Aton (pré-joué) (ML)

The games in the L'As des jeux Bazar are pre-played games. They have been inspected by one of our game experts and are certified "Complete." You may find some minor imperfections, such as light wear on the box or on certain game components.

In ancient Egypt, the young pharaoh Akhenaten has just taken the throne and turns the religious order upside down: the god Aton must now replace Amun in the hearts of the people. Published by Queen Games in 2005, Aton casts each player as a high priest determined to bring his god to victory by seizing control of the four great temples of Thebes. This strategic duel game pits exactly two opponents against each other on a board depicting the four sacred temples, each divided into twelve spaces where wooden priest pawns are placed.

Each player holds an identical deck of cards numbered 1 to 4, played as four cartouches revealed simultaneously each round. The higher card of the first pair scores double the point difference, the lower card of the second determines who acts first and how many of the opponent's pawns are sent to the Realm of the Dead, while the last two cards set which temples can be worked and how many new pawns can be placed there. This simultaneous reveal creates constant tension: you must guess your opponent's intentions while protecting your own positions.

The game ends as soon as the Realm of the Dead fills up, triggering scoring in each of the four temples under its own rules, or as soon as a player reaches 40 victory points or meets a special condition, such as occupying every green space in a temple. Easy to learn but tough to master, Aton combines territory control and hand management in a two-player game format that wraps up in barely 30 minutes.

You will likely enjoy Aton if you are looking for a fast head-to-head game that still demands real thought behind every card you flip. Fans of tense two-player duels who love reading their opponent and feeling the pressure build with every revealed cartouche will find their match here. On the other hand, if you prefer multiplayer games or ones where luck calls the shots, Aton is not your destination.

Fun historical fact: the real Akhenaten actually tried to impose the worship of Aton over Amun in 14th-century BCE Egypt, a religious revolution that directly inspired the game's theme. On the gaming side, Aton holds an average rating of nearly 6.9/10 from more than 3,600 players on BoardGameGeek, a solid reputation for a small duel game published two decades ago.

Aton was designed by German game designer Thorsten Gimmler and illustrated by Harald Lieske, whose artwork perfectly captures the game's Egyptian atmosphere, blending stylized hieroglyphs with gilded touches reminiscent of royal tombs.

BOX CONTENTS
1 six-part game board
72 cards
58 wooden priest pawns
2 exchange tokens
2 scoring markers
1 rulebook (French, English, Spanish, German)

Number of players: 2
Duration: 30 minutes
Age: 8+