Imhotep

About this board game

Imhotep is a board game for 2–4 players, played over approximately 40 minutes, in which builders in Egypt strive to emulate the renowned architect Imhotep.

Across six rounds, players move wooden stones by boat to create five seminal monuments. Each turn offers a choice of four actions, but the other builders are always carrying out plans of their own and can thwart carefully prepared construction efforts.

• Procure new stones.
• Load stones onto a boat.
• Bring a boat to a monument.
• Play an action card.

The central challenge is deciding when to gather materials, when to load a boat, and when to send it toward a monument. A move that supports your own building plans may also affect the timing of everyone else’s plans, making each action an important choice.

Success depends on having the stones needed to support your ambitions and choosing the right moment to act. Players who manage their resources and timing most effectively can prove themselves Egypt’s best builder.

With its focus on boat movement, monument construction, and changing plans among the builders, Imhotep presents a compact contest of timing over six rounds. Released in 2016, it challenges 2–4 players to turn wooden stones into the foundations of five important monuments.