Tekhenu: Obelisk of the Sun

Setting up Tekhenu: Obelisk of the Sun begins by placing the central game board on the table. The obelisk wheel is assembled in the center, topped by the large obelisk figure. Players receive a personal player board, building tiles, statues, pillars, and production markers in their chosen color. Resources like bread, limestone, granite, papyrus, gold, scribes, and faith tokens are arranged in handy trays around the board. Cards including technology, blessing, decree, destiny, and starting cards are separated, shuffled, and placed in their respective locations on the main board. Players draft starting cards, determine turn order through a card-bidding mechanism, receive initial resources, and place their markers on the population and happiness tracks.

The objective of Tekhenu is to earn the most victory points by impressing the ancient Egyptian gods. Players act as nobles building the temple complex of Amun-Ra, constructing pillars, statues, and buildings, advancing their population, and increasing the happiness of their people. Success requires careful management of resources, balancing the scales of Maat, and fulfilling secret decrees and public objectives throughout the game.

During a player's turn, they select a die from one of the six sections surrounding the central obelisk. The obelisk casts shadows, dividing the board into sunny, shaded, and dark sections, which dictates whether a die is pure, tainted, or forbidden. The chosen die lets the player execute an action associated with a specific god—such as Horus for building statues, Ra for raising pillars, Hathor for constructing buildings, Thoth for acquiring cards, or Osiris for building workshops and quarries—or alternatively, produce resources based on the die's value and color. After taking the die, it is placed on the player's scale, affecting their balance. Special actions can also be taken using scribe tokens.

Scoring happens during specific Maat phases and full scoring rounds triggered in rounds eight and sixteen. Players score points for resource districts in the oasis area, the temple complex, built statues, happiness levels, production markers, and building rows. Maintenance costs like paying bread are deducted, and players must balance the scales of Maat to avoid heavy point penalties for overproduction or imbalance.

The game concludes after the final scoring phase following round sixteen. Players reveal and score up to three of their secret decree cards, and final turn-order points are awarded. The player with the highest total victory points wins the game, with tie-breakers resolved by comparing scribe tokens and turn-order positions.