Empires Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
• Setup
  • The Supply
  • The Market
  • Selection Cards
  • First Game
  • Standard Game
    • Drafting Nations Example
    • 2-Player Game Setup Example
• Gameplay
  • Institutions
    • Building Institutions Example
  • Trading
  • National Powers
    • National Power Example
  • Rounds
• End of the Game
  • The Winner
  • Ties
• Develop Phase
  • Develop Phase Example
• Market Phase
  • Market Phase Example
• War Phase
  • War Phase Example
• Nations Reference
• Credits

Components

Assets

• 275 Support cards, representing both the nation's happy citizens and its rebellious factions.
• 150 People figures, representing a nation's population.
• 50 Bonds tiles, representing a nation's debt.
• 103 Gold Coins, representing a nation's wealth.
• 100 Goods tiles, representing all material things that citizens desire, from wheat and lumber to spices, tea, and whisky.
• 150 Territory tiles, representing the land a nation controls, both domestic provinces and foreign colonies.
• 11 Nation tiles, representing colonial European nations.
• 121 Selection cards, 11 per nation, used to determine a nation's priorities and expenditure.
• 10 Player Tableaus, used to track resources and for quick reference. Each tableau shows a Develop, Market, and War reference on the front, and the National Powers and Institutions reference on the back.
• 11 National flag tokens, used to mark victors in war.
• 1 Diplomacy token, typically held by the most peaceful player.
• 14 War tiles, representing opportunities for expansion around the world. These have a colored active side and a muted inactive side.
• 1 Market board extension, for games with 4 or more players.
• 1 Market board, representing different locations around the world where Goods can be sold.

Setup

The Supply

Separate the Support cards, Gold coins, People figures, and tokens into stacks by type in the center of the play area to form the supply.

The Market

Place the market board in the center of the player area (in a 4+ player game, place both market boards). Find the port with the number of players in the game as denoted by the person mark. Then cover any port spaces to the left of that port space with Bonds - these covered ports are unavailable for this game.

Selection Cards

Each player takes a set of selection cards. At this point the exact set chosen does not matter. Make sure you have all 11, numbering 0 through 10.

First Game

For your first game, or when teaching new players, use the following rule changes.

Setup

• All players start with the same assets rather than varying assets of the unique nations. Everyone takes 5 Gold, 4 Territories, 4 People, 1 Good, 1 Bond, 1 face-up Supporter, and 1 face-up Revolt.
• Everyone picks a nation of their choice, taking the nation tile, flag token, and selection cards. Return all other nations' components to the box.
• The youngest player is given the diplomacy token.
• Shuffle war tiles equal to the number of players and place them in a row, active side up. Then, take another war tile at random, and place it at the end of the row, active side down. Place the remaining war tiles into the box.

Rounds

The first game takes place over 3 rounds, rather than the usual 5.

Note: Players must keep their Gold coins and all tokens and People figures on their tableau visible to the other players at all times.

Standard Game

War setup

Return any war tiles that are unavailable with the current number of players to the box. Then, shuffle the remaining war tiles.

Take war tiles equal to the number of players and place them in a row, active side up. Then, place three more war tiles and add them to the end of the row, active side down. The last war tile will be returned to the box.

Drafting Nations

A player's nation determines their starting assets and grants them a special power while they hold the nation's tile.

Note: Refer to the back of your player tableau for details of each nation tile.

1. Nation Tiles

Shuffle the nation tiles and deal 1 more than the number of players in a row in the center of the table. Each player chooses and places face down one of their selection cards with the number of the nation they want to claim, as noted in the upper right corner of each nation tile.

Then, all players simultaneously reveal their cards and each player who claimed a nation that no one else did takes the nation tile they claimed, as well as the corresponding national flag token.

If multiple players claimed the same nation tile, place 1 Revolt beside each nation tile that multiple players claimed. Those players participate in another round of the selection process. Repeat this process (placing Revolts as necessary) until each player has claimed a different nation tile. Players who draft a nation with Revolts beside it start the game with those Revolts. Return all unclaimed nation tiles and national flag tokens to the box.

After nations have been selected, all players take the selection cards of their chosen nations. Make sure you have all 11, numbering 0 through 10.

2. Starting Assets

Give each player 1 Supporter, 1 Revolt, and the assets listed on their nation tile.

3. Diplomacy Token

Give the diplomacy token to the player with the lowest numbered nation tile.

Drafting Nations Example

Albert, Beatrice, Clara, and David are selecting their nation tiles. Each player places in front of them, face down, their selection card with the number of the nation they want to claim.

1. Albert wants Portugal and places his "3" selection card face down.
2. David wants Great Britain, and places his "7" selection card face down.
3. Beatrice and Clara both want Austria and each place their "9" selection card face down.

After all players have placed their cards face down, all players reveal their selections. Albert and David both selected nations that no other player did, so Albert claims Portugal and David claims Great Britain.

4. Beatrice and Clara both selected Austria, so a Revolt card is placed next to the Austria nation tile and both players again place a selection card face down in front of them with the number of the nation they want to claim.
5. Beatrice still wishes to claim Austria, and again places her "9" selection card face down.
6. Clara decides to go for France, and places her "6" selection card face down.

Beatrice and Clara then reveal their new selections. Since both players selected a nation no other player did, each claims the nation they selected. Beatrice also takes the Revolt that was placed next to Austria.

Finally, each player takes the nation tile, national flag token and matching set of selection cards for the nation they selected.

7. Albert also takes the diplomacy token because his nation, Portugal, has the lowest number, 3.

2-Player Game Setup Example

Each player takes a tableau and a set of 11 selection cards. Place supply of tokens and Support cards in center of table. The market board is set up for 2 players, covering the ports (spaces) left of the "2" mark. 2 random war tiles are placed active side up. 3 additional war tiles are placed active side down.

Gameplay

Institutions

At all times, if possible, you must store your assets in stacks called institutions. An institution is a tile with either a Person or a Gold on top of it.

• Each asset can only be used in one institution at a time.

There are three types of institutions:

Banks

Each Bank consists of 1 Gold on top of 1 Bond.

Luxuries

Each Luxury consists of 1 Person on top of 1 Good.

Industries

Each Industry consists of 1 Person on top of 1 Territory.

In a situation where you have more People than Goods or Territories, you must build as many Luxuries as possible before building Industries. After all, People would much rather consume Goods than work to create them.

Building Institutions Example

Edgar has 5 Gold, 3 Bonds, 2 Goods, 5 People, and 4 Territories.

Edgar builds as many Banks as he can. Edgar has 3 Bonds and 5 Gold available, so he places 1 Gold on each of his Bonds, building 3 Banks.

Edgar also builds as many Luxuries as he can. Edgar has 2 Goods and 5 People available, so he places 1 People on each of his Goods, building 2 Luxuries.

Then, Edgar builds as many Industries as he can. Edgar has 4 Territories and 3 People available, so he places each of his remaining People on a different one of his Territories, building 3 Industries. This leaves 1 Territory with nothing on it.

Edgar cannot choose to build 4 Industries and 1 Luxury. After building these Institutions, Edgar will have 2 Gold, 3 Banks, 2 Luxuries, 3 Industries, and 1 Territory.

Trading

At any time during a round, players may freely trade with their opponents. Any of their assets may be traded, including assets in an institution. Players may trade Gold, Goods, People, Territories, Bonds, nation tiles, selection cards, and the Diplomacy token.

The only things that can never be traded are Supporters and Revolts, and a player's national flag token.

Players are allowed to give items away for nothing, trade one type of item for another, trade unequal numbers of items, and even make trades involving promises of future favors (though such promises are non-binding).

All trading, negotiation, and communication must be public.

If a player trades their nation tile, the new owner now has access to that nation's power. A nation's power cannot be used more than once in a round.

Advanced Variant

When playing with experienced players, players may trade their Supporters and Revolts like any other asset.

National Powers

Players may (but are never required to) use the powers on their nation tiles once each round. Each nation tile describes when the power can be used, a condition that must be satisfied for the power to be used, and the effect the power has when used.

Each power may only be used once each round, and players must announce a power's effect when they use it. If a player is traded a nation tile after its ability has already been used in a given round, they may not use the ability again until the next round.

National Power Example

At the beginning of the Market phase, Denice, playing as France, has 2 Gold which is less than every other player. She uses her national power and takes 1 Bond and 5 Gold.

Rounds

A standard game of Empires takes place over five rounds of gameplay.

A first game of Empires takes place over three rounds of gameplay. See First Game on page 4.

• In the final round, only the Develop phase occurs.
• In each phase, the steps must be performed in order. Note that the player tableaus have a reference section for each phase of the game.
• There are no individual player turns; all players walk through the steps of each phase simultaneously.

Rounds typically have three phases, listed below and described in detail on the following pages.

Develop

During the Develop phase, players activate their institutions, affecting their Goods, Gold, and levels of Support.

Market

During the Market phase, players sell their Goods for Gold.

War

During the War phase, players win wars by paying Gold to raise armies. Different wars provide different combinations of assets when won.

End of the Game

In the final round, play through only the Develop phase, skipping the Market and War phases. After the Develop phase in the final round (the third round in a first game, the fifth round in a standard game), the game ends.

The Winner

The player with the most Support wins!

A player's Support is equal to their Supporters minus their Revolts.

Ties

If there is a tie for the most Support, the tied player with the most remaining Goods wins.

If there is still a tie, the tied player with the most Gold wins.

If there is still a tie, the tied player with the highest numbered nation tile wins.

Develop Phase

During the Develop phase, players activate their institutions, affecting their Goods, Gold, and levels of Support.

1. Unemployed People Revolt

If a player has more than 1 Person not used in a Luxury or Industry, they take exactly 1 Revolt, regardless of how many unemployed People they have.

Having exactly 1 Person not used in a Luxury or Industry does not cause a Revolt.

2. Unpaid Bonds Cause Revolts

For each of their Bonds not in a Bank, a player takes 1 Revolt.

3. Banks

For each Bank a player has, they must pay the Gold from that Bank to the supply.

4. Luxuries

For each Luxury a player has, they must pay the Good from that Luxury to the supply and gain 1 Supporter.

5. Industries

For each Industry a player has, they gain 1 Good.

Develop phase reference shown on player tableau:

1. Unemployed People -> +1 Revolt if more than one unemployed People
2. Bond -> +1 Revolt for each unpaid Bond
3. Bank (Gold) -> -1 Gold from each Bank
4. Luxury (People) -> -1 Good, +1 Supporter from each Luxury
5. Industry (People) -> +1 Good for each Industry

Develop Phase Example

After building institutions, Francine has 3 Banks, 3 Luxuries, and 2 Industries. 4 of her People were not used in a Luxury or Industry. Francine also was not able to pay for all of her Bonds, so 2 of her Bonds are not in Banks.

At the beginning of the Develop phase, Francine takes 1 Revolt because she has more than 1 unemployed People.

Then, Francine takes 2 more Revolts for her 2 unpaid Bonds.

Next, Francine pays the Gold from each of her Banks to the supply.

Then, Francine pays the Good from each of her 3 Luxuries to the supply and takes 3 Supporters.

Finally, Francine takes 2 Goods from the supply for her 2 Industries.

Market Phase

During the Market phase, players sell their Goods for Gold.

The number of Goods being collectively sold by the players will determine the price of Goods for the round.

1. Determine Amount of Goods to Sell

Each player decides the number of Goods they want to sell, and places the corresponding selection card face down.

2. Reveal Amounts Chosen

All players simultaneously reveal their chosen selection cards, indicating how many Goods they are committing to sell.

If a player has fewer Goods than the number indicated by their selection card, they just deliver as many as they have.

3. Deliver to Market

All Goods being sold are delivered to the market, in any order. Each Good is placed on a different empty port, beginning with the available port showing the highest price and continuing in order of descending value.

Flooding the Market: It is very easy to "flood the market", ensuring that no one gets paid for their Goods. Make sure you look at the Goods held by the other players when evaluating how many Goods to sell.

4. Earn Gold for Goods Sold

For each Good they sold, each player takes Gold equal to the price of Goods this round, which is determined by the highest numbered uncovered port. All players will be paid the same price for their Goods.

If all ports are full (due to players delivering a number of Goods equal to or greater than the number of available ports), the price is 0.

5. Return Delivered Goods to Supply

All Goods delivered to the market are then returned to the supply, and players take back their selection cards.

Market Phase Example

In the Market phase, Geraldine decides to sell 3 Goods, Iris decides to sell 0 Goods, and Jack decides to sell 1 Good.

All players deliver their Goods to the market, covering up the 4 highest available ports (i.e., ports 3-6).

The highest remaining available port is port 2, so the price of Goods is 2 Gold each.

Geraldine sold 3 Goods, so she takes 6 Gold. Iris sold 0 Goods, so she takes 0 Gold. Jack sold 1 Good, so he takes 2 Gold.

After all players have taken their Gold, the market board is cleared.

All players retrieve their chosen selection cards as well.

War Phase

During the War phase, players win wars by paying Gold to raise armies. Different wars provide different combinations of assets when won, so raising more armies than your opponents is crucial so that you can choose which war you want to win.

1. Determine Amount of Armies to Raise

Each player decides the number of armies they want to raise, and places the corresponding selection card face down.

2. Reveal Amounts Chosen

All players simultaneously reveal their chosen selection cards, indicating how many armies they want to raise.

3. Pay Gold for Armies

Each player then pays 1 Gold for each army they want to raise. If a player does not have enough Gold, they only raise as many armies as they can pay for.

4. Diplomacy

If one player raised fewer armies than every other player, they take the diplomacy token, becoming the new diplomat. If there is a tie for fewest armies, the current diplomat decides which of the tied players takes the diplomacy token. The diplomat may not select themselves.

5. Select Wars to Win

In order from most armies to least armies, each player who raised at least 1 army selects a war to win, placing their flag on an active war tile that no other player has won this round and taking the listed assets. If multiple players raised exactly the same number of armies, the diplomat decides the order in which the tied players win wars. Players who raised an army must select a war to win.

A player who raised zero armies does not win any wars this round.

6. Remove Wars, Activate Wars

Remove the left-most war tile, placing it back in the box, and flip the first inactive tile so that it is active side up. During the War phase of the penultimate round, the last war tile will be active, so no further tiles can be flipped.

All players then take back their selection cards.

War Phase Example

Kurt, Louise, Mark, and Naomi are raising armies for war. Mark is holding the diplomacy token. It's a 4-player game, so 4 wars are active.

Kurt secretly decides to raise 4 armies. Louise also decides to raise 4 armies. Mark decides to raise 6 armies, and Naomi decides to raise 0 armies.

All players then reveal their selections. Kurt and Louise each pay 4 Gold, and Mark pays 6 Gold. Naomi raised fewer armies than every other player, so she takes the diplomacy token from Mark and becomes the new diplomat.

Mark raised the most armies so he goes first and places his national flag token on any of the 4 active war tiles and takes the listed assets. Kurt and Louise raised the same number of armies, so Naomi, as the diplomat, decides which of them wins a war first. After some negotiation, Naomi decides to let Louise go first. Louise places her flag token on any of the unclaimed active war tiles and takes the listed assets. Then Kurt does the same.

Naomi, who raised no armies, does not win a war this round.

Nations Reference

Each nation tile lists starting Gold, Bonds, Goods, People, and Territories, and a unique national power.

0. Ottomans — Gold 5, Bonds 3, Goods 1, People 3, Territories 6. At the start of the Develop phase, if you have the fewest (or tied for fewest) Luxuries, you may take 1 Gold for each of your Industries.

1. Russia — Gold 5, Bonds 1, Goods 2, People 3, Territories 4. At the start of the Develop phase, if any of your People are not used in Industries or Luxuries, you may take 2 Gold for each of your People not in use.

2. Denmark — Gold 5, Bonds 0, Goods 1, People 3, Territories 2. During the War phase, if you win a war that does not give Territory, you may take 2 Supporters, but only if any other player gives you permission.

3. Portugal — Gold 5, Bonds 1, Goods 1, People 4, Territories 2. During the War phase, if you raised the fewest (or tied for fewest) armies, you may take 1 Territory.

4. Netherlands — Gold 5, Bonds 0, Goods 3, People 3, Territories 1. At the end of the Market phase, if you have more Goods than People, you may take Gold equal to the price of Goods.

5. Spain — Gold 5, Bonds 3, Goods 0, People 3, Territories 5. During the War phase, if you win a war that does not give People, you may take 3 Gold.

6. France — Gold 5, Bonds 4, Goods 1, People 6, Territories 4. At the start of the Market phase, if you have the least (or tied for least) Gold, you may take 1 Bond and 5 Gold.

7. Great Britain — Gold 5, Bonds 2, Goods 2, People 5, Territories 3. During the Market phase, if you sell the fewest (or tied for fewest) Goods and the price of Goods is at least 2, you may decrease the price by 2.

8. Sweden — Gold 5, Bonds 1, Goods 3, People 3, Territories 3. During the War phase, if you are tied and the Diplomat does not let you go first, you may take 1 Good and 1 Gold.

9. Austria — Gold 5, Bonds 1, Goods 3, People 4, Territories 3. At the start of the Develop phase, if every other player has more Territories than you, you may take 1 Gold for each of your Luxuries.

10. Prussia — Gold 5, Bonds 0, Goods 5, People 2, Territories 0. During the War phase, if you raise at least 2 more armies than every other player, you may take 1 Person and 1 Territory.

Credits

Game Design: David Y. Stephenson, Daniel G. Stephenson Graphic Design: Scott Hartman Cover Art: Nate Abell Special thanks to Peter Hayward

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