Tournament Format

Players compete to build the most pyramids; then suffer the flooding of the Nile and rebuild.

Play will consist of three preliminary heats. All are welcome to play in either or all. For advancement into the semi-finals, players will be ranked according to the criteria below. Every effort will be made for all game winners to advance. In the event more than 25 winners are present, priority will be given to those that participated in more than one heat. Further, alternates (those taking at least one second place) will be used only if necessary to fill the field to 16, 20 or 25.
a) Most wins.
b) Sorting score based on the following (sum of all heats played):
- 100 points for a 1st place finish
- 20 points for a 2nd place finish
- 5 points for a 3rd place finish (5-player games only)
c) Die roll.

Seating for the semi-finals and Final will be in rank order seeding. Semi-finals seating will have the highest ranked player at table 1, followed by the second highest player at table 2 and continuing until the tables are full in the 16-, 20- or 25-player format. The final game will be a 5-player Final. If only 16 semi-finalists in four games compete, then the four winners and closest runner-up will advance to the Final. If a tie exists to determine the best second place, the following will be used as a tie-breaker:
a) Head-to-head winner in any heat.
b) Most pyramids at the end of the game.
c) Most money at the end of the game.
d) Die roll.

In any potential 4-player games (heats or semi-finals), each individual game will draw and expose the three unused provinces. This will be done to reduce luck of the draw impacting strategies. Regardless of the exposed provinces, there will be no other changes in game play and all power cards will be considered playable as designed.

Rule clarifications:
1) Items in both Phase 3 and Phase 5 should always be performed in the same order: cards, farmers, then bricks.
2) When drawing power cards during the purchasing phase (Phase 3) or as a reward during the sacrifice (Phase 5), each player must state in advance how many cards he or she will draw. Players are allowed to look at their cards before deciding how many farmers and/or bricks to purchase/receive.

Policies to note:
1) Table talk should be kept to a minimum.
2) Deal making / negotiating is prohibited. If a player(s) is found to be attempting to coerce another player, they will be disqualified from advancing to the next round regardless of game outcome. As this may be a subjective policy, the GM and Assistant GM's must unanimously agree such an infraction warrants disqualification.

Who may play?
The game will not be taught during the event. You must attend the scheduled demonstration session or learn the game on your own.