Ra: The Dice Game

Roll five colored dice, claim Egyptian monuments and civilizations, and watch Ra's clock run down.

Designer: Reiner Knizia
Published by: Rio Grande Games
Editions by: DiceTree Games, ABACUSSPIELE, 25th Century Games

Ra: The Dice Game, from 2009, boils the Ra theme into a dice game. Pharaohs, the Nile, civilizations, monuments and the odd catastrophe are all there, but instead of the auction you roll five dice and may reroll any of them twice. The dice differ only in color, and the color matters when you claim spaces: a green die cannot claim a purple civilization square. One face is a joker, as long as another die shows the face it pretends to be. Based on your roll you claim squares on the shared board or move the Ra figure, which counts down the epoch. You decide how to spend each roll for personal gain, so the question is what to keep and what to risk.

Five colored dice, two rerollsColor restricts which squares you can claimRa figure runs down the epoch

Who it's for

You liked the theme and scoring of Ra but want it as a quick dice game for up to four.

Not for you if…

You want the bidding drama of the original Ra. There is no auction here, only dice.

Vibe's take

Fast and tactile with that familiar roll-and-lock tension. You weigh each reroll against the risk of ending up with nothing useful, while Ra creeps closer.