Main Catalogue |  BOARD GAMES & CARD GAMES |  Rio Grande Games |  In The Shadow of the Emperor

In The Shadow of the Emperor Price: £19.50 (RRP - £22.99) Board Game, 2-4 Players, Ages 12+ by Rio Grande Games Germany in the late middle ages! It is a time of flourishing cities, influential bishops, the powerful popes, and a pompous aristocracy. In such a volatile climate, no dynasty can remain in power for long. Several aristocratic families seek to acquire the crown of the Emperor, but this decision lies in the hands of the seven electors. 2-4 candidates use their knights and cities, marry their barons, and work to influence the electors. Beware, for in the shadow of the properly elected Emperor, there are always those who would usurp him. ++++++++++++ Counter review ++++++++++++ Hans im Glück 2-4 players, 90 minutes designed by Ralf Burkert reviewed by Ben Baldanza Bernd Brunnhofer of Hans im Glück has a strong track record of publishing good games. Not every HiG game is excellent, but they have fewer weak links in their lineup than most. This is positive but also creates expectations, so when HiG releases a new game everyone expects it to be good. Does Im Schatten des Kaisers make the grade? The short answer is yes, but by comparison it is better than Attika but not better than St Petersburg. Players represent nobles trying to become Emperor of Germany in the Middle Ages. Each player has a set of noble tiles that show a single person on one side and a couple on the reverse. On each side of the tile, the numbers 15, 25, 35, and 45 are printed on each edge, and these represent the noble\'s age that can be changed by rotating the tile. The board shows seven provinces, each with various places for nobles, spaces for cities, castles for knights and a leadership position for the Sovereign of that province. During the game, players score victory points by ascending to the Sovereign position in each province, by building cities, by successfully marrying off their daughters, by electing a new emperor, by acting as the emperor, or by simply paying for them. This last option is very limited and certainly not scalable! The game is set up with players placing nobles of various ages, as well as a knight, onto the board. The primary action in the game takes place through the purchase of action cards. The set of available cards is displayed by the board, and in many cases only a single card of a specific type is available. Most of the cards are blue or pink, and this will be influential when having descendents. When a player buys a card, they spend money and typically take the action immediately. Examples of actions include placing a new noble onto the board, lowering the age of one of your nobles, raising the age of an opponent\'s noble, moving a noble, etc. You must buy the card to build a city in order to build a city. One specific card earns a victory point, but only one player can choose this each round. If a card is not available for purchase, the action cannot be taken. After everyone passes from buying cards, each province elects a new Sovereign. For each province, the total influence for each player is determined, given one point for each single noble, two for each married noble, one for each city and one for each knight. If the existing Sovereign is replaced, the person ascending earns two victory points and the previous Sovereign is demoted back to a normal province position (called a baron). If the existing Sovereign keeps their throne, no victory points are earned but of course they are denied to others. This idea is repeated through the game - cycling the positions creates points, while stagnation generates nothing. After the new Sovereigns are elected, there can be a vote for a new Emperor. This happens if someone in the card phase chooses the ``Become the New Emperor\'\' card. In practice, someone buys this card each round. Each player controls votes equal to the number of provinces they control (meaning that they are the Sovereign), plus in a few other ways. Everyone votes their position with the incumbent and the challenger bound to vote for themselves. Players who vote for the winning side earn a victory point for choosing correctly. Being the Emperor has several distinct advantages. First, after the election the Emperor gets a unique action that includes earning victory points. Second, the Emperor is the start player for the next card buying round and this can be significant. Third, the Emperor decides all ties in the provincial elections, effectively allowing them to win regional succession by only matching influence and breaking ties in their relative favor where they are not a participant. Lastly, the Emperor gains support for reelection by controlling certain cities in the provinces directly. The game plays through five rounds, and each begins with players earning income and aging each of their nobles. Those that age beyond age 45 are removed from the board, and given that the number of noble tiles is limited this is not always a bad thing. Once a noble is deployed to an area, there is limited opportunity to move him so letting him die naturally can help. After the aging, each player gives birth to a boy or girl based on the mix of cards taken in the previous round. More blue cards create a boy, equal or more pink cards gets a girl. Boys come onto the board in the form of 15 year-old nobles. Girls are different - the player with a new girl proposes marriage to a single opposing noble on the board. If that player accepts, the player with the daughter benefits with a victory point. The accepting player benefits because their single noble is flipped to show a couple, doubling that tile\'s influence in its region. If the marriage is rejected, the player with the daughter gets money as compensation. Next the card purchasing ensues, started by the current Emperor. In addition to buying cards in this round, players can always place or move knights (no card needed) or can in some cases use the power of their Sovereign position. Each provincial Sovereign has a power that comes with their position, and in most cases this is a replica of powers that can be purchased form the cards but they don\'t cost money to use. This round lasts as long as players keep doing things and have money; as soon as someone passes, they are out of the round. When someone takes the ``Become Emperor\'\' card, they by definition pass for the rest of the round. This makes for some tension as to when to take that card, since taking it early closes off other actions but waiting too long can have you miss out. The regional elections are straightforward and the Emperor breaks all ties. Three of the provinces are Religious and will not elect a married noble as a Sovereign. This has implications for earning majority influence in the region and also for the marriage proposals. In electing a new Emperor or keeping the current, players must consider the relative positions of both players vying as well as their own ability to earn a victory point. Certain blue cards influence the vote totals in the regional election. For example, one allows a player to eliminate one province from the voting while another just adds another vote to the mix. Victory points are stingy in this game, and a score in the mid twenties will usually prove victorious. There is quite a bit to think about in this game and played well the results should be quite close. No single player should be allowed to be Emperor for too long, for example, but with the succession to Sovereign being the most consistent source of victory points it is this area where most players should focus. The card selection is very well designed, and there are times when you want to have a boy and so this directs your options, and other times a girl is preferred. The addition of the cities and the knights adds some variety and some placement strategy. Overall, this is a nice design that works well and is worth a few plays, but it won\'t be garnering any best in class honors. More ...

Main Catalogue |  BOARD GAMES & CARD GAMES |  Rio Grande Games |  In The Shadow of the Emperor