Ankh: Gods of Egypt First Impressions

Today, we are giving you our first impressions of the new Eric Lang game, Ankh: Gods of Egypt.

The first two games in the trilogy, Blood Rage and Rising Sun, are games we do not agree on, but maybe we will on this?

Watch to find out what we think after playing with 2 and 3 players!

We hope you'll enjoy!

Timestamps:

Intro: 00:00Rules overview: 00:20
First impressions: 02:25
The 2 player experience: 07:57
The Merge mechanism: 09:07
Final first impressions: 12:16

[coreywastaken]

Thanks for the great review! I have loved my plays of Ankh. Played it twice at 5 and once at 4. Every play was supper close and came down to the wire.
We all really liked the merge mechanism and one of the games the merged team won.

[stevenfoster]

Thank you for the review! I think I will stick with Blood Rage.
Is it strange that I know exactly what Johannes means when he says "I had fun, but not all the fun." What a great phrase!
Definitely going to steal that and use it for many things in the future. Thanks again!

[Johannes_W]

I like the term "Final first impressions" 😃

As long as I don't find the time and muse to paint minis again, I just skip all the games containing any. Still a reasonable first thorough sneak peak analysis.

[AJ-ncvr]

I really like Ankh, and I think it might challenge Blood Rage as one of my favourite games.... But I totally understand what you're saying.

It's the definition of an "acquired taste" game. A key thing for me is that it's a 2 player game first and foremost. Each time I've played with the merge mechanic, it's been a pretty crappy experience, where the person playing the lower god yields their remaining turns to the higher god, who basically just rolls with both god powers.

It's worth mentioning that If you picked up the Pharoah expansion, it absolutely shines at 2p, and negates some of the guardian rush issues it has. But for me - it gets super messy at higher player counts.

Overall, I love Ankh, and despite its flaws - I think it's on the cusp of something really great.... For some people.

[allenlin]

Appreciate your first impressions of Ankh. This is a game I own and haven't had the chance to play much due to the lockdowns. I do understand what you mean about the game, my first impression is that it's incredibly streamlined, and I can see it has depth, which needs more plays to appreciate. Ankh has this "chess" feeling, if you get what I mean. 😃

I watched a Eric Lang video interview via BBG where he talked about the merge mechanism and how it may drive player interactions (e.g. making sure that the last placed God is not extremely far behind). During the development phase, work was also put in to ensure that God powers are complimentary, while at the same time, not over-powering when merged.

[maxkosek]

I’m not much in to a direct conflict in games but mechanisms you mentioned sounds really interesting. I did not like previous games from the series tho, so i think it’s not for me. But hey, thanks for your impressions. Good to hear your opinions!

[michaeladams]

Nice review. I appreciate that you can see and point out the good things even while not wanting to play it again. I think the game looks great and I'm hoping I enjoy it. I just picked up my pledge from my FLGS last night. I'll try it out and see. I can always sell it if I end up not loving it.

[johnpanagos]

We played each one of the merged players, played 1 of the 2 actions. So there wasnt a lot of delay.

[bratsche]

You should totally stick with party popper or fun cannon rating system!

[mikezent]

I've played it once at 4 players. It's ok. I don't care for the merge. I like blood rage the best.

[matthelion]

Ankh was one of the worst experiences I’ve ever had playing a game.