Curse of the Mummy’s Tomb

by Christian

(Pennsauken)

Game:
Curse of the Mummy’s Tomb
Board Game Manufacturer:
Games Workshop
Number of Players:
1-4
Ages:
10+

Quick Verdict

Eh, the game appeals to my Lovecraftian horror fetish but doesn’t offer up anything interesting. An attempt by Games Workshop to prove they are more than just a miniature games company. Which sadly they are.

The game and gameplay

Curse of the Mummy’s Tomb is a board game for 1-4 players. Yet again, a very Arkham Horror-eqsue game where you can play by yourself, again defeating the board game purpose.

The game is simple, reach the top of a three-dimensional pyramid, the tomb of Khonsu, to obtain the Elixir of Life!

A game that takes minimal time to set up, almost no more than 2-5 minutes. The most time being making the three-dimensional pyramid stay up. Coming from Games Workshop I expected better craftsmanship.

The game comes with four characters who are pregenerated; Marlow Hammett, Lt-General The Earl of Carmarthen, Reverend Luther Kirkegard and Professor Nayland Cushing. Now if you’re thinking this isn’t much variety, have no fear; in issue 102 of White Dwarf magazine a plethora of characters were published.

Editor’s note: This game is long out of print. Your best bet is to search for an edition on eBay.co.uk. We’ve made it easy: simply click on any picture of the game, or the live listings below, to find your edition! If you can find them, they also released miniatures to support the characters from the game and those introduced in White Dwarf issue 102.Had I been impressed with this game I would have hunted for this issue.

The game is composed of the board, the 3D pyramid, a deck of cards (a variety of movement cards, Monsters, Hazards and Discoveries) and Tana Leaf counters; these are for your character’s ability to heal himself; A Mummy counter and the final component, a 12-sided die. This is odd, as to most board games use D6s and D10s.

The game begins with rolling the D12 to see who goes first. Off the bat the Mummy moves. Players use the Tana Leaves as ante to bid against who gets to move the Mummy one space. In the inevitable event of a tie, the Mummy remains still. A player gets three choices on their turn; Pass, Heal or Move.

Passing allows players to exchange cards based on the number of Tana Leaves in play. Healing allows players to exchange ten Tana Leaves for one life to a maximum of three per game. Moving allows players to move the number of spaces indicated on the compass dial.

Once moved, a player may search their location. This is where the Monster, Hazard and Discovery cards come into play.

Hazard cards are the traps and perils players face along the way.

Monster cards are the creatures other than the Mummy which lurk in the tomb. One of the neat things is there is a Hostile Treasure Hunter card, meaning there may be NPC-like opponents for you to face other than the stereotypical Boris Karloff creature.

Discovery cards are items which may help players reach their end goal.

The goal is to be the first to the Chamber of Osiris at the top specific section of the Pyramid. Along with the Key of Osiris a player may finally find the Elixir of Life and beat the Mummy’s Curse!

The Verdict

Curse of the Mummy’s Tomb has plenty of re-playability, but it just lacks something creative. It would have been more interesting had they just bit the marketing license bullet and let us play as Brendan Frazer in this game. The game can move from slow to exciting in a shot and most times just drags on and never ever ends.]

Click to search for Curse of the Mummy’s Tomb on eBay.co.uk!