This is an abstract game of German origin. The theme concerns the dawn of civilization in land we know now as Iraq. The area around the Euphrates and Tigris Rivers provide the fertile ground for conflict in this intriguing game for two to four players. In a nutshell, the game plays as a hybrid of Acquire and Civilization. Over 100 tiles matching the colors of the leaders are placed in a cloth bag.
Players begin the game with six tiles drawn randomly and a shield to hide the tiles behind.
Leaders can only be placed on the gameboard on any square that shares a side with a temple. Placing a leader on the gameboard starts a kingdom. When a player places a tile in a kingdom that matches that player's leader that player scores a victory point in that color. Players score in all four colors, of course, but only the weakest color counts toward victory. As the kingdoms grow and victory points mount, conflict becomes inevitable.