Pharaoh + Cleopatra

I got horrifically addicted to this game, and my life was essentially on hold for a few months while all my spare time was spent playing it. It's a huge amount of fun, probably the best city-building game I've ever played (I could never get into Caesar III or Zeus the way I got into this). I would buy it all over again if I didn't think I'd fall into the same trap again.

I was hoping for this the moment that I saw Zeus & Poseidon pop up. This game got me into city building in a huge way - it's amazingly detailed without being too deep and allows for a variety of ways to build up your city - you'll find yourself improving each and every time you play. If you have even a passing interest in city building/management I suggest you pick up this game and Zeus & Poseidon as well.

This is not just my favourite city-building game. This is one of favourite games of all time. And this game is actually what turned me on to strategy-games. Because until this I hadn't been too busy playing those. But this game changed all that. My dad bought me this in the spring of 2000. To cut to the chase, this game is about building cities in ancient Egypt. In my opinion, the fun in playing games is about doing things that you can't do in real life, and city-building in ancient Egypt is a good example of one of those things. You will start by building some humble cottages and maybe even a well for your people. You will have to provide food, water, entertainment, health care etc., and as you do so, your city will evolve. If you need more money, you can build a tax collectors office. You decide how much tax the people are going to pay. Low tax will make you poor but popular (at least for a while), and high tax will make you richer but less popular. But then again, money is needed to make the city better. As your city gets bigger and better, you might even consider building the ultimate construction in the game: The Pyramid. If you're not interested in history now, I almost guarantee you will be after playing this game.

This is a great city building/management game. It's akin to the Anno-series and Emperor, pretty much in every way, except that it is set in Egypt - which is what truly sets it apart. Progression starts at basic buildings which no needs, and upgrade as you make new resources available through markets and bazaars, supplied from farms (be wary - some are seasonal, and require diligent farming each season lest your run out of its crop), mines, hunters, weavers and so on. But that's not it - be sure to throw a festival and give praise every now and then, or else you will feel the wrath of Set! Or Ptah or some other Egyptian deity. Such events can be major setbacks to what for many is the grand goal - the construction of your local monument! In my eyes by far the most entertaining aspect of this game, large of amounts of resources and manpower need be employed to build immense monuments, including sphinxes and giant pyramids. It is quite the effort. Day in and day out you will see the weary laborers struggle to pull the slabs of rock up increasingly tall constructions. Dreadful work. Luckily, you are the Pharaoh, Meaning you get to sip your cold drink while the workers toil to your glory. Just remember to order some fire stations built as well. You'll regret it otherwise.