Empire
The Card Game
Battle, trade or steal your way to victory.
What you need to play
Empire the Card Game
3 to 4 players: 2 packs of ‘Empire’ cards.
5 to 6 players: 3 packs of ‘Empire’ cards.
An attitude to win at all costs.
Recommended Ages: +10 years of age
Buy Empire Cards. Contains 3 packs of cards, enough to play up to 6 people. Empire cards can be used to play any other card game that uses conventional playing cards.
Object of Empire and the Set up
The object of the game is to build an “Empire” by collecting 4 “empire sets”. The first person to have 4 sets, play a card to end their turn and have no cards in their hand wins the game.
Set Up: Each player is dealt 10 cards. The rest of the cards are placed in the middle face down. This is the pick up “resources” pile. If the dealer does a perfect deal (that is they pick up a lot of cards to deal with and gets the exact amount of cards for the deal) then they immediately pick up 2 additional cards from the pick up pile.
To determine who goes first all players play paper scissors rock to determine a winner and that person deals.
The First Round Rules
First round rules: On the first round no player can “secure & sabotage”, “steal”, “trade” or “battle” but they may place battle cards down for their army . It is advised on the first round each player places their “battle” cards on the table so they can defend themselves if a player chooses to battle them the following round. On the first round they simply pick up a card from the resource pile in the middle and choose to discard a card by placing it on their discarded resources pile face up in front of them and places their battle cards on the left. Each player will have their own discarded card pile in front of them. On the left of the discard pile each player will place their “army” or battle cards. On the right each player will place their empire sets once they get them. Once a player has discarded a card, their turn is complete.
Turn Actions
Starting from the second round, each player takes turns to complete the following actions. They can be completed in any order until the player discards a card:
Action 1. Pick up a card from the middle “resources” pile.
Action 2. Selects to either “steal”, “trade” or “battle” a card from another player.
Action 3: If you choose to, place any battle cards down in your Army.
Action 4. If you have and choose to, then put down an “ Empire set”. The first set you put down decides what sort of empire you are building and all subsequent sets you put down must be of that empire set, unless a player puts down a full set of Barbarians or Serf rebellion after their first empire set.
Action 5. End your turn by placing a card face up on your discard pile in front of you. You may “disband” your army one card at a time and play a card onto your discard pile from your battle cards. If you are only left with one battle card on the table then the last card is returned to your hand.
Action 6. As soon as a player has four Empire sets they have built their Empire. The winner of the hand is the first person to discard all their cards after building their Empire or placing down the “Barbarian set” and has ended their turn by playing their last card on their discard pile. The winner of the hand collects the Achievement Card for the Empire Regime they have completed. A player may collect multiple of the same achievement card. As per “Run out of Cards” bonus, if a player loses all the cards from their hand during another persons turn or during their turn before playing their last card on their resource pile then they must pick up 6 cards immediately. A player can get rid of cards in their hand after they have completed 4 empire sets or after completing the barbarian set by building their armies. A player may not place cards on other players armies. A player cannot exceed more than 4 cards in each set within their Army. Note: A player must discard a card to end the game.
If a player has won the game with the Barbarian Set then they get to plunder an opponents Empire Achievement card.
Action 7. Multiple games are played until a player has got each of the Empire Achievement Cards. That is they have got an achievement card by winning , in any order, a game by getting “Empire of the Thief Lord”, won another with “Empire of the Merchant Lord” and another with “Empire of the Warlord”. This may include winning with a Barbarian Set and plundering an Achievement Card from another player. The first player to achieve all three Empire Achievements is anointed Emperor Overlord and shall forever be remembered.
How to steal a card
Announce that you are going to “steal” a card, then take the top card from any players discarded pile and add it to your hand. This may include taking from your own discarded card pile. You cannot steal a “2” or a wizard and you can only take the top card. 2’s protect cards from being stolen.
How to trade a card
Announce that you are going to “trade” a card and pass a player one of your cards face down. They must give you a card back of their choice. 2s and Wizards can be traded. Neither of the traders are allowed to show anyone what card they are trading.
How to Battle for a card
Announce you are going to “Battle” someone for their card, you are now the “attacker”. Choose a player and demand from them any card (This can include 2s and Jokers), they are now the “defender”. The defender then indicates if they have the requested card or they do not. When someone request a battle for a card the defender must answer honestly whether they have the card or not. However during general cared play and table talk it is encouraged that players misrepresent the cards they are holding or the regimes they are targeting.
If they have do not have the card then the “battle” is over, if they do have the card then the outcome of the battle will be determined by the battle cards in each players army. The attacker and defender choose which battle cards they will battle with. The attacker chooses first one set in their army to battle with and then the defender then chooses which set of cards to defend with. Because all battle cards are visible means that all players are able to work out who can beat who before battles are requested.
The winner of the battle is determined by the number of cards of the same kind, which regime they are from and the value of the card:
Firstly the battle is determined by whether a player has a single card, two of a kind, three of a kind or 4 of a kind (eg. Single 4, Two x 4s, Three x 4’s, four x 4s). These are the battle cards in the players armies. These are the only options that each player is permitted to play and Wizards are not permitted in battles (unless you have collected four jokers and obtained the “Holy Grail”).
To place battle cards down in an army they must at least be a pair. No single cards are allowed in your army.
Battle cards consisting of Three of a Kind beats two of a kind. Eg Three 10s beats two Kings.
Battle cards consisting of Four of a Kind beats three of a Kind. Eg Four 6s beats three Queens.
If you have four Wizards you have obtained the “Holy Grail” and you are invincible in battle. This is the only instance in which Wizards can be used to build armies. In this case 2’s cannot be used to steal Wizards from an army.
If both players armies consist of the same number of cards then the winner is determined by which regime they are from:
Warlord beats Thief Lord: The same number of cards in the warlord regime (A-J) beats the same number of cards in the Thief regime (3-6). Eg. Three Kings beats three 5s.
Thief Lord beats Merchant Lord: The same number of cards in the Thief regime (3-6) beats the same number of cards in the Merchant regime (7-10). Eg. Two 4s beats two 10s.
Merchant Lord beats Warlord: The same number of cards in the Merchant regime (7-10) beats the same number of cards in the Warlord regime (J-A). Eg. Three 9s beats Three Aces.
If both players play the same number of cards from the same regime then the winner is the player whose card number is higher. Eg Two king beats two Queen.
If it is still a draw then the winner is the defender. Eg if the attackers battle cards are a pair of Aces and the defenders battle cards are a pair of Aces then the winner is the defender.
If the defender has lost then they hand over the requested card to their attacker.
Armies and Battle Card rules:
Armies can only be built with at least battle cards in pairs, threes or four of the same kind . Eg. You have to have a pair to put down battle cards in your army and you can build onto the pair to make three of a kind or four of a kind. Your cannot battle anyone with anything higher than four of a kind.
Once you place battle cards on the table you cannot put them back in your hand unless there is only one card left at which point it must be returned to your hand. However you can sacrifice one of your battle cards and use it as a discard card.
Armies and Battle Cards
Armies can only be built with at least battle cards in pairs, threes or four of the same kind . Eg. You have to have a pair to put down battle cards in your army and you can build onto the pair to make three of a kind or four of a kind. Your cannot battle anyone with anything higher than four of a kind.
Once you place battle cards on the table you cannot put them back in your hand unless there is only one card left in that set at which point it must be returned to your hand. However you can sacrifice one of your battle cards and use it as a discard card.
Empire Sets and Regimes
The “Empire of the Thief Lord” consists of empire sets of 3,4,5, and 6. That is to win the game you must eventually put down 4 x runs of 3,4,5 and 6. Each card can be a different suit in each set. If a player puts down a 3,4,5 and 6 in the same suit then they immediately pick up 2 cards from the pick up pile.
The “Empire of the Merchant Lord” consists of empire sets of 7,8,9 and 10. That is to win the game you must eventually put down 4 x runs of 7,8,9 and 10. Each card can be a different suit in each set. If a player puts down a 7,8,9 and 10 in the same suit then they immediately pick up 2 cards from the pick up pile.
The “Empire of the Warlord” consists of empire sets of J,Q,K and A. That is to win the game you must eventually put down 4 x runs of J, Q, K and A. Each card can be a different suit in each set. If a player puts down a J, Q, K and A in the same suit then they immediately pick up 2 cards from the pick up pile.
The “Barbarian” Set consists of a run of all cards from 3 to A and may include wizards. Eg 3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,J,Q,K,A. If a player puts down the barbarian set and is able to finish the game on one of their turns by playing their last card on the discard pile then they are able to plunder an opponents Empire Achievement card. If no one else has an achievement card then choose any achievement card to claim as your own. A Barbarian set made entirely of the same suit with (no wizards) is known as the Barbarian Horde. If you win the game with this set you plunder an achievement card from every player.
A player may collect a barbarian set at any time even if they have put down some empire sets.
The “Serf Rebellion” is a set of 12 cards all of the same suit and may include 2s and wizards. A Serf Rebellion may be collected at any time even if they have put down some empire sets. If a player puts down the serf rebellion set and is able to finish the game on one of their turns by playing their last card on the discard pile then they are able to destroy one Empire Achievement card from all opponents.
Bonuses
First Empire set: When you have put down your first empire set you immediately pick up 6 additional cards from the “resource” pick up pile.
Second Empire set: After you have put down your second empire set you recieve an additional action every turn depending on on what sort of Empire you are building. This begins on the turn you put down the second pillar.
The “Empire of the Thief Lord” bonus action: Every turn you can get an additional “steal”.
The “Empire of the Merchant Lord” bonus action: Every turn you get an additional “trade”.
The “Empire of the Warlord” Bonus action: Every turn you get an additional “battle”.
The additional action can be played in any order.
Third Empire Set: After you have put down your third empire set every player must pay you tribute and give you a card of their choice .
Fourth Empire Set: After you have put down your fourth empire set choose a single card from your hand and give to someone else as a Gift to demonstrate your strength. This might be a difficult card designed to slow an opponent down.
Run out of cards bonus: If a player runs out of cards for whatever reason they immediately draw 6 cards from the pick up pile.
Empire set of the same suit: if a player puts down an empire set all of the same suit then they immediately pick up an additional 2 cards from the pick up pile.
Special Cards
2’s are called “Sabotage” cards. When you place a 2 on your discard “resource” pile at the end of your turn you get to either choose someone to get skipped on their turn or you can convert a single battle card from someones army and place it in your hand and may use that resource however you wish (note that in placing the 2 on your discard pile marks the end of your turn and you cannot do anything with the acquired card until your next turn). If you take a card from your opponents army and they are only left with one card of that set on the table then they must return that single card back to their hand. You cannot load up skips on a single player so if a player already has a pending skip they cannot be skipped again. Placing a 2 on your discard pile also prevents cards being picked up from your discard pile.
Multiple 2’s cannot be placed in your army unless four 2s are placed in an army at once. Four 2s in an army prevents anyone being able to plunder from your army using 2s or Wizard spells. The player may choose to play one of the four 2s from their army onto the discard pile and activate the usual bonuses that 2s give. Once a player has done this and only has three 2s left then the player loses the protection and those 2s and any other card in their army can be plundered by other players.
Wizards/Jokers are wild cards and can be used to make “Empire Sets”. You can use as many Wizards as you want to make up an “Empire Set”. Wizards cannot be used in your army unless you have four Wizards and in this case you may place four Wizards as a set (also known as the “Holy Grail”) in your army. In this case the Wizards cannot be stolen from your army when another player plays a 2 or uses wizard spells.
If you run out of cards from the middle “resource” pick up pile then collect all the cards from the discarded card piles in front of each person (except for the top card, it stays in front of each player), reshuffle them and place in them in the middle for the “resource” pick up pile.
Expert Level
Wizard Spells
When you have mastered the base game you can now use wizards for casting “spells”. Placing a wizard on your discard pile in conjunction with another card gives end of turn bonuses. When placing the two cards on your discard pile to activate the “spell” you place the non wizard card on top.
Wizard Card + Thief card enables “Mass steal”. Immediately steal a card from every players hand and a card from everyones army. They don’t get to choose which one to give you.
Wizard Card + Warlord enables “Berserker”. Select one battle set from every players army and destroy it by putting them on each players discard pile.
Wizard Card + Merchant Card enables “Mass trade”. With every player starting with the player on your left and going around each player select a number of cards to trade. They must trade that number of cards. You can choose a different number of cards to trade for each players.
Wizard + 2 enables “Mass Sabatage”. Choose one battle set from every players army and make it your own.
Wizard + Wizard enables “Rise of the Dead”. Add every card from every persons discard pile including your own into you hand except for 2s and Wizards.
