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How to play
Grounded in Ra's rulebook — cite-checked answers, not guesses.
Get a straight answer with the exact rulebook passage to back it up.
The easy-to-forget bits, straight from the rulebook.
Starting points
Each player starts with two 5-point scoring tokens face down.
God tile scoring
A player gains 2 points for each unspent God tile.
Monuments scoring
Monument tiles are not scored until the end of the Third Epoch.
Game end trigger
Scoring is triggered immediately if all players' sun disks have been played face down, or if the Sun Boat has entered the rightmost space of the Ra track.
Sun disk scoring
At the end of the Third Epoch, the player with the highest sun disk total gains 5 points, and the player with the lowest total loses 5 points.
Sun disk tie-breaker
In the case of a sun disk tie, full points are gained or lost by all tied players.
Score minimum
A player's cumulative score cannot drop below zero; it will be zero instead.
Game end tie-breaker
If two or more players are tied at the end of the game, the tied player with the highest-numbered sun disk wins.
To set up Ra, follow these steps: 1. Place the Auction board in the center of the table with the Sun Boat icon side facing up. The Ra statue should be placed nearby. 2. Position the Sun Boat marker on the starting space of the Ra track that corresponds to the number of players. 3. Place the Epoch counter on the upper right corner of the Ra track with the First Epoch side facing up. 4. Each player receives a random player board, turned to the side showing the correct number of players in the blue ovals. 5. Put all Auction tiles into the cloth bag and shake them to mix. 6. Each player places two 5-value scoring tokens face down in front of them. The remaining scoring tokens are placed face up near the Auction board. 7. Place the "1" sun disk in the center space of the Auction board. 8. For each blue oval on their player board, each player takes a sun disk matching the value shown next to their player count and places it on that space. The starting sun disk values vary by player count as shown in the table.
On your turn, you must perform exactly one of the following actions: * **Draw a Tile** * Add a non-Ra tile to the Auction track, but only if the track is not full. * If you draw a Ra tile, discard it and move the Sun Boat. * **Invoke Ra** * Announce "I invoke Ra!" and take the Ra statue to begin an auction. The Sun Boat does not advance. * **Spend God Tile(s)** * Discard one or more God tiles you acquired in previous auctions. * For each God tile discarded, take any one non-God tile from the auction track. * God tiles are discarded from the game, and acquired tiles are placed face-up in front of you. If you acquire a Disaster tile, resolve it immediately. * You can repeat this process for additional God tiles during the same action.
To win the game of Ra, the player with the highest point total after scoring the Third Epoch wins. In case of a tie, the tied player with the highest-numbered sun disk wins.
Rules summaries are AI-generated from the official rulebook and may contain mistakes — check the manual for anything critical.
Scoring in Ra happens at the end of each Epoch, with special rules for the Third Epoch: * **First or Second Epochs** * All Auction tiles next to your player board are scored according to their criteria, except for Monument tiles. * After scoring, a new Epoch begins. * **Third Epoch (End of Game)** * All Auction tiles next to your player board are scored, including Monument tiles. * **Monument Tiles** are scored in two ways: * **Multiplicity:** Groups of 3, 4, or 5 identical Monument tiles are worth 5, 10, or 15 points respectively. * **Diversity:** Players with 6 or fewer different types of Monument tiles gain 1 point per type. Players with 7 types gain 10 points, and players with 8 types gain 15 points. * **Sun Disks** are scored: * Players sum the values of all their sun disks (face up and face down). * The player with the highest sun total gains 5 points. * The player with the lowest sun total loses 5 points. * In case of a tie, all tied players gain or lose the full points. If all players have the same total, no points are gained or lost. * The game ends after the Third Epoch scoring. **Winning the Game** The player with the highest total score after the Third Epoch wins. If there's a tie, the tied player with the highest-numbered sun disk wins.
The game of Ra concludes at the end of the Third Epoch, after a final round of scoring. After this scoring, the game is over. The player with the highest point total wins the game. If there's a tie, the tied player with the highest-numbered sun disk wins.