- Hi Mac! I’ve just heard about your new game coming out — 7 Empires. As a fan of Imperial, I’m very excited to hear more about it!
- I’m quite excited about it myself!
- So, am I right that this is basically a new version of Imperial? Which is one of my favorite games!
- Actually, this isn’t Imperial as you know it.
- How so?
- Well, what do you think constitutes a game of Imperial?
- For me, Imperial is a game where six empires take turns - not the players. They take turns executing actions one after another that are selected by moving around on a rondel. Also, Imperial is a game about money and investments rather than a wargame. Players seek payouts and profits by investing in empires. At the end, the player with the most money wins the game. Right?
- Right! But none of this is true for 7 Empires.
- None of it?!
- None!
- I don’t see a rondel on the game board, what happened?
-
The rondel has been replaced by clever action selection whereby players take their turns one after another.
- But there still aren’t any player colors, right?
- Correct, there are 7 colors for the 7 empires, but no player colors.
- Looking at the board, it seems totally unbalanced: Some empires have 5 cities like France, but there are only 4 cities for Britain, and even less for Prussia with only 3 cities. How does that work?
- The setting for 7 Empires is indeed quite unbalanced! That is on purpose as it reflects the true historical situation in Europe circa 1750 and before the French Revolution. While France and Russia could certainly be regarded as the most powerful empires of that time, Britain was also on the rise and the Habsburg Empire couldn’t be neglected as a major competitor. And there were 3 weaker empires that must also be considered. Prussia, in the middle of Europe, was fighting for its sheer existence, whereas the Spanish and Ottoman Empires were both in decline. Throughout the 18th century, there were numerous wars between all these powers, including shifting alliances and ever-changing situations on both the battlefields and in remote diplomatic chambers. 7 Empires seeks to capture this entire historical situation!
- So, the imbalance isn’t found just in the number of empires, which is seven, but also in each of their different potentials? How can that possibly work out as a balanced game?
- Actually, it works out very well! The balance comes from the choices players make. And we still need to consider the different types of population in each empire!
- You mean the nobility, clergy, bourgeoisie, and so on that are present in each empire?
- Exactly! The values for each of these populations are not the same for each empire. For example, the nobility in France only has a value of 5 while the Prussian nobility has a value of 6. These values reflect the fact that the chances of winning for a strong empire like France are higher than those for a weaker empire like Prussia. However, when France wins, they won’t gain as many points for you as Prussia would if they win!
- Well, if that’s true, doesn’t France almost always win?
- Although the number of cities is an important factor to win, it’s certainly not the deciding factor. I’ve seen Prussia win and France losing badly. The diplomatic situation and alliances on the board are much more important. If Prussia allies with the Habsburgs or Russia, it can be a very strong contender! It all really depends on the current distribution of each player's interests among these 7 empires in Europe, as well as who is controlling the monarch of which empire at what moment.
- Wait, that sounds like Imperial to me!
- Yes! In this respect, 7 Empires can be regarded as a member of the Imperial game family. The different interests of players in different empires, the shifting control of power, this is what makes Imperial so exciting. And this core element is also used in 7 Empires, which makes it a truly challenging environment of imbalances wherever you look!
- Speaking of imbalance, some Imperial players are bothered by the fact they can be "out of the game" for long stretches of time, especially with higher player counts.
- Don't worry, 7 Empires doesn’t have that element. Players will always be able to take turns and participate in what happens on the board!
- With seven empires, won’t some players always control more empires than others?
- Correct, except for 7 players, where each player may (not must!) control exactly one empire.
- Whoa, this game can be played with 7 players?
- Yes! However, usually there are smaller player counts. The key to the new action selection is how it handles situations where you — as a player — can take actions for empires even if you don’t control them. This can happen only when it is your turn and there aren’t any other empires available. Moreover, in this situation you must make a choice for an empire where you have the highest influence, which effectively prevents you from making overtly destructive choices for the empire.
To sum up: Players take turns one after another for an empire of their choice, with a priority for empires under their control, but at the same time, they are always able to take turns regardless of the situation!
- Got it! I have a question about rounds. If there are turns, there must be rounds as well?
- Yes, a round consists of 7 turns and lasts until each empire has taken its turn. In the next round there is a new start player.
But beware! While each empire takes one turn per round, the order isn’t fixed. In one round Britain may take its turn before France and next round it may be France before Britain! You must be aware of that, otherwise you could experience a nasty surprise due to how the dynamics play out on the board.
More importantly, if you control several empires, you may not be able to execute an action for each of them! Opponents with less control of empires might execute an action for one of what you consider your empires in between your own actions. You must evaluate your priorities: Is it better to take an action for your Empire A now (and leave the decision for your other empire B to player X), or is it better to take an action for empire B now (and leave empire A to player Y)? And what might player X do with B, or player Y do with A? There are a lot of interesting decisions like this!
- What actions are available?
- Well, I can’t go into full detail here because we’re still playtesting. What I can say is there are only 5 basic actions that are each plain and simple. They involve customary actions like improving your home base, recruiting military units, moving, fighting, and advancing on the score track. As soon as an empire advances to the end of the score track, the game will end.
- So, will we always have 5 options?
- Actually, no. You will only have 3 options, which recreates the situation you previously had on the beloved rondel! The last 2 actions an empire took are tracked and won’t be available to choose again. This means you have to choose from the other 3 alternatives.
- I’ve noticed there are 50 neutral territories and four different types of military units, so there seems to be a lot of action on the board!
- There is! The military aspect is far more interesting than in Imperial. Now there are 2 types of fleets and 2 types of troops. You must combine their abilities well. For instance, some ships can move within a wider radius and convoy more troops. Also, some troops will eliminate the opponent completely when attacking. And don’t forget, after each campaign there can’t be more than 1 unit within each neutral region! This keeps the map from becoming too convoluted and at the same time it sometimes really forces you to fight. No matter what, it requires careful planning for your military operations. You can’t simply amass troops!
- What can I do against a runaway leader who earns and invests the most money?
- Sorry, I have to correct you here.
There isn’t any money!
- An investment game without money?!
- There is no investment or collection of interest in 7 Empires. You don’t have any money at all. This makes things a lot easier! At certain points in the game players choose additional population, which can result in changing majorities and shifts of control over the 7 empires. And each player will always have the same amount of population at any time during the game! I think this is only fair. The real skill comes from being engaged in the best empires at the end of the game!
- And then you count your victory points?
- Exactly. Depending on each empire’s position on the score track, you multiply the numbers for their types of population you have by a certain factor and calculate the sum for all your VPs.
But don't forget your saboteur!
- Say what now? My saboteur?
- Before the game starts, each player draws a saboteur and keeps it secret until the end of the game. The saboteur represents the empire in which you’ll lose VPs at the end of the game. The better this empire scores, the more negative points it provides you. It is in your interest to keep that empire down without letting others know which one it is. If you like more of this kind of intrigue, you can also play 7 Empires with a deck of Event cards!
- Now we’re talking! An additional variant sounds fantastic!
- There will be a deck of approximately 70 Event cards included. Some provide you with extra VPs for goals to be achieved during the game, some provide you extra workers, while the third type are events which might happen to your favor but don't provide VPs themselves. You each start the game with 5 cards, and you will draw more cards during the game. Obviously, we still need a bit more playtesting before we finalize these Event cards.
- Thanks, Mac! This all sounds amazing! I’m already eager to play!
- You’re welcome! I hope we can meet again at Essen this year!
- As do I. And thanks for the interview!
- Thank you! I’ll be happy to see you and show you 7 Empires at Essen!
Intervista appena pubblicata dal caro Mac su Bgg in cui viene svelata per la prima volta un po' di ciccia
Spendaccione!
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