Faiyum is a strategy game for planning enthusiasts. The basic rules are simple: play your cards one by one on your personal discard pile. After you play some or all of your cards, you take them back into your hand in "reverse" play order, so it's important to play cards in the best order. Newly purchased cards go directly into your hand, so the timing of getting and playing them is also important. Each card has easy-to-understand actions, but only by creating the best combined "engine" will you become a master advisor of Faiyum.

This game has a card mechanic reminiscent of deck builders and the market mechanic used successfully in Power Grid. Acquire more and more valuable cards and use the structures built on the game board to your advantage. In the end, the most cunning advisor who makes the best card combinations, Faiyum, wins.