IMPRESSIONS GAMES HOSTS EGYPTIAN CITY BUILDING CONTEST, UNVEILS ONLINE CITY VIEWER FOR PHARAOH

December 16, 1999 (CAMBRIDGE, MA) - Impressions Games™ proudly announced today that they will host an ancient Egyptian city design contest on the web and premiere their new Eye of Ra online city viewer built into the official Pharaoh website (http://www.pharaoh1.com). The contest begins December 17th with a brand-new mission that will be used for the contest and made available for download for fans to play. At the end of each week, the new viewer will showcase the winning city for all to see. The Eye of Ra lets users zoom in, out and scroll around a city built in Pharaoh. The viewer will premiere by showcasing a city designed and built by members of the development team.

All players will be invited to submit saved games of their cities for competition in such categories as aesthetic design, highest ratings, largest city, most creative, and others. Each week a new set of criteria for the following week's contest will be announced - along with some never-before-seen missions. In addition, each week's winner will have his or his/her city displayed in the Eye of Ra city viewer on the Pharaoh website and win prizes, such as official Pharaoh T-shirts or the Pharaoh - soundtrack.

Pharaoh is set in ancient Egypt from 3200 - 1350 BC and allows players to lay out majestic Egyptian cities and grow them into thriving metropolises. Players will experience the challenges and thrills of building pyramids of such vast proportions that they are still listed first among the great wonders of the world. Fans will discover why the Nile was so crucial to all aspects of life as they witness the effects of seasonal flooding on the lives of the local inhabitants. Players will feel as if they have been transported back in time to ancient Egypt as they watch the inhabitants and economy of this exotic land come to life. More information and artwork can be found at http://www.pharaoh1.com.

Impressions Games, creator of some of the most innovative, best selling strategy titles, including the Lords of the Realm, Lords of Magic, Civil War Generals and City Building series, is a leading developer of PC games with offices in Cambridge, MA. More information can be found at http://www.impressionsgames.com and http://www.sierrastudios.com.

Sierra On-Line, Inc. http://www.sierra.com/ is one of the original developers and largest worldwide publishers of interactive entertainment and productivity software. Sierra is a division of Havas Interactive, a global leader in interactive content, and is one of the world's largest publishers of education, entertainment and home productivity software. Its divisions, Blizzard®, Coktel, Knowledge Adventure®, Sierra™ and WON.net™ are famous for releasing critically acclaimed and award winning titles. Havas has operations in the US and in Europe and is a subsidiary of the French publishing house Havas, part of Vivendi Communications.