Emperor's Choice Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Game Contents
• Game Setup
• Common Game Rules
• Flow of the Game
  • Ⅰ. Auction Phase
  • Ⅱ. Management Phase
  • Ⅲ. Imperial Decree Phase
  • Ⅳ. Setup Phase
• End of the Game
• Icon Types
• Qin Dynasty Tile Types
• Policy Card Types
  • 1-A) Centralization
  • 1-B) Decentralization
  • 2-A) Legalism
  • 2-B) Confucianism
  • 3-A) Extravagance
  • 3-B) Frugality
  • 4-A) Border Defence
  • 4-B) Expedition
  • 5-A) Meritocracy
  • 5-B) Blood Lineage
  • 6-A) Book Burning
  • 6-B) Book Preservation
• Character Card Types
• Imperial Treasure cards
• Gameflow Summary

Game Contents

• Number of players: 3 to 5 people

• Playing time: 90 to 120 minutes

• Recommended age: 12 years and above

• 1 Game board. The game board displays the following important game elements: Round indicator, Auction Withdrawal actions, Turn Order indicator, Emperor's Trust points, Imperial Decree actions.

• 1 Palace board. The Palace board displays the following important game elements: Palace level and game effect, Current Barbarian strength.

• 1 Victory point board. The Victory point board displays the following important game elements: Victory Points (VP).

• 154 Qin Dynasty tiles (Front and Back):

  • 12 Castle tiles
  • 6 Canal tiles
  • 36 Great Wall Tiles: 18 Towers, 18 Walls
  • 20 Carriage tiles: 4 × 5 types
  • 12 Confucianist tiles
  • 12 Legalist tiles
  • 12 Book tiles
  • 6 Precious Jade tiles
  • 5 Imperial Messenger tiles
  • 5 Gold Nugget tiles
  • 3 Royal Seal tiles
  • 10 Barbarian tiles

  (Please refer to the Qin Dynasty Tile Types list below for detailed effects.)

Character card details: each Character card shows a Power value, a Name of card, a Hiring cost of character, a Lineage icon indicating blood lineage, and a Special effect.

Policy card details: each Policy card shows a Policy name and an Effect.

Imperial Treasure card details: each Imperial Treasure card shows an Imperial Treasure card name and an Effect.

• 40 Soldier cubes (black): 35 + 5 reserve
• 40 × 1 Gold tokens
• 15 × 3 Gold tokens
• 30 Discs in 6 × 5 colours (Red, Blue, Yellow, Green, Purple)
• 6 Executed Policy discs (Brown)
• 2 Game discs (Grey)
• 5 Summary sheets
• 1 Bag
• 1 Rulebook

Victory point values are written on the cards: 11 × 2VP, 11 × 3VP, 10 × 4VP.

Game Setup

1. Place the game board, Palace board and Victory point board in the centre of the playing area. Place one of the brown game discs on Round 1 of the Game board. Place the other on the Barbarian strength (level 2) space of the Palace board.

2. Prepare the following number of Soldier cubes according to the number of players and place them in reach of all players:

   • 3 players: 21 tokens
   • 4 players: 28 tokens
   • 5 players: 35 tokens

   Return all the unused Soldier cubes to the box.

3. Place all the 1 Gold and 3 Gold tokens in reach of all players.

4. Each player chooses a preferred colour from red, blue, yellow, green and purple and receives the following starting items:

   • 2 Starting Cavalry cards: Power 2 and Power 3
   • 2 Starting Castle tiles (marked with an S), placed face-up.
   • 1 Starting Carriage tile (marked with an S), chosen at random.
   • 4 Soldier cubes
   • 6 discs in the player's colour:
     • place one on the 10VP space
     • place one on the 5 point space of the Emperor's Trust point track
     • place one on the Start space of the Palace board
     • keep the remaining 3 discs on hand to show the player's colour and for 100 point scoring

   Return all unused starting Castle tiles, Carriage tiles and Character cards to the box.

Common Game Rules

Soldier cubes: When a player would receive a Soldier cube but there are insufficient tokens in the supply, all players have to return TWO Soldier cubes to the supply.

• All players have to pay, including the player who is receiving the Soldier cubes. If a player has insufficient tokens to pay, they have to pay 3VP per insufficient token.
• In rare cases, if you have to pay Soldier cubes in the Auction Phase, and if you do not have sufficient unbid Soldier cubes to pay with, pay with bid Soldier cubes. However, the declared bid amounts will not be changed until the next player's turn.

Character cards: If there are insufficient Character cards in the deck, shuffle the discard pile face down to create a new deck. The starting Character cards and Bonus character card are discarded to the discard pile like regular Character cards.

Gold: There is no restriction on the amount of money a player may possess. In the case of insufficient Gold tokens in the supply, please use an appropriate substitute.

Emperor's Trust points: The maximum number of Trust points a player may gain is 30. If a player goes above this number, all players including the gaining player immediately lose 10 points. If a player has insufficient points to pay, they lose 2VP for each Emperor's Trust point they are unable to pay.

Tribute cards: If a player would draw a Tribute card but the Tribute card deck is empty, that player gains 3VP instead.

Public and private information: A player's Character cards and Tribute cards are private information. All other possessions are public information and should be displayed in view of other players.

Victory points (VP): VP is displayed by placing a disc of your colour on the Victory point board. Every time a player exceeds 100 points, they place a disc on the +100 space and starts anew from 0. The minimum possible VP value that a player may possess is 0, and may not go lower.

Character card effects: Some Character cards have special effects that take effect at the time of bidding. These effects are compulsory. (Please refer to Character Card Types for details.) The game end icon (a circled 7) and the defence icon (a shield) do not take effect at this time.

Flow of the Game

This game will be carried out over six rounds and the score will be totalled at the end of these six rounds to determine the winner.

Each round is divided into the following phases:

• Ⅰ. Auction Phase
• Ⅱ. Management Phase
• Ⅲ. Imperial Decree Phase
• Ⅳ. Setup Phase

After each of these phases are carried out in order, the round ends.

Each phase will now be explained in detail.

Ⅰ. Auction Phase

In this phase, players compete with their Character cards and Soldier cubes to compete for turn order. Beginning from the start player, players carry out either A) or B). This may be repeated any number of times.

• A) Bid and display Character cards and/or Soldier cubes
• B) Pass

This phase will continue until all players have chosen B) Pass. A player who chooses B) Pass may not rejoin the bidding. In addition, the first player MUST choose A) and start with a bid. If all other players have chosen B) Pass, the last player must then also choose B) Pass.

B) Pass: Announce that you pass to all players and leave the auction. Carry out the following steps:

1. Take the tile with the highest value (lowest turn order).

2. According to the tile that you took, lose Character cards or Soldier cubes. Bid Soldier cubes are grouped together and treated as a Character card with the Power of the total number of Soldier cubes. Place all Character cards that you have bid in order of Power size and discard the Character card that corresponds to the Turn Order tile taken.

   For example, if you took the Turn Order 1 tile, you would discard the person card with the number 1 (highest) power among the Character cards that you bid. If there are multiple Character cards of the same Power, you can choose which you would like to discard.

   • Starting cards and bonus cards are discarded in the same way. After discarding, return all other Character cards and Soldier cubes to your hand.
   • If you did not bid the number of Character cards equal to the Turn Order tile (e.g. if you took Turn Order 3 but only bid 2 Character cards), you do not have to discard anything.

A) Bid and display Character cards and/or Soldier cubes: With this action, a player displays their Character cards and Soldier cubes and announces their bid. The player chooses a minimum of 0 Character cards and 0 Soldier cubes from their hand to display. On the starting player's first turn, they have to display at least 1 Character card or 1 Soldier cube. The following restriction applies: you can only display at most ONE more Character card than the previous highest number of Character cards bid and displayed.

Calculate the total bid value by adding the total Power value shown on the Character card as well as 1 Power per Soldier cube. The total bid value must be greater than previously bid values. The bid value includes the sum of previously displayed and bid Character cards and Soldier cubes as well as any Character cards and Soldier cubes to pay with.

Example: Li Xin, Meng Tian and Wang Ben are playing a 3 player game. It is Li Xin's turn.

Li Xin has displayed the following bid on his previous turn:

• Cavalry (3 Power)
• Two Soldier cubes (2 Power)

Total = 5 Power

Wang Ben has already passed, and Meng Tian has displayed the following bid:

• Supply officer (3 Power)
• Cavalry (3 Power)

Since Meng Tian has displayed 2 cards, Li Xin may play up to 3 cards if he wishes (this includes the card he has already played). Li Xin displays an additional Cavalry (2 Power) and 1 Soldier cube to add to his bid. His bid is now:

• Cavalry (3 Power)
• Cavalry (2 Power)
• 3 Soldier cubes (3 Power)

Total = 8 Power

As a result, Li Xin's bid is now 8, surpassing Meng Tian's bid of 6.

Example: Li Xin has bid the following cards and Soldier cubes:

• General (9 Power)
• Military Officer (4 Power)
• 4 Soldier cubes (4 Power)
• Cavalry (3 Power)

The Power rank of Character cards bid this phase is 9, 4, 4, 3. Li Xin took the Turn Order 3 tile, and therefore needs to discard the third largest bid item. Since both the Military Officer and the 4 Soldier cubes have the same Power, he may choose to discard either the Military Officer card or the 4 Soldier cubes.

3. Choose one of the remaining face-up Auction Withdrawal action tiles on the board and carry out that effect. After that, turn that Auction Withdrawal action tile face down. Please refer to Icon Types for details on the Auction Withdrawal action types.

The Auction Phase ends when everyone passes. Next, proceed to Ⅱ. Management Phase.

Ⅱ. Management Phase

In this phase, you perform actions one at a time in order from the player with the smallest Turn Order tile. When the player with the highest Turn Order tile finishes his action, the Management phase ends.

The player on turn carries out the following actions in sequence:

1. Gain Qin Dynasty tiles
2. Use Immediate Effect tiles
3. Collect Income
4. Use Imperial Treasure card effects
5. Resupply

Each of these steps is explained in detail below:

1. Gain Qin Dynasty tiles: Acquire one set of Qin Dynasty tiles from the Tile Display and place it in front of you. Place tiles of the same type with Qin Dynasty tiles of the same type acquired in the previous rounds.

2. Use Immediate Effect tiles: Use all Immediate Effect tiles acquired in this round (compulsory). Immediate Effect tiles are marked with a red "X" icon. After using the tiles, they are removed from the game.

• Imperial Messenger tile: Gain 4 Emperor's Trust points.

• Precious Jade tile: Gain one of the 3 Royal Treasure cards. You may take an unclaimed Royal Treasure card or one belonging to another player.

• Gold Nugget tile: Gain 3 Gold.

• Royal Seal tile: Select one of the following:

  • A) Choose a Policy card that does not have an Executed Policy disc, and score it.
  • B) Turn over a Policy card.

  Please refer to III. Imperial Decree Phase for more details.

3. Collect Income: For each Castle tile, gain 1 Gold (e.g. gain 3 Gold for 3 Castle tiles). If the Policy 'Extravagance' is face up, gain 1 Gold per Canal tile.

4. Use Imperial Treasure effects: You can use any number of Imperial Treasure cards that you own.

5. Resupply: You can do the following three actions a) b) or c) at most once in any order. You may choose to omit any of these steps.

• A) Recruit a Character card: Choose ONE Character card from the Recruitment display and gain it into your hand. Pay the recruitment cost listed on the card.

  • • Character cards are only refreshed during IV. Setup Phase. Do not refill cards in the Recruitment display until this time.

• B) Hire Soldiers: Gain one Soldier cube per 1 Gold paid (e.g. pay 4 Gold and gain 4 Soldier cubes).

• C) Increase Palace level: Increase your Palace level on the Palace board. Choose one of the following three options:

  • Pay 1 Gold to increase 1 level
  • Pay 3 Gold to increase 2 levels
  • Pay 6 Gold to increase 3 levels
  • It is not possible to increase your Palace level by more than 3 levels in a turn.

  After paying the Gold amount, move your player disc and increase the Palace levels correspondingly. For each Palace level that you pass or stop on, choose an effect from one of the two sides. You may decide on the effect of the Palace level after seeing the results of the previous levels. Once the highest level has been reached, no more levels may be obtained.

  • You may not use money gained from Palace effects to raise the Palace level in the same turn.

Example: Li Xin has 4 Gold. First, he carries out a) Recruit a Character card. He pays 3 Gold and chooses the General from the Recruitment Display (8 Power) into his hand. Next, he carries out c) Increase Palace level by paying 1 Gold and increasing his Palace level by 1.

Ⅲ. Imperial Decree Phase

In this phase players will score and flip Policy cards. Follow steps 1 through 7 below.

1. Identify the player with the highest Emperor's Trust amongst the players. If there are multiple players tied for points, choose the player with the smallest Turn Order tile.

   Example: Li Xin, Meng Tian and Wang Ben are playing a 3 player game. Their Trust points and Turn Order tiles are as follows: Li Xin: 7 points, No. 1. Meng Tian: 10 points, No. 2. Wang Ben: 10 points, No. 3. Meng Tian and Wang Ben are tied in Trust points. Since Meng Tian has a smaller Turn Order number, he is chosen.

2. The player identified in 1. chooses one of the two Imperial Decree actions to carry out, and flips the tile over.

3. The player identified in 1. reduces Emperor's Trust points corresponding to the round number:

   • 1st round: reduce Trust by 3 points
   • 2nd round: reduce Trust by 4 points
   • 3rd round: reduce Trust by 5 points
   • 4th round: reduce Trust by 6 points
   • 5th round: reduce Trust by 7 points
   • 6th round: reduce Trust by 10 points

4. Identify the player with the highest Emperor's Trust amongst the players (the same player may be selected).

5. The player identified in 4. carries out the remaining Imperial Decree action and flips the tile over.

6. The player identified in 4. reduces Emperor's Trust points corresponding to the round number (the same amount as in step 3).

7. If this is the 6th round, proceed to the End of the Game. For rounds 1-5, proceed to 4. Setup Phase.

※ Some Policies may affect the Emperor's Trust points.

There are two types of Imperial Decree action tiles.

A) Imperial Decree action tile 1 (Score + Flip): Do the following three actions in any order (explained in detail below).

• a) Score a Policy card
• b) Flip over a Policy card
• Score 3VP

B) Imperial Decree action tile 2 (Score + Tribute): Do the following three actions in any order (explained in detail below).

• a) Score a Policy card
• Gain a Tribute card
• Score 3VP

Each action is explained in detail below:

a) Score a Policy card (compulsory). Follow steps 1-4 in sequence.

1. Choose one Policy card with no Executed Policy discs. If a Tribute card is placed under this card, the active player may gain the Tribute card.

2. Score the Policy card chosen in 1. Scoring occurs for ALL players. Please refer to Policy Card Types for more details.

3. After scoring, place an Executed Policy disc on the card.

4. If all six Executed Policy discs have been placed on cards, immediately do the following:

   Draw a Tribute card and place it under the Policy card with no Executed Policy discs on it. After that, remove all Executed Policy discs and place them next to the Policy cards.

b) Flip a Policy card (NOT compulsory). Pick one of the Policy cards and flip it over. You may flip over cards that either have or do not have Executed Policy discs and/or Tribute cards, but do not change its status otherwise.

Example: Because Meng Tian had the most Emperor's Trust points he chooses Imperial Decree action tile 1 (Score + Flip). First, Meng Tian scores 3 VP. Next, he carries out b) Flip a Policy card. He flips the Book Burning Policy card to Book Preservation. Finally, he carries out a) Score a Policy card (compulsory). He scores Book Preservation which he just flipped over. All players now total their number of books to gain VP. Li Xin: 1 Book x 5VP = Gain 5VP. Meng Tian: 2 Books x 5VP = Gain 10VP. Wang Ben: No Books. After this, all 3 Book tiles are removed from the game, and Li Xin and Meng Tian each earn 1 Tribute card.

Ⅳ. Setup Phase

In the sixth round, this phase will not be performed. Immediately proceed to the end of the game.

For the first to the fifth rounds, carry the following steps 1 to 5 out.

1. Draw Qin Dynasty tiles one by one from the cloth bag and make sets to refill the Tile display according to the number of players:

   • 3 players: 4 tiles - 3 tiles - 2 tiles
   • 4 players: 4 tiles - 3 tiles - 3 tiles - 2 tiles
   • 5 players: 4 tiles - 3 tiles - 3 tiles - 3 tiles - 2 tiles

   If Barbarian tiles are drawn in the process, increase the value of Barbarian strength accordingly on the Palace board. Barbarian tile strength values range from 1 to 2. Then, remove these tiles from the game and replenish them with new Qin Dynasty tiles.

2. The start player of the next round will be the player who won the tile with the largest Turn Order tile number this round. All players then return their Turn Order tile to the game board.

3. Flip all Auction Withdrawal action tiles and Imperial Decree action tiles face up.

4. Discard all Character cards in the Recruitment display, and draw new Character cards (number of players plus 1) to form a new display.

5. Advance the round marker one space to the next round. The round is now over, proceed to Ⅰ. Auction Phase of the next round.

End of the Game

When the 6th Imperial Decree Phase is over, a final scoring occurs and the game ends. Follow steps 1 to 7 to carry out final VP scoring.

1. Score ALL Policy cards: Remove all Executed Policy discs from all Policy cards. Now, all Policy cards are scored once each from left to right. However, only the FRONT policies are scored.
2. Emperor's Trust points bonus: All players gain VP equal to half their Emperor's Trust points rounded down.
3. Palace level bonus: All players gain VP shown to the right of their player disc on the Palace level on the Palace board.
4. Gold: All players gain 1VP per Gold token.
5. Character card bonus: Score all of the Game End effects on Character cards. These Game End effects are marked with a game end icon (a circled 7).
6. Imperial Treasure cards: Earn 3 VP for Imperial Treasure card you possess.
7. Tribute cards: Gain VP stated on the Tribute cards.

The player with the most VP wins! In the case of a tie, the player with the most Character cards wins ties. If this is also tied, the player with the Character with the highest Power value wins ties. If this is also tied, the player with the smallest Turn Order tile wins ties.

Icon Types

The following is a list of icons shown on Starting Bonus tiles, Auction Withdrawal action tiles and Palace board levels. If there are multiple icons separated by a '/' (slash), select only one of the two effects to execute.

• ↑1 Raise the Palace level by one: You do not need to pay the Gold cost. Carry out the Palace actions on the step that you pass.
• ↑2 Raise the Palace level by two: You do not need to pay the Gold cost. Carry out the Palace actions on the steps that you pass.
• Gain Emperor's Trust points: Gain Emperor's Trust points equal to the number stated.
• Gain Gold tokens: Gain Gold tokens equal to the number stated.
• Gain Soldier cubes: Gain Soldier cubes equal to the number stated.
• Gain VP: Gain VP equal to the number stated.
• Gain a 3 Power Cavalry card: Gain the bonus 3 Power Cavalry card.
• Gain 1 Qin Dynasty tile: Draw a random Qin Dynasty tile from the bag and add it to your hand. If Barbarian tiles are drawn in the process, increase the value of Barbarian strength accordingly on the Palace board. Barbarian tile strength values range from 1 to 2. Then, remove these tiles from the game and draw a replacement tile.
• Draw 2 tiles and gain 1: Draw two random Qin Dynasty tiles from the bag, choose 1 and add it to your hand, and return the other to the bag. If Barbarian tiles are drawn in the process, increase the value of Barbarian strength accordingly on the Palace board. Barbarian tile strength values range from 1 to 2. Then, remove these tiles from the game and draw a replacement tile.
• Gain 1 Character card: Draw a random Character card from the deck and add it to your hand.

Qin Dynasty Tile Types

• Castle tile: Gain 1 Gold during the Management Phase. May be used to gain VP for certain Policy scoring.
• Canal tile: When the Extravagance Policy side is face up, the Canal tile is treated exactly like a Castle tile. Gain 1 Gold during the Management Phase. The Canal tile is treated like a Canal tile AND a Castle tile for purposes of scoring. May be used to gain VP for certain Policy scoring.
• Great Wall tile: There are two types of Great Wall tiles: towers and walls. To build the Great Wall, towers and walls need to be placed left to right alternatingly (for example, wall - tower - wall - tower - wall). Tiles arranged in this way will form the length of the player's Great Wall. May be used to gain VP for certain Policy scoring.
  • • If you are not able to arrange tiles alternatingly (e.g. you have 4 towers but 1 wall), you may keep the extra tiles in hand until you are able to connect them.
• Carriage tile: There are 5 types of Carriage tiles (numbered 1-5). May be used to gain VP for certain Policy scoring.
• Confucianist tile: May be used to gain VP and Emperor's Trust points for certain Policy scoring.
• Legalist tile: May be used to gain VP and Emperor's Trust points for certain Policy scoring.
• Book tile: May be used to gain VP and Tribute cards for certain Policy scoring.
• Precious Jade tile: Use this tile immediately when acquired. Pick an Imperial Treasure card and gain it into your hand. You may pick an unclaimed Imperial Treasure card or one belonging to another player. Remove the tile from the game after executing the effect.

Editor's note: the printed rulebook calls the Precious Jade and Royal Seal tiles 'Royal Treasure' and 'Royal Seal' in the Management Phase section, and 'Imperial Treasure' and 'Imperial Seal' in this list. Both names are kept as printed.

Policy Card Types

Some Policy cards have 'Continuous' effects. These 'Continuous' effects are in play as long as the card is face up. When the card is flipped over, the effect becomes inactive.

1-A) Centralization

When scored:

• Gain 1 VP per Soldier cube. The player with the most Soldier cubes pays 2 Soldier cubes and gains 2 Gold tokens. If this is tied, this effect applies to all tied players.

1-B) Decentralization

When scored:

• Gain 2VP per Castle tile.
• ※ If the Policy card Extravagance is face up, Canal tiles also count as Castle tiles for scoring.

2-A) Legalism

When scored:

• Gain 2VP if you possess 1 tile
• Gain 5VP if you possess 2 tiles
• Gain 9VP if you possess 3+ tiles
• Gain Emperor's Trust points equal to the number of tiles you possess. Discard 1 Legalist tile after scoring.

Example: Legalism is scored. Li Xin has 4 Legalist tiles. First, he gains 9 VP for possessing 3+ tiles. Then, he gains 4 Emperor's Trust points. Finally, he discards 1 Legalist tile, leaving 3 in his hand.

2-B) Confucianism

When scored:

• Gain 2VP if you possess 1 tile
• Gain 5VP if you possess 2 tiles
• Gain 9VP if you possess 3+ tiles
• Gain Emperor's Trust points equal to the number of tiles you possess. Discard 1 Confucianist tile after scoring.

3-A) Extravagance

When scored:

• 2VP per Canal tile
• 1VP per length of Great Wall

Continuous Effect:

• Treat Canal tiles as Castle tiles

3-B) Frugality

When scored:

• A player who chooses to score this Policy card draws one Tribute card.
• No effect during final scoring.

4-A) Border Defence

When scored:

• Compare each player's Defence total with the Barbarian strength total.
• A player's Defence total is calculated from the following:
  • 2 Defence per 1 length of the Great Wall
  • Reveal card(s) from your hand with Defence value. Add this value to your total.
• If your defence value is the same as or greater than the Barbarian strength total, you are victorious and gain the Barbarian strength + 2VP as your reward for repelling the Barbarians. After scoring, pay 2 Soldier cubes.
• If your defence value is lower than the Barbarian strength total, you have lost and gain VP equal to your Great Wall length divided by 2 rounded down. After scoring, pay 1 Soldier cube.
• ※ Return any revealed Character cards to your hand.

Example: Border Defence is scored. The Barbarian strength is 12. Li Xin has the following Great Wall tiles: Tower - Wall - Tower - Wall - Tower for a total of 10 Defence. Li Xin reveals the Character card 'Military Commander' from his hand, gaining 2 extra Defence. His total is now 12 Defence, equalling the Barbarian strength of 12. He therefore gains the Barbarian's strength of 12 + 2VP = 14VP. After scoring, Li Xin discards 2 Soldier cubes.

4-B) Expedition

When scored:

• Compare each player's Defence total with the Barbarian strength total.
• A player's Defence total is calculated from the following:
  • 1 Defence per 1 length of the Great Wall
  • 1 Defence per Soldier cube
  • Reveal card(s) from your hand with Defence value. Add this value to your total.
• If your defence value is the same as or greater than the Barbarian strength total, you are victorious and gain the Barbarian strength + 2VP as your reward for combatting the Barbarians. After scoring, pay 3 Soldier cubes.
• If your defence value is lower than the Barbarian strength total, you have lost and gain VP equal to your Defence total divided by 2 rounded down. After scoring, pay 1 Soldier cube.
• ※ Return any revealed Character cards to your hand.

Example: Expedition is scored. The Barbarian strength is 10. Meng Tian has the following Great Wall tiles: Wall - Tower - Wall for 3 Defence. He also has 4 Soldier cubes for another 4 Defence. As Meng Tian does not possess any Character card in his hand with the Defence icon, his Defence total is only 7, losing to the Barbarian strength of 12. He therefore gains half of his Defence total: 7/2 = 3VP (rounded down). After scoring, Meng Tian discards 1 Soldier cube.

5-A) Meritocracy

When scored:

• Reveal 2 Character cards from your hand with the highest Power value. Gain VP equal to the sum of the 2 Power values.
• ※ Return any revealed Character cards to your hand.

5-B) Blood Lineage

When scored:

• Reveal Character cards from your hand with the Lineage icon. Gain 3VP per Lineage icon.
• ※ Return any revealed Character cards to your hand.

6-A) Book Burning

When scored:

• Players who have NO Book tiles gain 6 VP.
• Then, all players lose all Book tiles, removing them from the game.

6-B) Book Preservation

When scored:

• Gain 5 VP per Book icon.
• Then, all players lose all Book tiles, removing them from the game.
• Any player who threw away one or more Book tiles gains one Tribute card.

7-A) Emperor's Tour

When scored:

• Gain 1 VP for each Carriage tile.
• Then, score additional VPs if you possess multiple Carriage types.
• Different Type Bonus:
  • 2 types ... 1VP
  • 3 types ... 3VP
  • 4 types ... 5VP
  • 5 types ... 8VP
  • • Count the number of different Carriage types.

Example: Emperor's Tour was scored. Li Xin has the following Carriage tiles: 1 - 1 - 2 - 2 - 4 - 5. First, Li Xin scores 6VP for having six Carriage tiles. Next, he scores 5VP for having 4 different Carriage types, for a total of 11 VP.

7-B) Emperor's Parade

When scored:

• Gain 1 VP for each Carriage tile.
• Then, score additional VPs for each type of Carriage in which you have 2 or more of the same type.
• Same Type Bonus:
  • 2 of the same ... 2VP
  • 3 of the same ... 3VP
  • 4 of the same ... 9VP
  • 5 of the same ... 14VP
  • • If you have more than 2 Carriage tiles of different types, you may obtain bonus points from each type.

Example: Emperor's Parade was scored. Li Xin has the following Carriage tiles: 1 - 1 - 2 - 2 - 4 - 5. First, Li Xin scores 6VP for having six Carriage tiles. Next, he scores 4VP for having 2 of the same Carriage tiles in 2 different types (1-1 and 2-2, 2VP x 2 types), for a total of 10 VP.

Character Card Types

• Cavalry: No special effect.
• Military Officer: When Border Defence or Expedition is scored, gain 1 Defence.
• Military Commander: When Border Defence or Expedition is scored, gain 2 Defence.
• Crown Prince: Possesses Lineage. Gain 6VP at the end of the game.
• Prince: Possesses Lineage. Gain 3VP at the end of the game.
• Empress: Possesses Lineage. When displayed during I. Auction phase, gain 1 Emperor's Trust point.
• Concubine: Possesses Lineage. When displayed during I. Auction phase, gain 1 Emperor's Trust point.
• Eunuch: Possesses Lineage. When displayed during I. Auction phase, lose 2 Emperor's Trust points and gain 1 Tribute card.
• Field Marshal: The Field Marshal's Power value is equal to the number of Soldier cubes the player possesses + 2.
  • ※ It does not matter whether the Soldier cubes have been bid or not.
• Grand Minister: At the end of the game, gain 1VP per Castle tile.
  • ※ If Extravagance is face up, Canal tiles also count.
• Philosopher: At the end of the game, gain 2 VP for each Legalist tile and 2 VP for Confucius tile.

Imperial Treasure cards

• Royal Sword:
  • 1st to 4th Round: Gain 1 Soldier cube
  • 5th to 6th Round: Gain 2 Soldier cubes
  • Gain 3VP at the end of the game.
• Legendary Grail:
  • 1st to 4th Round: Gain 1 Emperor's Trust point
  • 5th to 6th Round: Gain 2 Emperor's Trust points
  • Gain 3VP at the end of the game.
• Jade Bangle:
  • 1st to 4th Round: Gain 2VP
  • 5th to 6th Round: Gain 4VP
  • Gain 3VP at the end of the game.

Gameflow Summary

Ⅰ. Auction Phase: In clockwise order, choose A) or B). The phase ends when all players have chosen B.

• A) Bid and display Character cards and or Soldier cubes: Display Character cards and Soldier cubes to increase your bid. You can only bid at most ONE more Character card than the previous highest number of Character cards bid and displayed.
• B) Pass.
  1. Take the tile with the highest value (lowest turn order).
  2. According to the tile that you took, lose Character cards or Soldier cubes.
  3. Execute 1 Auction Withdrawal action.

Ⅱ. Management Phase:

1. Gain 1 set of Qin Dynasty tiles
2. Use Immediate Effect tiles
3. Collect Income
4. Use Imperial Treasure card effects
5. Resupply
   • a) Gain ONE Character card by paying the cost
   • b) Hire Soldier cubes for 1 Gold each
   • c) Increase Palace level for 1 level: 1 Gold, 2 levels: 3 Gold, 3 levels: 6 Gold

Ⅲ. Imperial Decree Phase: The player with the highest Emperor's Trust points chooses A) or B) to score (carried out twice per round). The second scorer chooses the remainder from A) or B).

• A) Score + Flip
• B) Score + Tribute

Round 1-5: proceed to Ⅳ. Setup Phase, set up for the next round.

Last Round: proceed to Game End, execute Final Scoring.