Gardens of Babylon

Historical background

Traditionally theorised to have been built within the palace in Babylon (modern-day Baghdad) by Nebuchadrezzar II, king of Babylonia (c605—c561 BC), for his Median wife Amytis who longed for her lush mountain homeland, however no plausible traces of it have been found anywhere in the purported location. More recent research suggests the gardens were not built in Babylon but were in Niniveh, further north (modern-day Mosul, Iraq) by Sennacherib, king of Assyria (704—681 BC). He was known for his massive reconstruction works in Niniveh which included huge defensive encircling walls which still stand, his building of large public gardens, and his preoccupation with irrigation engineering.

Several classical authors provide some consensus on the details and dimensions of its construction, involving vaulted terraces and stone balconies, possibly built at least partly as a ziggurat on sloping terrain next to a royal palace, and complex irrigation by several means: viaduct, bronze-cast Archimedes screw, and possibly chain-driven wells.

The Bible notes Sennacherib chiefly in 2 Kings (ch. 18-20) and Isaiah (ch. 36-37). The destruction of Niniveh in 612 BC by Chaldean and Median armies is the subject of Nahum, and explains the non-existence of the gardens when later Greek authors are writing about it.

Likely raw materials and plants

Materials:

Stone - limestone, alabaster
Baked mud brick, fired enameled tiles
Reeds, bitumen (for waterproofing)
Lead, bronze

Currency:

Weights of silver and gold
1 mina (≈ 450 g, 1 lb) = 6 karšâ (≈ 45g, 1½ oz) = 10 shekel (≈ 7 g, ¼ oz)

Irrigation:

Niniveh is on the east bank of the River Tigris
Sennacherib built a 10 km canal and stone viaducts to transport water from springs and streams in hills to the north
Sennacherib knew how to build bronze-cast Archimedes screws to pull water uphill

Plants:

Grapes, pomegranate, apricots, pistachio, walnuts Sennacherib introduced the cotton "wool tree" plant.

Art/design ideas

Cuneiform tablets (library of Ashurbanipal), bas-reliefs (British Museum), lion gates, etc. Babylonian numbers

Gameplay ideas

Build the Hanging Gardens of Babylon with wooden pillars and walls, card mezzanine squares, aqueducts, waterproofing, reservoirs, and the Archimedes screw, using clay, stone, wood and lead.

Collect and plant sets of seedlings (points for variety and sets; like the science cards in 7 Wonders?). Special "tree" cards - collect a set, stick a tree somewhere for bonus points. Secure gold to pay for it all from the royal court, or failing that bribe officials, blackmail merchants or loot their caravans; but avoid getting caught (fine, thrown in jail miss a go, or some other penalty), and pay your thugs well so they don't defect (lose gold + random penalty?).

Survive floods, droughts, earthquakes, and invading armies?

Some sort of mechanic to make sure there's water going to all the squares, so your garden survives. Each round you need enough water: rainfall plus reservoir minus plantings minus trees > 0. if negative, lose plants + trees (and favour with court).

Favour with the court = finance, calculated by variety of plants, or size of construction somehow. If you suck too much you have to hire thugs to loot merchants and bribe officials, which might be more lucrative but more risky somehow (some sort of policing or justice thing).

Points for construction (higher layers have 2x, 3x multipliers), plant varieties and sets, trees, and remaining gold.

Can this be done so it isn't multiplayer solitaire - everyone's building the same one?

Update: darn, it seems there's already Amyitis, which is quite similar.
Another update: well, now that I've actually played Amyitis, it's quite different.