Pyramid Review
Imperial
Published by Rio Grande Games
Designed by Mac Gerdts
English translation by Sybille Aminzadah & Bruce Whitehill, “Word for Wort”
Written by Mac Gerdts & Peter Dörsam
Illustrated by Matthias Cathrein
Layout by Peter Dörsam
Full-color boxed set with board, 48 wooden armies & 48 wooden fleets & 60 wooden taxation disks (all in six colors), 30 factories in two colors (factories and ports), 18 wooden octagonal scoring pieces in six colors, wooden turn marker, 48 bond cards in various denominations for six nations, six flags, one investor marker, one blank replacement card, 130 slips of money in various denominations, rules, & background booklet; $59.95
As the name Imperial suggests, herein lies a game about the world in the Age of Imperialism, when politics stopped being all about a lust for power and more about the business of running the world. Players do not take the roles of embattled nations directly; no, they are investors sinking money into Europe and its neighbors in hopes of making a profit from their petty squabbles.
The object of the game is to have the most points from one's investments.
Two to six players begin the game "controlling" a single country. The map covers all of Europe, westernmost Russia, Turkey, and North Africa. Control is represented through bonds assigned to the players, though more can be purchased later. Whoever holds the plurality of a country's bonds makes its decisions. A wheel on the board called the rondel shows the available actions . . .
This article originally appeared in the second volume of Pyramid. See the current Pyramid website for more information.
Article publication date: June 13, 2008
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