The Imperium Games – My Thoughts!

So you know where this review is going, Imperium is my all time favourite game. All 3 sets (Imperium Classics, Imperium Legends and Imperium Horizons) deliver the same utterly spectacular gameplay experience. What is it that makes Imperium so good? Join me, as I attempt to extrapolate just what it is that makes this civilisation themed deck builder so, so special.

Civilised Deck Building

Imperium is a heavy deck building game. Probably the most complex deck building game on the market. There is nothing superfluous about it though; there is no complexity for complexity’s sake here. No, this is an incredible design that manages to convey the complexities of developing one of 30 (yes, 30!) unique civilisations through the medium of deck building.

Each civilisation has its unique starting deck and unique cards with which to develop it as the game goes on. Some of these are commonplace across many different civilisations. Advance and Conquer cards are common place, allowing for the acquisition of new cards from the shared market. Glory allows for access to the very powerful cards of the fame deck, at the cost of removing land cards from play, slowing down your deck cycling and action economy as a result.

Even with similar starting cards, each civilisation has its own uniqueness to its starting deck and even more so, as players cycle through and add more cards from their nation and development decks as a result.

It all adds up to a wonderful kaleidoscope of options for the players. Each deck plays differently, but you also need to be aware of the strength of your opponents deck and the strategies they are employing. There is no one way to play each civilisation and the result of which is a game I’ve not come close to growing tired of, such are the myriad of options provided in even just Imperium Classics, the most straight-forward set.

The Heart of a Great Civilisation: The Market.

Imperium is a game that has gotten better and better the more I’ve played it (and I’ve played it a lot: 143 times and counting). A large part of that is down to the cards in the common market. As knowledge of the market decks grows, so will players’ understanding of which cards would feed into a strategy they are employing in that game. As importantly, understanding which cards will be key for the opponent provides opportunities to claim them first, or exile them from the market thus denying them to all players.

This adds to the dynamism of Imperium. Along with the civilisations in play, the market cards and the order in which they appear ensure that Imperium is as tactical as it is strategic. Like the successful civilisations they are employing, players will need to be alert to, and take advantage of, opportunities as they present themselves. There is a richness to the Imperium system that is consistently and intensely gratifying, rewarding the time and effort players put in to exploring its world tenfold.

No Opponent? No Problem!

Imperium is a superb 2 player game. It is also one of the greatest solo board gaming experiences ever designed. If you enjoy heavier games and are partial to a dash of solo board gaming, you owe it to yourself to try Imperium.

Your bot opponent’s actions are controlled by an action table. It is an ingenious system that relies on referencing key icons on cards, ignoring the text itself. It does take a few turns to get used to, but well before you have finished your first game, you will be confidently executing bot turns with aplomb, swiftly returning to cogitation over your own actions, as you determine how to best your automated opponent.

Players cannot rely on the bot following the same procedure each time either. Each civilisation has its own solo table designating which cards they prioritise and so on. This means that, although the bot ignores card text, each civilisation still manages to play to its strengths in a similar manner to if it were under the control of a human opponent. It means that I can whole heartedly recommend Imperium, even if the only way it will ever get played is solo.

Perfection?

Imperium is close to being the perfect game in my eyes. However, even through the veil of adoration I have for this game, I cannot ignore one or two aspects that could be better.

The rulebook isn’t the best in Imperium Classics or Imperium Legends. It is much improved upon in Imperium Horizons, however, and this best version is freely available online.

The cardboard chits for progress, population and materials are a little bit chintzy. They do the job, but are otherwise unremarkable.

It is a long game, usually 90-120 minutes for me to play solo. This does not bother me in the slightest and time flies whilst I’m playing, but I appreciate that this could be a bit long for some.

Speaking of game length, yes, Imperium plays 1-4. However, this is really best at 1-2 players. 3 and 4 will take a very long time unless everyone at the table is an expert at the game.

The end of game scoring can be a little fiddly, as you have to score every card in your deck and some cards score off of others, or score differently depending on their location at the end of the game. Again, not something that bothers me at all, but I have to recognise that the end game maths is not insignificant.

Where to Begin?

If you are considering Imperium, a key question that you may be asking is which set do I get first?

Personally, I would go for the set that contains the civilisations that are of most interest to you. I began with Imperium Classics, as that is just historical civilisations and does not contain any of the more esoteric options. Imperium Classics does contain the most straight forward civilisations with which to learn the game too.

That said, Imperium Horizons contains the best rulebook and the bot opponent cards (these are tables printed in the Classics/Legends rulebook). If you are perhaps intending to play it mostly solo, or want the best version of the rules, more content and don’t mind investing a little more, Horizons could be the place to start. It is full of content and a large variety of civilisations, though 6 of the 14 are only playable when using the trade routes expansion rules.

Personally, I think Imperium Legends would be one to pick up after one of the other two. It’s still an excellent set and I wouldn’t want to be without it, but I think it’s the weakest option as an entry point to new players; it does not contain the best rulebook and some of the civilisations in Legends are very complex and play very differently to most of the others.

Making a Mark in History.

Imperium has left an indelible mark on me. It opened my eyes to what it is possible to achieve with a few decks of cards and makes phenomenal use of the deck building mechanic to portray a civilisation’s progress over time. Yes, there are some niggles and barriers to entry, but beyond those is a civilisation game unlike any other.

If I could only ever play one board game till the end of my days, Imperium would be it. If you enjoy heavy, strategic games, or deck building, or play a lot of solo games, give Imperium a try. It’s my favourite game. It may just become yours too.