Maki Watanabe pushes against the large rock, bracing her feet on the pyramid’s ancient wall but it doesn’t budge. “You need more muscle,” David Gore says, he pushes against the rock himself. After a moment it shifts and topples over. Maki steps forward to admire the cache of treasure the rock was hiding but Gore nudges her aside and reaches in to grab an ancient necklace made of gold. “Ah!” Gore yells and pulls his hand back. He has been bitten by a cobra. Maki bends over and snatches up the necklace, narrowly missing the snake’s second attack. “You need to be faster,” Maki says.

In the race to escape with as many priceless relics as you can carry from a deadly pyramid, a fellow Adventurer is not your enemy so long as he is useful to you. The Adventurers: The Pyramid of Horus will be released in the third quarter of 2011! Today, we’ll take a look at the pyramid’s antechamber, the first danger players will encounter, as well as one of the Adventurers who players can become.

The Adventurers: The Pyramid of Horus is a standalone board game in which 2-6 players become reckless Adventurers bent on looting an ancient pyramid and escaping with the most treasure. But the pyramid is filled with secrets...and dangers. Whichever Adventurer escapes alive with the most valuable archaeological relics is the winner.

The first sandy step

The ancient antechamber that marks the entrance and exit to Horus’ treasure-laden pyramid has long since turned to ruins after the pyramid was lost to the desert. Though the hieroglyphics that decorate its walls have faded and its floor is covered with rock and debris, it still holds valuable equipment and treasures of lesser value for the Adventurers to uncover before descending into the center of the pyramid.

The equipment will prove particularly useful to your Adventurer’s foray further into the cursed pyramid and is found nowhere else. Items such as Medi-kits and Antidote Vials are the only ones that will heal a wounded Adventurer. Other equipment, such as a Bag or a Crowbar, will assist an Adventurer with carrying treasure or accessing a locked-up relic.

Finally, perhaps the most useful item an Adventurer could uncover is the Udjat. This sacred medallion grants the owner the ability to sense which Stone Block will fall during that turn, and exchange it for another one. Of course, the Udjat is finicky and old, it only has enough power to allow your Adventurer to see the first block. Should your Adventurer decide to choose a new Block, he is unable to know where that one will fall. Will the second block prove worse than the first? Still, this knowledge can aid your Adventurer if he decides to use the Udjat before he moves and keep the current Stone Block; he alone will know whether the falling Block will harm the rest of the group and can use that knowledge to influence his actions that turn.

A venomous nest

Unfortunately for the Adventurers, the antechamber is home to poisonous cobras that live amongst the rocks, and they are not pleased when their slumber is disturbed. Your Adventurer risks a fanged kiss when he searches through the rubble.

Should your Adventurer fall victim to a cobra’s bite, he is wounded. He can only cure himself if he possesses or finds an Antidote Vial. Without being cured, your Adventurer’s Wound and Load Level (WLL) is affected. As the WLL cannot exceed 12, the more wounds an Adventurer possesses, the less treasure he can carry out of the pyramid. Be careful where you search!

The undaunted traveler

Maki Watanabe has journeyed across the world for one purpose: the promise of riches hidden beneath the hot Egyptian sands. Though this Japanese woman is young and unexperienced in the adventurer trade, she is fearless. Trained in martial arts, she possesses amazing skills and speed.

Each Adventurer possesses a special ability that will provide him with an advantage during his expedition and can be used once during the game. Maki Watanabe’s special ability is Reflexes.

Maki’s ability results from her speed; should a cobra attempt to sink its teeth into her intruding hand, she can avoid it. Therefore, if you are playing with Maki Watanabe, when you receive a wound card from an encounter with a cobra, you can discard it immediately. This is particularly advantageous in the Cobra’s Nest as it is the only location in the pyramid where Adventurers can gain equipment. With Reflexes, you are able to search for equipment that will aid you later in the game, and should you run into a cobra, discard the wound that would lower the amount of equipment and treasure you could carry.

Search for more previews in the coming weeks, and prepare for a daring escapade when The Adventurers: The Pyramid of Horus is released in the third quarter of 2011!