The Adventurers Pyramid of Horus board game review

Way back in 2013 my wife discovered something at GameALot, a game called The Adventurers: Pyramid of Horus. This game brings up all the old feelings of Indiana Jones, The Mummy, or mummy serials from way back in the day.

I love the style of the box art

The theme of the game is that a group of adventurers are exploring a tomb and collecting treasures. Your goal: collect as much treasure as possible and escape before the ceiling collapses and you are sealed in with the mummies.

Each player selects a character with a special ability, for example: David Gore –the trigger happy Canadian or Rasputin –the psychic Russian. There are 8 in all. Each character has a special ability which can be used once per game. Deciding when and where to apply the ability can be tricky, you really don’t want to waste it… or pass up using it when it would have helped you most.

A very successful Canadian Adventurer

I love the game because while it does rely on luck, all of that luck is heavily influenced by your decisions in the game. To begin with: for players like me, you seem to have a mummy’s curse placed on your dice rolls, you aren’t that bad off. Each turn a single player is made the Dice Keeper. That player rolls the five dice and all of their players determine their movement from that dice roll. This is great when the niece, who the gods favour, rolls but players groan in agony when it is my turn to toss. This balances the luck by no single player being left behind due to bad dice rolls.

Now how these dice rolls are affected by player choices in the game is when players determine their Wound Load Level (WLL for short.) As you play the game you gain cards, wounds and treasure cards. Every wound you take and every piece of treasure you pick up effect this WLL level. A player without wounds or treasures can count dice with 2 or higher showing, while a player with a WLL of 10-12 can only count dice with 5 or higher showing. Your decisions in the game, such as where you search for treasure, how often you search and even which direction you move in can affect the WLL.

Another thing to affect dice rolls is deciding to pick up idols. These valuable treasures enhance your end score nicely but each idol is cursed. Carrying an idol makes you unable to count its corresponding coloured die. So do you pry open the Horus tomb for that precious idol? Or do you think you will need to count that extra die for your escape from the temple?

Enter the temple

Of course what is a temple raiding game without danger? At the end of each turn the Dice Keeper selects a random stone block from the box and causes the block to land on its number. If a player is on that space they take a wound and move to an adjacent space. If the player cannot move they are crushed and lose the game. If the blocks land in such a way that there is no path to the exit all players behind that line are sealed into the tomb and lose the game.

Well, this is your home now.

There are other dangers and each is in its corresponding area of the tomb. At the entryway is the cobra nest- a pit of deadly snakes where low value treasure can be found as well as helpful treasure hunting items. The next area is the scorpion pit where precious jewels can be found among the poisonous arachnids. The center of the tomb is the crocodile pit, where adventurers can find golden treasures below the murky green waters. Finally there are three mummy corridors filled with ancient sarcophagi each laden with treasure. Within these corridors are alcoves holding precious idols with powerful curses. Beware each hall is guarded by a restless mummy whose mere touch will harm you.

The mummy will win

While I personally enjoy the game it does come off as a little less mature then it could be. It just feels a little kid geared even though I feel it can still be fun for adults. Strategy elements are in the game but they are also a little overshadowed by the luck of dice rolls and card draws. The theme doesn’t fit with true archaeology so it is not educational. It seems to fit more with very old school bad archaeology concepts of grave robbing and temple desecration. So players who are looking for an educational game or a more strategy driven game probably won’t enjoy it as much. I’m pretty much a big kid who idolizes Indiana Jones so I love this game.

So sum up The Adventurers: Pyramid of Horus is works for balancing luck with player decisions in order to bring a rounded game experience. This game is geared more towards families and easy fun game nights but still can be a blast for Mummy and Indiana Jones movie fans. The game is really about players deciding which gambles to take and when to cut and run for the exit to score points. I would recommend this for family board game nights and for groups who just want some old school collapsing temple raiding fun.