Pharaoh

Second in the series of themed city building games is Pharaoh, with the Cleopatra expansion. No crocodiles so far but the monuments are still challenging.  Could be that the crocodiles are in Immortal Cities: Children of the Nile. I'll get back to that after Emperor.

So Rome, Egypt, China and then Egypt again. The first three games were developed by Impression Games over a four year period and published by Sierra so they pretty much follow the same lines and share the same graphics engine and interface. From the same makers are a few other games in the same lines, like Zeus, but I don't either have them or don't like them. (Zeus, didn't like it for some reason)

Compared to Caesar 3, I've had an esier time playing it. Yes, the gods are still annoying and only get more so the more years you play, but they aren't as much a of a pain than in Caesar. And as the gods get harder to keep happy over the years, it really limits the timeframe overall. There is also more trade partners, the money just keeps rolling in when you get your industry to turn a profit. But still the same problems with labour allocation and access than in Caesar, just a tad bit less so. Add to that the downright scramble to get your food distributed when your city grows big. Tweak, tweak, tweak like the neurotic micro manager than I am.

Differences in the game make each one interesting in it's own way. For example food production in Pharaoh fluctuates as some, or in some cases all, of it is dependant on the inundation. Or in plain speak, the river needs to flood. This is also a historical tidbit that I like as the Nile floods were an actual thing that the farmers needed. There is also a need for irrigation systems as most regions are arid.

Now, monuments.

 

Yes, that is a pyramid. And guess what, it's only like 70% done. Building something like this takes time, work and materials. You get to watch them clear the land, lay some really strange foundations and haul tons of rocks.  They build the chambers in inside, build it up to the tip, then layer on the limestone coverings, and to finish it off, you have to have the offerings and furnishings for the pharaoh to take with him to the other side.

Compared to this, the two 200 ton apiece granite obelisks were easy.

All in all, I enjoy Pharaoh a bit more than Caesar.