Curse of the Mummy's Tomb is a pulp fiction board game published by Games Workshop in 1988. It features a three-dimensional board, representing an Egyptian pyramid, with two consecutively smaller playing areas above the bottom board. The aim of the game is to reach the top of the Pyramid of Khonsu, complete the tasks within and obtain the Elixir of Life. In addition to traps, creatures and treasures, there can be encounters with the deadly Mummy itself.
Description
Curse of the Mummy's Tomb is a game for 1–4 players, each of which controls an adventurer seeking to reach the Chamber of Osiris at the top of the Pyramid Of Khonsu.
Characters
Each of the four characters included in the game has seven different attributes: Cunning, Dexterity, Egyptology, Fortune, Speed, Strength, and Will. In addition, each character has 4 lives, which can be removed by encounters with Hazards, Creatures or the Mummy. A player who loses all four lives is out of the game.
The four characters included with the game are: Marlow Hammett - Hard-boiled private eye Rev Luther Kirkegard - Religious cleric Professor Nayland Cushing - Explorer Lieutenant-General The Earl of Carmarthen - Soldier
Each of these is represented by a 25 mm metal miniature taken from the "Gothic Horror" line of miniatures by Citadel Miniatures; the Mummy miniature is taken from Citadel's "Night Horrors" line. All five were designed by Trish and Aly Morrison.
Components
The game box includes: 5 metal miniatures (the four characters and the Mummy) 4 playsheets 32 attribute markers 55 Tana Leaf markers of various denominations Snap together Pyramid of Khonsu 114 playing cards 12-sided die
Setup
In games with more than one player, each player initially draws five cards from a universal deck and six points of Tana Leaf counters. The deck contains a variety of movement cards, Monsters, Hazards and Discoveries. The players then roll a 12-sided die to determine who starts the game.
The Mummy
Each turn starts by moving the Mummy. The Mummy starts in one of four fixed locations on the bottom board. Players secretly bid any number of Tana Leaves that they possess, and the winner is able to move the Mummy one space. In the event of a tie, the Mummy is not moved. If the Mummy enters a space containing a character's piece, the player controlling the Mummy chooses whether to inflict damage to the character or steal a Discovery. After this, the Mummy returns to one of its starting locations.
Players' turn
On each player's turn, they have one of three choices: Pass, Heal or Move. Passing allows the player to discard any number of cards in their hand for the listed number of Tana Leaves on the discarded cards. The player then redraws to bring their hand back to five cards. Healing swaps ten Tana Leaves for regaining one Life, up to a maximum of three Lives. Movement allows the character to play a movement card from their hand, then move their character in one of the permitted compass directions, or ascend/descend a board level according to the movement card. The character cannot move into a space containing another character. Each other player can then play a movement card and move the active player's character one space, possibly to the character's detriment.
Encounters
After Movement, the player then explores his current location. Some board spaces have numbers printed on them, indicating the number of encounters faced. Each player can then play a Hazard, a Creature or Discovery card from their hand, until the number of encounters is reached, or the player has used one card of each type, whichever is lower. Hazards represent traps or other devices intended to protect the pyramid from intruders. These usually require testing a character's ability score by rolling the die equal to or lower than the character's attribute. Rolling over that number means the trap is sprung, causing the character to lose a life. Creatures are the pyramid's guardians or other (hostile) treasure hunters. The player can Attack, Trick or Retreat by rolling the die, adding the character's appropriate attribute score, then comparing it to the creature's relevant attribute plus a die roll. A successful Attack defeats the creature, while a Retreat moves the character back a number of squares. If Trickery just beats the opponent, the opponent is discarded; beating the creature by a large margin turns it into a single-use bodyguard against other creatures. Discoveries range from items that add to the character's attributes to ways of defeating Hazards and Creatures.