The game is set as a clash between neighboring dynasties at the
dawn of civilization. The game is named after the rivers Tigris
and Euphrates in the region now called the Middle-East. The
rivers together formed natural borders for an area which
harboured several grand ancient civilizations, including Sumer,
Babylonia, and Assyria. The Greeks called this area Mesopotamia,
which literally means "between the rivers". The board is a map
of the two rivers, marked with a square grid. There are four
types of tiles with corresponding leaders: temples and priests
(red), farms and farmers (blue), markets and merchants (green)
and settlements and kings (black). The game starts with ten
isolated temple tiles already placed on the board. Players play
tiles and leaders onto the board, creating and expanding regions
and kingdoms. Monuments are built on the board when four tiles
of the same color are played into a square pattern. Two leaders
of the same type can not coexist in the same kingdom. Internal
conflicts are caused