Four millennia ago on the eastern bank of the Nile river was laid the foundation of the Temple of Amun-Ra. Over the course of two thousand years, the temple complex was gradually expanded and became widely known as “The Most Select of Places” (Ipet-Isut), boasting the largest religious building in the world. Today, the site is known as Karnak, located at Luxor in modern-day Egypt.

Join ancient Pharaohs in creating and growing one of the most impressive sites the world has seen, honoring the Egyptian gods Horus, Ra, Hathor, Bastet, Thoth, and Osiris. You must carefully manage the balance of your actions, preparing for the reckoning by the goddess Maat.

The game board in Tekhenu: Obelisk of the Sun is divided into six sections, each associated with an Egyptian god: Horus, Ra, Hathor, Bastet, Thoth, and Osiris. In the center stands an impressive obelisk (Tekhenu) that casts its shadow onto different parts of the board. As a result, the area around the obelisk is divided into sunny, shaded, and dark sections, depending on how the obelisk casts its shadow at that particular moment. As the game progresses, the sun’s rotation alters which sections are sunny, shaded, or dark.

Each round, you draft dice and perform actions associated with the value of the die and the section from which the die was drafted. At the beginning of the game, each of the six sections contains three dice. However, as dice are drafted and eventually refilled, the different sections will contain a varying number of dice.

Dice come in five colors: white, yellow, black, brown, and gray. Depending on the color of the die and the position of the obelisk’s shadow, each die is considered Pure, Tainted, or Forbidden. While you may never draft Forbidden dice, you are free to draft any other die, whether Pure or Tainted.

When drafting a die, you must consider not only the general availability of dice — if no dice are available in a given section, then you cannot readily perform the action associated with that section — but also which value die to draft and how your chosen die will affect the overall balance when the Maat phase occurs. An imbalance in favor of Purity carries no negative outcome whereas a Tainted imbalance may result in the loss of victory points. A perfect balance between Pure and Tainted dice, however, results in more favorable turn order.

After drafting one die and placing it on your player board (either on the Pure or Tainted side), you perform an action, the effect of which depends on the value of the die you selected.