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Kemet
An aggressive Egyptian war game where punching first is the whole point.
Designed by Jacques Bariot and Guillaume Montiage · 2012
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If your table likes throwing armies at each other and nobody sulks about losing a fight, Kemet is one of the most exciting area control games out there. Conflict-averse groups should keep walking.
Best for: Aggressive players who want a fast, fighty area control brawl
What it is
Kemet is a war game about ancient Egypt where you raise armies, buy godlike powers, and smash into your neighbors to score points. Here's the trick that makes it sing. You score by holding temples and by winning battles, and a lot of those points are temporary, so sitting in a corner turtling gets you nothing. The board keeps everyone roughly the same distance apart, and pyramids let your troops teleport clear across the map. Aggression isn't punished here. It's the engine.
The catch
Now the honest part. Combat uses no dice at all, just a hand of cards you play face-down, which means a loss is your bad read, not bad luck, and some folks find that brutal. The bigger wall is the power tiles. Your first game or two you'll buy shiny stuff that looks cool and barely works together, and you'll pass the reference leaflet around the table while everyone deliberates. It needs space, and a veteran can run circles around brand-new players early on.
Who it's for
So who's this for? People who want to fight. If your group groans when someone attacks them, skip it, because Kemet is built to make you the aggressor and it doesn't apologize. But if you like a fast, mean, luck-free brawl where you're in ten battles a night and any one of them can flip, this is a genuinely great one. Reviewers keep landing on the same phrase: aggressive but clever. That's exactly right.
What other players say
This write-up is grounded in real reviews and player discussion, not just one opinion. A few worth reading:
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