
- BGG rank
- BGG #11,688
- BGG rating
- 5.8
Treehouse
- 2–4 players
- 20 min
- Complexity 1.3/5
- 2006

2010
Rules assistance for Pharaoh
Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.

What would you like to know?
Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
Pharaoh is a board game released in 2010 for 2–4 players and 15 minutes per game. It was designed by Andrew Looney and its main mechanics are Roll / Spin and Move, Pattern Building, and Action Points.
In Pharaoh, each player takes three Icehouse pieces of one color. The pieces start off the board and may enter the board edge closest to the player; the game board is a 5x5 grid with the corners removed. On a turn, roll the die and use the result as movement points: it takes 1/2/3 points to move a small/medium/large piece one square, and twice that for a diagonal move. Stacking is not allowed, but if you land on an enemy piece of the same size or smaller, it is removed from the board and needs to be moved back on. To win, a player must get all of his pieces in a row of three squares centered in the board. Also included in the 2012 edition of Treehouse, and Pyramid Arcade.
Pharaoh supports 2–4 players according to the catalogue. This range comes from the publisher’s listed player count, so the game can be set up for any group size within it. Some setups, rules and scoring details may still vary by player count, so check your edition’s rulebook for the exact configuration.
The listed playing time for Pharaoh is 15 minutes. This is the publisher’s estimate for a full game. The actual duration depends on the group, the player count and familiarity with the rules: first sessions usually run longer, while experienced groups often finish faster. Setup and teaching time are not included in this estimate.
Pharaoh has a complexity rating of 1.4 out of 5 from BoardGameGeek players, which makes it a light game. The rating reflects how much rules knowledge, planning and decision-making a typical game demands. Expect a longer first teach for heavier games, and use a preparation guide before game night.
Pharaoh belongs to these categories: Abstract Strategy. Its main mechanics are Roll / Spin and Move, Pattern Building, and Action Points. Categories describe the theme and setting of a game, while mechanics describe what players actually do on their turns. Each mechanic links to a catalogue hub with similar games, which helps when you want something comparable.
The credited designers of Pharaoh are: Andrew Looney. These credits come from the published game data and name the people responsible for the game’s design, not its illustrators or publishers. Designer pages on MeepleRules collect other titles by the same designers, which helps when you enjoy a game and want to find similar ones.
The catalogue lists Pharaoh as a base game. It can be played on its own with the components in the box and does not require any other title. Expansions, if any exist, add new content or rules on top of it and are listed separately in the catalogue with a link back to this base game.