7 Empires Review

"7 Empires released this year to little fanfare. On the surface, it presents as just another stuffy Euro. But it was the name Mac Gerdts, infamous designer of Concordia (among many other unique designs), that drew me in. While new, 7 Empires revisits the older release Imperial (2006) and promises to streamline by way of mechanisms and playtime. Publisher Rio Grande Games was kind enough to send this our way to test the limits of expansion on the old continent."

"The premise of 7 Empires is simple, and it focuses on expansion. The main board features color-coded empires. An influence card is chosen that evenly distributes starting influence between players. You'll find yourself in control of specific empires immediately, but also have a vested interest in other empires controlled by your competition. Final scoring relates to a player's influence on an empire multiplied by the empire's ability to expand during play."

"Over eight rounds, each empire takes one action. If a player has controlling influence, they are the monarch for the round (this can shift) and choose an available action for the empire. As each player takes a turn, the ability to control an empire's action is based on majority influence when not a monarch. And if neither of these applies when your turn arrives, there is a consolation action that is taken instead."

7 Empires emphasizes expansion and influence across color-coded empires with streamlined mechanics and shorter playtime. Mac Gerdts designed the game as a revisit of Imperial (2006). Players receive starting influence via an influence card and immediately control specific empires while tracking rivals' empires. Play proceeds over eight rounds with each empire taking one action per round. Majority influence grants monarch status and action choice, while lacking influence yields a consolation action. Each empire offers three actions while two options remain unavailable, and unavailable options cycle forward on a conveyor-belt mechanism. Final scoring multiplies a player's influence by each empire's expansion ability.

Read at Board Game Quest