Hi Lord Lincoln, welcome to Pharaoh Heaven.
Naturally, most of the people at this forum will say that Pharaoh is well worth the money. You'd get more variety in your answers somewhere else.
C3 and Pharaoh (and Zeus) share the same game engine, so the basics (walkers, vacant lots, etc) are the same, but enough has changed to make the game experience quite different.
Perhaps the biggest difference is in monument building--there is nothing like it in C3, but some people consider maps which require the larger pyramids to be boring. There are more missions in the Pharaoh career (family history), and some of them have more challenges than any of the C3 missions. From what I hear, Pharaoh's map editor is better. To me, the main advantage of C3 is that it has less control and requires more overall strategy (which I really like), although some people consider that a disadvantage.
These are some clear-cut ways Pharaoh is easier than C3:
* Markets (bazaars) have special orders (each market can be told what to buy). This is perhaps the most important.
* There are 2 buyers for each market (bazaar), 1 for food and 1 for non-food goods.
* Granaries and warehouses (storage yards) have more extensive special orders.
* Granaries and warehouses (storage yards) can "get" from each other.
* The lowest-level patrician (scribal) houses form when they expand from 2x2 to 3x3, allowing individual control.
* Imports can be set to a specific amount.
* There are 120 (more with Cleopatra) possible entertainment "points", instead of 100.
* Granaries do not contain intersections.
* There are roadblocks for random walker control, which (compared to gatehouses) are smaller, cheaper, not undesirable, and look better.
These are some clear-cut ways that Pharaoh is harder than C3:
* Some entertainment venues contain intersections.
* Plazas may be built only on upgraded roads.
Many changes have mixed effects. Pharaoh farms harvest only 1 or 2 times per year, which means that production can be maximized when food storage is much farther away, but also means that more food storage (without micromanagement) is needed. Also, Pharaoh farms may be irrigated, have variable fertility, and (for floodplain farms) are affected by the (somewhat uncertain) annual floods, all of which I prefer.
Another change with mixed effects is water delivery. Pharaoh water supplies work like other buildings, but must be placed on grass. C3 reservoirs and fountains are a completely separate system, but can (in most cases) be put anywhere (with enough aqueducts). Both are appealing, but I slightly prefer the C3 water system.
These are some of the previous threads on the same topic:
C3 v PH v Zeus ?
the difference between C3 and pharaoh.
C3?
Pharaoh easier than C3
Pharaoh vs Caesar 3
Pharaoh vs. Caesar 3
Pharaoh Vs. C3
[This message has been edited by Brugle (edited 01-28-2002 @ 04:12 PM).]