the set must be perceived as less valuable; and the best way of increasing or decreasing value of a tile set in Ra is Word of mouth advertising.
Example of creating value: Make a comment like this: "Oh no, it’s another Sphinx monument! If we let player one win it, then that player will have three Sphinx monuments. We can’t let that happen." The effect is that it increases the value of the tile set for the player with two Sphinx monuments. Add the following comment: "Player two doesn’t have any Sphinx monuments. If player two gets it, that will be his fifth monument of different types." This will create value for player two as well. Now you will have created competition in player one and player two, which means the two players are likely to bid higher suns for the tile set. This will allow a non-involved player to call a voluntary auction with a smaller tile set, with a minimum risk that the auction caller will be forced to win. If the caller is forced to win the auction, the caller can do so cheaply while still preventing gain for the other players.
Example of destroying value: Make a statement like this: "That tile set isn’t really worth very much for player one, as player one already has a civilization tile. A second one isn’t worth anything." This will decrease the value for player one, and may affect their decision to call an auction, play a God tile, or draw a tile.
Defensive Auctions
As tiles on the auction track change, the relative value of the tile set will increase or decrease based on the individual tiles within the set. To determine whether a player should draw a tile, call an auction, or use a God tile, that player should determine the relative value of the set to each of the players. To do so, the player must evaluate how many fame points each player would earn with the current set of tiles, adjusting the value slightly by the number of the sun in the center sun space. If the tile set has significant value (i.e. the tile set is worth 5 or more fame points) to one or more players, it may be beneficial to avoid drawing a tile. Drawing a tile will usually result in that tile set gaining additional value.
A defensive auction may be called in hopes that one or more of the players will bid on the current set of tiles. That will clear the tiles on the auction track, preventing it from gaining additional value through the drawing of tiles. It will also limit the potential profit of a player, because they will have won one auction out of their maximum possible. There is a risk that a voluntarily called auction will result in all players passing. If this is the case, you will have to win the auction. Therefore, it is generally assumed that a player will call a voluntary auction only when there is some benefit to the caller as well. The benefit could be as minor as trading a low sun for a higher sun, or simply to purchase a set of tiles cheaply.
An alternative to the defensive auction is the use a God tile to remove the valuable tile, (providing it also has value for the player using the God tile,) or to reduce the overall value of the tile set by removing one tile.

[edit] Theme

Main article: Ra

Ra is the sun-god of Heliopolis in Egypt. Ra's theme spans three epochs, which reflect the history of ancient Egypt:

Many of the images used in the game rendered by artist Frank Vohwinkel were inspired by famous landmarks from these eras.

Monument Tiles

Great Pyramid

Step Pyramid of Djoser

Khonsu

Abu Simbel

Edfu

Ruins

Sphinx

Temple


[edit] External links

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b Interviews with Reiner Knizia and Jay Tummelson, FunAgain Games, 1999
  2. ^ Rules quick summary PDF by Michael Weston on BoardGameGeek
  3. ^ The Strategy and Tactics of Pricing: A Guide to Profitable Decision Making by Thomas T. Nagle and Reed K. Holden (ISBN 0-13-669376-8)
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