After the fall of Rome, Europe fell into the so-called "dark ages." From the chaos, feudalism arose providing stability to the region over the coming centuries. By the High Middle Ages, the region was prosperous despite much fighting. From your walled city, you are a medieval liege ruling the surrounding lands, settlements, and holdings granted by birthright. This is your fiefdom, and all within it owe fealty and allegiance to you above all others. Each other lord and lady rules a neighboring fiefdom and competes for resources in the unclaimed yet bountiful lands of the countryside between them. Tensions were high and petty feuds common between you and your neighbors until scouts reported a new and deadly threat. Invaders have swept in from the east! Their sizable army is camped on the edges of your realm, and this new common enemy endangers the entire land. Refugees from the fallen eastern lands seek shelter and bring tales of destruction. Old rivalries must be put aside to focus on the onslaught to come and remain unbroken.
After The Empire is a worker placement/resource management game set in the middle ages. During each turn, known as a season, players alternate using worker tokens to take actions, such as gathering resources, building advanced buildings and recruiting refugees. Once all workers have been committed, players harvest food from their surrounding lands and then prepare for combat.
During each season's combat, invader cards are revealed, with a randomized number of troops and compass direction of attack. Only the wealthiest of castles will draw the attention of larger forces and their siege weapons. You must repair your city and recruit and arm your troops quickly to stand any chance. The winner is the lord or lady who has best preserved their fiefdom and saved up the most gold.
Your life, your wealth, your fiefdom, and your legacy must be protected at all costs!
- Engaging combination of Euro-style worker placement with a tower-defense wave mechanism
- Strong thematic coherence and sense of escalation across seasons
- Rich potential for expansions and variations in play balance
- Noted complexity; could be daunting for new players
- Balance perceived as uneven by some players depending on wealth and board position
- Rule clarity could be improved to ease onboarding
- castle defense under siege with multiple players contributing to a common defense and shared threats
- Post-Roman era; medieval lords fortifying castles against a shared horde
- semi-cooperative with competitive pressures; flavor comes from siege waves and escape mechanics
- Galaxy Trucker
- Agricola
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- comparative_power_and_resources — Weighing wealth and position against other players influences how severe the siege is for each player.
- seasonal_rounds — The game unfolds in seven seasons/rounds; each season ends with a shared attack, intensifying pressure and gameplay pacing.
- tower_defense_engine — Siege waves drive the core challenge; the attack mechanism simulates multi-wave pressure on all players’ positions.
- worker_placement — Players place workers to perform actions like building, gathering, and defending; action selection shapes resource flow and defenses.
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- it's a worker placement, tower defense is sort of the engine we use to simulate these siege battles that the game is representing.
- it's a tower defense mechanism which was really just our our best way of simulating the attacks.
- it's post Roman era, not in set in any specific year, but essentially your medieval era, a bunch of different lords all being attacked by the same horde.
References (from this video)
- Engaging blend of euro-style resource management and tower-defense combat
- Dynamic interaction via partial competition and shared waves
- Deluxe components provide table presence and tactile appeal
- Rulebook and reference sheets can be unclear; fan-made sheets are often recommended
- Learning curve can be steep for new players
- Endgame can hinge on random invader cards and card draws
- defense, resource management, castle-building under siege
- Medieval fantasy kingdoms; tower-defense siege
- fantasy, strategy-driven
- Stronghold
- Dune
- Ticket to Ride
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- castle_defense_and_siege — Defend waves of invaders with walls, towers, gates, and siege cards.
- mercenaries_and_soldiers — Permanent soldiers and temporary mercenaries with upkeep differences.
- refugee_and_building_cards — Draft refugees and building cards introducing asymmetry and scoring options.
- resource_management — Manage wood, stone, iron, and food to repair, upgrade, and sustain armies.
- round_based_progression — Seven seasons; waves escalate; end-game scoring based on wealth and fortifications.
- scoring_and_end_game — Gold, farms, final scoring cards, and secret objectives determine final score.
- worker_placement — Use workers to gather resources, recruit troops, build buildings, and trade.
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- Um, this is basically a tower defense game.
- It's fantasy themed. I don't know. It's just like everyone loves Tower Defense, right?
- Definitely neat.
- This is an easy favorite in my game group. Someone always gets sacked.
- I like the hidden information too in this game.
References (from this video)
- Engaging engine-building
- Tight combat and siege mechanics
- Beautiful components
- Complex rules for new players
- Long play time in multi-player
- castle-building, defense, and economy
- medieval/fantasy kingdom under siege
- engine-building with thematic progression
- Liberty or Death
- Twilight Struggle
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Engine-building with refugees — Buildings and refugees create an engine.
- Market/income and event sequencing — Propaganda-like event cards and income checks drive pacing.
- Siege combat and wall upgrading — Defend walls; upgrade to stone walls and turrets.
- Work replacement — Assign workers to gather resources and build.
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- the action selection... that was the best part of the game
- it's an amazing game; the art looks gorgeous on the table
- the chaos and intrigue make this game memorable
- this is engine building right
- behold the nightmare