A secret scroll has been uncovered, and now you must race against time to try and save Egypt’s eighteenth dynasty in Time Builders: Pyramid Rising 2. Do you have what it takes to complete the tasks set before you and build the eight majestic temples? Or will Egypt’s eighteenth dynasty be the last?

Now I’m not normally a big time management fan, but Time Builders: Pyramid Rising 2 is set in Egypt, and I have always adored that era in history. So, for the sake of my inner history nerd, I gave it a try.

Time Builders: Pyramid Rising 2 begins with an opening scene that’s supposed to set up the storyline (something about a found secret scroll that spells out doom for the dynasty), and, honestly, it kind of put me off the game. I felt like I was watching an episode of Reading Rainbow, where someone was reading the story while the screen just slowly zoomed in on the page of the book.

Growing up, I loved Reading Rainbow (though I had the worst time trying to figure out how Geordi got rid of his visor, (hey, I was a kid)) but I wasn’t expecting it in this game. I was also rather disappointed with the main characters, who spend most of their on-screen time looking like someone is in the process of kicking them in their happy places.

Imagine my surprise, then, when I got to actual gameplay and started having a blast. As I mentioned, I don’t often play time management games, so I was a little panicked at the idea of having to manage… well… anything.

Luckily, Time Builders: Pyramid Rising 2 has a pretty good tutorial that walked me through the goals of each level. And let me tell you: those adorable little workers and priests were a heck of a lot more fun to watch than the main characters.

They’re buzzing all over the place, building things, gathering treasures, and collecting rent. And, I was pleasantly surprised at how distinct each kind of minion was. I could tell which ones were workers and which were priests without really having to take a second glance, which doesn’t mean much for gameplay but made me happy.

You know what else made me happy? Their little "Walk Like an Egyptian" victory dances at the end of each level. You go, little dudes.

Another positive for Time Builders: Pyramid Rising 2 was how manageable everything was. There’s a lot of multitasking, especially as the levels progress, but I never felt like things were out of control. The goals for each level are always pretty clearly labeled (I’m a checklist kind of girl) and getting things accomplished in time to receive at least a silver bonus hourglass was never really a problem.

Being a bit of an OCD individual, I did hate getting timed out of a gold hourglass. Luckily, you can play the different levels over again to attempt a better score. And, if you’re anything like me, you’ll be compelled to do so, elsewise you’re going to have a mix of gold, silver, and bronze pyramids marking the completed areas on your map. And who wants that?

The only problem I had with the levels was the inevitable tick-tick-ticking of my hourglass bonus running out. I have a tiny problem with stress management, and hearing my time tick down was really not helping. I know the point is to assist with managing time (it is a time management game, after all) but for me the ticking never alerted me in enough time to do anything about finishing the level faster. So, really it was just there to stress me out.

Since the music really isn’t anything to get worked up about (with the notable exception of the minion victory dance) go ahead and put the game on mute, strung-out people of the world. You’re not missing much.

There are, however, a lot of little neat things in Time Builders: Pyramid Rising 2 that make it worth checking out, like the bonuses you can trade scarab beetles for at the beginning of each level that help you finish in gold hourglass time.

The way you track your progress is also pretty cool; you start out with a blank tabletop, and with each completed level a new miniature building appears or is embellished. What’s really neat are the ghost images of the buildings you have yet to build; it kind of gives you an idea of where you are in the grand scheme of the game.

I really wasn’t expecting to like Time Builders: Pyramid Rising 2 as much as I did. It’s a cute and enjoyable way to spend an evening, especially if you’re a geek for Egypt (like I am).

There were a few things I never warmed up to (the main characters), and I feel as though the storyline is really superfluous to the game, but I’m definitely adding Time Builders: Pyramid Rising 2 to my list of things to do on a lazy evening. With all that building going on, I’ll still get to feel productive!