The oasis-like basin of Faiyum was utilized as an artificially created floodplain around 3,900 years ago when the region was connected to the Nile through the Bahr Yusuf Canal. During the Middle Kingdom of Egypt, this marshland was gradually transformed into farmland under several kings, such as Amenemhet III and Senusret II. They tasked their advisors with constructing a system of canals and dikes to urbanize the land, which was filled with crocodiles and surrounded by desert, and turn it into the breadbasket of all Egypt.

During the reign of Pharaoh Amenemhet III, you are now the Pharaoh’s advisors. Your mission is to harvest resources, build roads, establish settlements, and much more—all for the benefit of Faiyum! You will have access to the necessary labor, resources, and money to achieve one goal: earn the Pharaoh’s respect.

Of course, you undertake all these efforts not for your own gain, but in the name of the Pharaoh. If the other advisors need "your" roads, businesses, or other buildings, they are free to use them. Everything you create belongs to the Pharaoh.

Faiyum is a strategic game for fans of carefully planned gameplay. The basic game rules are extremely simple: play your cards one by one onto your personal discard pile. After you’ve played (almost) all your cards, you pick them up again in reverse order, starting with the last card played. Since newly purchased cards are immediately added to your hand, the order in which you use your cards is particularly important. Each of the individual cards offers easy-to-understand actions, but only by searching for the best combination of cards will you become the master advisor of Faiyum.

In this game, you use a card mechanism reminiscent of deck-building and the market mechanism successfully utilized in Power Grid. Acquire increasingly powerful cards and use the structures built by everyone on the game board to your advantage by increasing your reputation. Combine the various card actions to gain the most prestige. The cleverest advisor will win Faiyum.