Saturday, March 19, 2022

#53: Ra (Mark's Top 100 2022)

Ra
BoardGameGeek
  • rank: 192
  • rating: 7.5
  • published: 1999
Print Status
  • currently out of print - but it looks like it's coming back this year
Why It's On The List
  • I'm not sure why Ra jumps on & off my top games list... it's a splendid auction game that scales well from 3-5 players and is filled with tension and constant reevaluation of values.
Tips & Tricks:
  • Timing is everything. Seriously.
  • My first play of Ra was 90 minutes - which was miserable and turned me off the game for a good year or so. When I finally got to play it at normal speed (30-45 minutes), it jumped considerably in my estimation.
  • There are times (particularly in the final epoch) where winning an auction simply to trade up for a better sun is a good idea. These do not happen as often as I see people making these kinds of trades.
  • There are two spin-off games from the Ra family:
    • Ra: The Dice Game (which I enjoy and wish I owned a copy of...)
    • Priests of Ra (which I do not - it just uses the same base engine & monkeys with the scoring)
Extras
  • Here's what I wrote about Ra for The One Hundred.
  • This is the sixth of seven (7!) Reiner Knizia designs on the list.

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