The Curse of the Mummy

By Guest, in News

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Legend has it that terrible events will plague anyone foolish enough to disturb a pharaoh’s tomb. When the promised treasures inside are not guaranteed, who would dare risk unleashing the wrath of the mummy? Especially when that mummy isn’t resting in peace...

Welcome back to the dangerous world of the upcoming The Adventurers: The Pyramid of Horus ! Last time we encountered swimming threats in the Crocodile Pond. Today, we will sneak into the last corridor that awaits the Adventurers: The Mummies’ Corridor, and examine the game’s Stone Block mechanic.

The Adventurers: The Pyramid of Horus is a standalone board game in which 2-6 Adventurers encounter mortal dangers in their quest to escape the pyramid with the richest booty. Whichever Adventurer leaves alive with the most valuable archaeological relics is the winner.

Beyond the sand

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Found in the furthest reaches of the pyramid lies a myriad of riches from sarcophagi buried in the walls to alcoves holding precious idols. It is these treasures more than any others in the pyramid that call to the Adventurers, and it these treasures that are surrounded by the most peril.

While it may never been known what awoke them from their slumber and why they roam tirelessly back and forth, up and down the worn stone hallway, three Mummies guard these treasures well. Pharaoh Initkaes, his bride Sanakht, and his architect Imhotep have for thousands of years wandered, searching...and punishing trespassers.

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The movement of the Mummy figures is based on a die roll from the current Dice Keeper. Bound together for centuries, each Mummy moves the same number of spaces, and it is possible depending on the roll, that they can either stay still or rush across the expanse. You would do well to tread carefully and avoid encountering them as nothing counteracts the supernatural touch of a Mummy’s bandaged hand.

The jackal-headed god Anubis, along with his brother deities, ibis headed Thoth and falcon-headed Horus, mark the sarcophagi that decorate the corridor’s walls. These tombs have cracked since their placement, exposing the resting dead within to the harsh elements of sand and wind. Luckily for the Adventurers, amongst their brittle bones and remains are resilient, priceless masks, statues, and parchment pieces for the taking. However, these treasures are not so easy to access, requiring two actions from any Adventurer, first to open a sarcophagus, and then to pull out the relic.

Of course, the more effort exerted, the higher value a treasure has, such as the Idols that sit in the corner alcoves. Players must pick the locks that impede them from holding a fortune in their hands through rolling a correct combination of dice. Which idol will you attempt to seize? thoth.png

Curses

Misery loves company, and if your Adventurer is unlucky enough to possess 12 wounds when he crosses paths with a Mummy, he is transformed...into one of them! No longer can he participate in treasure-hunting, for his life has been snatched away, and his body will lumber to the same movement as the other Mummies for the rest of the game.

While the five possible Idols that Adventurers can grab are immeasurably valuable, each carries a specific curse. These curses, while from different gods, all encumber the cursed Adventurer in the same manner. When the dice are rolled at the beginning of a round, that Adventurer cannot count the colored die that corresponds to the god that cursed him.

Should an Adventurer wish to, an Idol card can be discarded to get rid the terrible curse it carries, but is it worth also sacrificing the wealth?

Trapped inside

In this pyramid no one god ultimately reigns, and while the pantheon of sanguine gods are accepting of this arrangement, there is one who is bitter and vain. Seth, the dark god of chaos, is the sworn enemy of Horus, and unfriendly to all. Although the Adventurers need not worry about carrying any of Seth’s Idols as none were dedicated to him, the pyramid’s ceiling was consecrated in his name and Seth is bringing it down. STONE-OK.png

The unique game mechanic of falling Stone Blocks guarantees a level of unpredictability for every game played. When will escaping the pyramid prove impossible? Will your path be blocked next turn? Not even a player who possess an Udjat can know for sure.

Stone Blocks randomly fall every turn from the moment the game begins. Each Block is marked with a number that corresponds to a space on the board. If an Adventurer occupies the space when that Block falls, he is wounded. If an Adventurer occupies a space surrounded by other Stone Blocks and the falling Block is placed on the only space he can move to, then that Adventurer is permanently trapped inside the pyramid.

His fate may be shared by his fellow treasure-seekers as it is possible for the Stone Blocks to obstruct the only way out before any explorer escapes. If this is the case, then the Mummies win the game!

Get ready for when The Adventurers: The Pyramid of Horus is released in the third quarter of 2011!