Saqqara Biantic Card Game Review, Criticism, Test

“Saqqara” by Florin Borluca (Beatnik) takes us to the burial site of the same name on the Egyptian bank of the Nile. It is part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site along with the fields of the Giza Pyramids, and we have now gone there to discover valuable artefacts at the hitherto unknown excavation site.

Since Saqqara is a card game, the excavation sites are simple decks of cards, the number of which varies depending on the number of players. Each packet consists of items ranging in value from zero to nine and each packet is numerically sorted in ascending order. The most worthless find, a few pieces of rock, is always at the top, and the most valuable, a magnificent scarab with a large purple gemstone, is at the bottom.

Rules: This is how the card game Sakkara works

Next, we draw the top zero from any three sets of cards, forming the starting cards of three rows. We then all take turns drawing three more cards from the prospecting piles in our hands and the setup is complete.

When it's my turn, I have two options for action. I either take discoveries from any stack until the maximum number of cards of five cards is reached, or I place exactly two of my discoveries from my hand in the rows. Then certain rules apply. I either put the two cards in the same row, or on two different cards.

Ascending mode!

It is important that the numerically placed cards are always placed in ascending order. If I place equal values ​​on adjacent cards, I immediately get one of the 24 bonus cards. Once I finish my move, I check the total value of the row. If this number is at least 15, I can take all the cards from that row and place them in front of me as a set of dots.

But be careful: cards with the same value can only be counted once! Then I choose a new starting card from the prospecting piles of the empty row. Sometimes it may happen that it is no longer possible to reach the value 15 in a row. The row is then removed from the game and the lowest existing card from the excavation is used as the new starting card.

Points for found items

When all 24 bonuses are dealt or all prospecting piles are used, the game ends immediately. So all your discoveries and rewards are worth one point. If I collect more rewards than the total items found, I will receive 2 points for each reward. As usual, the winner is the one who scores the most points.

Saqqara and fun to play

The Saqqara mechanism works, the cards are attractively designed and the 15-minute game duration invites you to play the game quickly in between or as a nightcap. However, it couldn't catch fire during my rides.

As a general rule, you can place cards in a way that does not give your opponents a direct pass to get the 15 points. In this regard, the game already has a tactical component. But I don't really get as excited as I do with other card games.

As a family game, it can be a good way to teach children how to add. But for me, it's not enough to stand out from the crowd at card games. That's a dime a dozen and I probably won't dig Saqqara much.