In Lords of the Sand, each player takes on the role of one of four different gods: Anubis, Thoth, Sobek, and Khnum. Each god has its own unique agenda and special abilities. Throughout the course of the game, players use Units, complete their court, use special abilities, and build Obelisks. With a combo-driven card system, as cards are played, additional actions may spawn multiple abilities, but a limited action system keeps downtime to a minimum. Each player scores points for the Obelisks he has built, his leader, and the cards in his Court. Lords of the Sand offers multiple scoring plaths, unique card play, and various special abilities with a playing time of about thirty minutes, plus ten minutes for each player above two.