Ankh: Gods of Egypt Review 

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Really appreciate that even though you have all the KS exclusives you demo with the retail version

@12:00 the God merger is faithful to Ancient Egypt's syncretism. It's a masterful incorporation of theme into play.

Yes!! This was our first thought while playing! “Wow, this scores like a Knizia game while having the dressing of an Eric Lang game.” So happy you enjoyed it!

My absolute favorite part of this video is the last bit where you talk about Ankh's theme. Doing your own research and talking to experts is the kind of thoroughness and attention to detail that I really appreciate from NPI

So good to hear you liked it! It’s one of my favorites! There were several times my wife and I would say “Ohhhh” and “Oooooooh” because of how smart it plays. Even like the merge mechanic because of its thematic tie-in and how it always give you something else to think about strategically. Love it. The card play, the event track, the mental game between players, all of it! Great video and thank you for your creative efforts and the lengths you go to be informative and entertaining!

This was a fantastic review! Your best yet. It was funny as hell at even the 3 minute mark (it continued to be funny for the duration, too). It was entertaining and informative on what the game itself was (obviously a useful feature). It leveled fair critique, deep dived into ethical considerations, and summed up a lot where the game sits outside of the play experience (a frequent hallmark of your videos of late that I do love to see elevate the discussion). It got me interested in the game and its design despite not really being interested in owning it. Oh, and it didn't feel like I just sat and watched something half an hour long! I love how all of these things have been present in previous reviews and informative videos, but they've all come together and culminated in this well rounded format. This is the pinnacle of your craft (so far), I continue to look forward to whatever you make next. Keep it up! (Also, this may be a very gushy and positive feedback, but I make no apologies! If you didn't want praise you should've have made such good stuff as to incite me to leave comments! I pretty much *never* leave comments. This is entirely on you!)

Great review - also thanks for keeping in the lamp dramatically dropping like that. Its great to see your passion and how a good game can draw you down a very enjoyable rabbit home of research, gameplay and collecting. Thanks x

This might be one of your greatest reviews yet. Welldone

I really thought Efka could never hurt me because our tastes are similar, but then he attacked Kombucha. I don't know if I'll ever recover.

Your board game reviews are so damn good ! Thanks for all the hard work !

I appreciate your enthusiasm for this game. This is my favorite of Eric Lang's Trilogy.

I was worried about watching a 30 minute review but loved it all. Well done!

"Eric Lang's best Reiner Knizia game"... Still laughing XD

Thanks for this excellent review. And thanks for reviving my interest in this game. I backed it at kickstarter but have been busy since I arrived. It could easily have sat doing nothing for ages. I'll make sure I get it out and play it!

Really excellent review that gets to the heart of what makes the game good - simple actions with a ton of depth behind them. I think the reason this game is so love/hate is that when you are losing badly, the winner can really snowball unless they make some huge mistakes, at least in my experience.

Incredibly high production review. The shots and color and lighting and writing and editing were all top notch. Interesting review of an interesting looking war game. Much appreciated!

This game is a masterpiece. It's Eric Lang's mic drop as he left CMON. Enjoyed this game everytime I've played,

Cool review. I also bought the retail edition, loved it and then wanted all the kick starters but no way am I forking out that much. I am also not a kickstarter guy who would spend extra money and wait for 2 years on a prayer that I get a good game. You know all that I really want out of the kick starters is that guardian that looks like Khonshu from Moon Knight which is in the tomb of wonders… .. And I want the play mat And I want the thick card board player boards And I want petsuchos And the list goes on

Ankh is amazeballs at 2 and 3. It's also the most accessible for new players because everyone has the same information and opportunities (same cards, same monster pool). It's streamlined, deep, and easily tops the list for best game in this Eric Lang series. I will NEVER get rid of Ankh. EVER.

What's your favourite Egyptian god? And why?

I picked up Ankh based on how much I loved the pastel colour scheme of the minis. Stupid, I know... but it means I got to experience this game. I play 90% of my games with my partner and this is one we cannot stop playing. As a bonus, I also think it's one that benefits from the ridiculous box count. The extra gods, guardians and even the Pharoah expansion adds so much that I'm pretty sure I will never find this boring. I'm so pleased that my stupid preference for colour led me to experience this game. Thanks for the review, from another Nottingham gamer. Hope 2023 is a great one for you two x

I still like Chaos in the Old World more than the other Eric Lang games. Such a great, thematic game.

Brilliant review, funny and informative! Keep up the good work!

Great video. Compare to Kemet which one is better according to you?

Do you have a review on the expansion? I have yet been able to play the pharoah expansion

Hi Efka, thanks for all your great videos, I have been really enjoying your channel for the last few weeks. Really love your enthusiasm, and also the retro music in the background! How do you compare Ankh and Kemet? I haven't tried either yet but have been looking at them both.

I've been wanting to have my first Eric Lang game for a while--I was originally tempted by Rising Sun, but ultimately happy I didn't back it. If I didn't already have Kemet I would probably pick this up, but I can't say I have room for more than one mythological Egypt fantasy war game.

That's great! I actually just got it a few weeks ago! Haven't played it yet, but soon. 😍

I have never seen a video of yours , But the fact you wore those cat ears the WHOLE time, that was awesome! new subscriber !

This review was amazing. Thank you!

Wow! This was and incredibly informative and entertaining review.

Hi just curious: if on a limited budget and could only get the base game and then later maybe 1 expansion box, which would you suggest is the Must Buy?

every time a game has a devotion mechanic I can't help but sing that one Abba song

Thematically, the gods merging or getting eliminated due to a lack of followers makes a lot of sense.

I was on the fence…now I have climbed it, through barb wires and all. Thanks for all the lols moments in this review

💯 minis = dolls. Fantastic review!

Would you have recommend the game if the core retail box was the only option?

i got the root game awhile ago, i was wondering, which expansion to get. thank you

regarding 25:14 E.Lang answered you before you posted the video in his interview "Ankh: Gods of Egypt w/ Eric M. Lang - Cardboard Creations w/ Candice Harri" at 20:08

I have played this 2 player a few times and its so much fun

Best written reviews in the board game review space.

You put into words what I love about it that I couldn’t find the words for! Kudos!

I thought I could pass on this one, but you are costing me money! I especially appreciate the commentary on 2player play.

How would you rank the Expansions for "gameplay enrichment"?

Wonderful video, Efka!

It's our favourite 2-player game too, must have about twenty games under our belt now. There's so many strategic layers that only start to reveal themselves after you've a number of games under your belt. BTW, has anyone figured out a competitive Ptah strategy, 'cos I've got no idea how to take advantage of that god.

Great review and I'm glad to hear this game's a winner, my girlfriend loves Egyptian mythology and had pointed the game out previously. Looks like this has shot up to Christmas gift territory. Side note but while Lang's Bloodborne board game was a bit of a bust, I actually think his Bloodborne Card Game is a lot of fun. It doesn't capture the themes of the game but does a rock solid interpretation of the gameplay, and plays kind of like a faster Cutthroat Caverns without permadeath. Only complaint I had was the base game was a little thin on variation and interaction, but the expansion fixes that and both it and the base game are pretty cheap. Not an absolute must-play, but I think anyone wanting a fun, semi-cooperative gothic action game could do far worse.

I love the call back to the funniest mistake with the NZ farmer :) as a fellow NZer I am proud

Thank you for this review. Ankh is very deserving of praise and more people need to play this multiple times.

26:21 The Gods agreed with you Also them calling Bastet a lioness was the first impression of this game which made me look it up xD

Which, if any, of the expansions would you recommend getting?

If only it didn't come with a boatload of completely useless 'mini'atures. It might just be me but I don't even like how they look on the table, just give me some nice plastic or cardboard standees or some good looking screen printed meeples. It saves a ton in storage, shipping and retail costs. The game does look interesting though, if I ever encounter someone who owns a copy I am willing to try it.

Gotta try it 2 player again. I must be missing something. All 2 player games we had was a steamroller with God powers and extra monsters

Words cannot express how good your reviews are ❤️✌️🇧🇪

Ankh is a brilliant game. Ive also likened it to chess when explaining it. It's taking me ages to get it all painted up tho :'(

The lamp bit was too well timed, I am impressed it wasn't scripted.

Great review I just ordered this game thanks mate 😊

I thought for sure this was going to take a 'surprise' turn like the Ark Nova review!

Best review ever.. Watching other ppl doing Ankh review always feels like they had no Idea how the game works

For a fun 2 player Egypyian lore game, should i get this or Kemet?

easily one of my fav reviews. Really enjoyed the video

Out of everything, my favorite part is how I adore the way this man says "combat."

17:07 was not Arnold. It was Dylan Moran :D

Really excellent review as always Inexplicable desire to watch the movie Spaceballs now 😉

That wink to elden ring was great

did you play this at 3+ players? shelfside did a review where they said that first players in a multiplayer game have a strong advantage, they get to do more actions.

Wow - it really is chess! Excited to play this now!

Excellent review!

U got me at the "thing number thing I like abouth thing", u got a new subscriber 😅 Cheers from Brazil🙋🏼‍♂️ PS: I love Ankh, was the 2nd boargame I bought, and deffinitely, thats my jam 😅

Egyptian God dam that was a good review.

My issue with the merge system was every time it happened, the two merged players were sitting next to each other, so they could take the same action twice in a row and totally dominate the event track, easily winning the game. Everyone involved felt unsatisfied. There are scenarios without merge, and some of them are very vicious, like the one that saps devotion from every player. We all died! It was very exciting. I love the game for many of the reasons you said but will probably only play mergeless scenarios from now on. And yes, it's a surprisingly great two player puzzle as well.

I begged u to do this in previous video and got brutally shut down lol😂 I’m really glad you did the review, made my day mate

Osiris...take the wheel had me snickering

SPOT ON!!! Every single part of this review!

so shall i really sell my kemet now in exchange for this? i really want to try this game now. thanks for the phenomenal review.

Played it again this night, there's one returning niggle though: the colours of the chips are not distinctive enough. Isis, Osiris, and Sobek and Ra, Amun and Ptah are in the same colour scheme. When there's less light or one of my less visual friends plays it's very inconvenient.

Congratulations!!!! Maybe the best approach of what this game can offer! I totally agree with your thoughts . I think is the best of the trilogy... A simple masterpiece with a lot of depth!!

You guys are amazing!

Wow, now im actually interested in a big CMON game for once. Nice one. But really, come on... When will board game companies learn to just hire some people, who can help them with culture, history and stuff like that. I hardly think that it would hurt financially. Never heard of... i dunno... historians earning thousands of dollars per hour or something.

This is THE most entertaining game review EVER!

I liked it. No Blood Rage though, which remains my favourite.

Love a man who's always getting into scrapes

Asmodeus... No relation; that moment killed me

Hmm, so it's an area control with big pieces and monuments? Sounded like there was a lot going on. I think I learned absolutely everything about the game except the actual core mechanics.. I was entertained though!

Well I guess I better drive down to the states and pick up my ALL IN pledge and play mat at my parents place!

Fantastic review

Another thing that's great about this game is there's literally no element of luck anywhere.

Funny cause I had the complete opposite feeling toward Ankh and thoroughly enjoyed Blood rage and Rising sun

I’m so glad to see someone else calls them ‘se-mon’.

great review!

I wish there was a cheaper retail version without all the plasticware, I don't want nor need more figurines to paint and store.

Awesome video, just played this last weekend and *man* did it deliver. Our group was in tatters, absolutely devastated, completely exhausted.

I'll include the pun: Ankh is the Apep's of board game design.

The Knizia line got me to LOL, and RU-vid videos rarely do. Have a like, kind sir.

At the end you remind me of Barf the Mog from Spaceballs.

Hold your kombucha eh? You're for it when I finish my Jack fruit steak!

This video is just awesome!!

Hey you had the same bent sword for Isis as I did!

What's wrong with Rising Sun?