Players take the roll of theatre commanders, controlling either the French invasion force, or the Allies, made up of Mamluk, Ottoman and British.

The French player must sail Admiral Brueys' invasion fleet from France, across the Mediterranean, avoiding Nelson and the British Navy while stopping at Malta, if they can. Bonaparte's army then disembarks on the Egyptian coast and must go on to conquer all of Egypt and parts of Syria, while escorting the savants to the Valley of the Kings.

The Allied player must use all the forces available to them, to first slow the French advance, then turn the tide and push back the French, with the goal of recapturing Cairo and Alexandria with either Ottoman or British forces.

The game uses one simple mechanic for everything a player does. This same simple mechanic is applied to movement, spotting at sea, combat, sieges, uprisings, and straggling. The game is, therefore, extremely easy to pick up and learn; the difficulty is in the accumulation of small tactical and strategic decisions that each player must make throughout every turn, which will ultimately lead to success or failure.

"Well, those basic rules couldn't be simpler or easier to understand - a feature generally of the rules in fact. Despite this, there is plenty of subtlety incorporated, especially in the combat system."

Mike Wall 'A Wargamers Needful Things'

As a player you are controlling all your important commanders in the theatre, whether naval or army. Every commander is given a 'Glory' rating, made up of how skillful the commander was, plus how lucky they appear to have been during the campaign. You, as a player, must use your commanders' glory to mitigate the situation on the board when luck doesn't go your way, but commanders only have so much glory and when it's gone it's gone. The decisions you make over what is important and what you can afford to let slip will ultimately decide victory or defeat.

"A player's turn is very, very fluid, being a mixture of movement and combat........There is so much possibility for variation here."

Mike Wall 'A Wargamers Needful Things'

The game has no cards, instead events are introduced using a unique Event Clock table. This allows for events to occur in a roughly chronological order with a degree of randomness that means neither player knows what might happen and when. Some events may never happen and some may occur multiple times so players can't depend on anything, instead they have to use their skill to mitigate the situation on the map according to what luck has thrown their way. The Event Clock drives the game and eventually brings about its end, but again neither player knows how many turns the game will last or when it might suddenly end, so they must make judgments based on the situation as it presents itself each turn.

"This is an ingenious and engaging device that is another important factor in producing that historical ambiance."

Mike Wall 'A Wargamers Needful Things'

Combat and sieges use a simple but subtle combat table that allow very asymmetric forces to fight each other with historically accurate results, while still using the same simple game mechanic used throughout the rules.

Events may instigate uprisings against the French or the allied player may cause them with the clever use of their Mamluk cavalry. Bedouins are always lurking to pick off French stragglers, reducing their commanders' glory and slowly adding to the French army's exhaustion. The game covers the entire 3 years the French were in Egypt. By the end of this period, negotiations are occuring at Amiens in France for a European peace. France wants to be able to claim Egypt as a colony at these talks, while the British government wants to maintain free access to trade with India via the camel routes.

Can you hold Egypt against all that the allies can throw at it? Or, could you secure a great victory by forcing the French to surrender? Use your skill to mitigate what luck deals out and make your decisions determine the fate of Egypt.