Pyramid Review
Amyitis
Published by Rio Grande Games
Designed by Cyril Demaegd
Full-color boxed set with one Babylon board and one Mesopotamia board, 20 Garden tiles, 135 cubes in five colors (blue, red, black, white, & gray/neutral), four score markers in four colors (blue, red, black, & white), 35 resource tokens in five types (Barley, Dates, Salt, Palm, & Wine), 14 camel tokens, 30 silver coins (Talents), 56 cards (18 Craft cards, four Plant cards, 31 Court cards, two Amyitis cards, one First-player card), eight-page rule book, Double-sided full color quick reference sheet; $44.95
Amyitis is a game set in ancient Babylon, where the players take the roles of nobles with trade empires. They gather resources to buy plants and seed the great Hanging Gardens, one of the ancient wonders of the world. While doing this, the players also take other steps to gain the favor of the eponymous queen Amyitis, doing tasks such as building her palaces. The goal of the game is to be the player with the most favor when the Hanging Gardens are filled.
The pieces are of good quality cardstock, and the resources can easily be distinguished from each other. The boards are of solid stock, and most of the elements are clean and obvious in use. The larger, more colorful Babylon map will likely attract the eye first. Here is found the Hanging Gardens, the temple and harvest tracks, and the VP track around the outside. It is deceptive to the eye, but the softer, smaller, Mesopotamia map is the real game board . . .
This article originally appeared in the second volume of Pyramid. See the current Pyramid website for more information.
Article publication date: July 11, 2008
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