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Wed Mar 17 01:38:04 UTC 2021
IMPERIAL GLORY
RULE AN ANCIENT EMPIRE
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The Imperial Glory period from 50-220 CE was entirely new for Eurasia. For the first time, most of the civilized world was or would shortly be dominated by one of four massive empires that bestrode the earth. The Base Game
This first solo offering portrays the Kushan Empire. Future expansions will add to the map, on the west, Rome and Parthia, and on the east, Han Dynasty China.

The Kushans begin as the smallest empire and have the most to gain territorially, as well as the strong commanders needed to accomplish it.

But it's not simple. To the east, the desert outposts of China form a difficult obstacle for your mounted army. To the south, the forest and large populations of the subcontinent are also challenging. And while you pursue these there are persistent threats from northern mounted barbarians.

News
May 2023: Now available! The first expansion kit, Imperial Glory: Han Dynasty China, adds a second seat at the table, a new empire to try solo, new rules such as Corruption, Authoritative Emperor and many more Ares, Fate and Science cards.

Design Notes
Deckbuilding. Each emperor has seven statures. These numbers determine the number of each type of advisor card the player has: generals, governors, diplomats, architects, arists, philosophers and secret agents. Each type offers a different set of actions. A percentage of them also offer special abilities.

Push-your-luck. But suppose you don't like the advisor you drew. The emperor is Nero and loves art so there are plenty of artists in his deck. But what you really need to do right now is pacify a rebellious province before you lose it altogether (oh why did you overtax it earlier?). Well, you can try spending some of your precious influence. Draw another card. Did you get what you want? No? Well, you can keep drawing, until you find what you want, or reach five cards, whichever comes first. But you had better succeed in your choice. Otherwise you lose the influence you spent.

Diceless combat. Most endeavors factor in the ability of the advisor, difficulty of the endeavor, possibly a couple other factors and a chit draw. But with combat, players place their armies on the Battle Board and take turns navigating its geography to strike at one another. As the losses pile up, they either retreat or see via chit draw which side breaks first.

Solitaire with multi-player expansion. The Kushan Empire solitaire scenario has considerable scope for conquest since it starts with only a single territory and faces an empty map. But each neutral province has challenging defending forces that fight according to simple nonplayer rules. But all empires must face the often challenging Fate cards that can kill the emperor, disrupt provinces, trigger rebellions, civil wars, heresies, earthquakes, floods, coups, and more. Most devastating of all is the pandemic that probably brought the Four Empires era to an end.

Trade and Pandemic. Each empire is a source of trade, which triggers via the appearance of the empire's trade card from its main deck. The player then passes this card to the discard pile of the next empire in the direction of trade. The map shows, for each province on a trade route, the amount of income trade provides if the player holds it. Critical junctures such as Egypt and Sind are worth considerably more than other provinces. When a trade card reaches the other end of the board, it returns to its point of origin and the cycle begins anew. The pandemic – the Antonine Plague – and immunity to it, work in similar ways.

Historical emperors. Each emperor has an illustration from one of their coins, seven ratings on a 1-8 Fibonacci scale and a short description of their reign. When one dies, the player compares the old emperor to the new one. For each stature in which the two emperors differ, they either add or substract the corresponding advisors, depending on whether the new emperor's rating is more or less, respectively.

More at Designer Diary.

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    Reading Published March 2021.
    Created: Wed Mar 17 05:28:42 UTC 2021
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