The Globetrotter Gazette Created by: Sascha Krasny

Hidden Treasure of the Pyramid IJC.at features another lost game treasure           July 31st 2003     Yokohama - My recent vacation to Japan yielded a lost treasure of Indy gaming: I got an original Indiana Jones and the Hidden Treasure of the Pyramid - RPG cardgame as a present. This original Japanese game must be one of the hardest to get Indy games out there. The only hint about the existence of the game on the internet I was able to find is my own site, IJC.at - and even more funny, I can only vague remember adding a line about the game to the Quickguide years ago. Help needed! First I like to call for help. My copy of the game is not complete. Most of all I am missing the games rules. I am also missing some of the cards but that's half that bad because the game includes some spare white cards. If you own this game (so I can verify the game pieces), if you have access to the rules (just a scan of the original Japanese text, I can get a translation) or if you have found any other internet resources about the game, please contact me: sas@blackbox.net The game Hidden treasure of the pyramid is a licensed © 1989 Lucasfilm Ltd. product, released by a company named Central Hobby. The game comes in a fake-book kind of box, which is actually a nice idea to start with. The cover reads: A light sensation Role-Playing Card Game! Indiana Jones (TM) Indiana Jones and the Hidden Treasure of the Pyramid Hidden Treasure of Pyramid Indiana Jones R.P.G. Cardgame In case you wonder about the missing "the" in the English title: That's just a bad translation by the game designer. I will stick to the correct translation of the Japanese title and list the game as "Hidden Treasure of the Pyramid". The back reads: R.P.G. CARDGAME HIDDEN TREASURE OF PYRAMID 2-8 players And some flavor text about the game story: Get trough the pyramid using the compass cards, overcome your enemies (mummy, zombie, goblin) and find the hidden treasure of the pyramid.   The game parts (in my box!): 1 six sided dice 4 nice real metal game figures 38 red compass cards (I am sure I am missing one, maybe two cards) 34 brown enemy cards (there are always four of each enemy so it seems I am missing two cards here) 20 beige Indy/heroin cards (fours sets in red, blue, yellow and green) 2 spare cards The gameplay Now this is a little tricky, giving thoughts about the gameplay without knowing the rules. First of all, I do not think this is a "RPG cardgame". To earn the "RPG" tag, the game would need a stronger RPG touch (maybe like the RPG boardgame Talisman). Treasure of the Pyramid looks like a fast card game with the interesting option of 2 - 8 players. I am guessing the enemy cards are placed face down in a stack (maybe multiple stacks) or face down laid out as a pyramid. The compass cards may be hold in hand to allow strategic movement. The Indy cards seem to be the life points indicator, why there are only four cards for this with numbers 3 to 6, I don't know, though. Same goes for the heroin card featuring the number 2. Also there are no cards with the value 1 in game. Overall this looks like a fun, fast game, I would like to play. If only I can get some rules :) sas   some of the game parts: Indy card, heroin card, compass card, 3 enemy cards, metal figures and dice