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Description
From the rulebook:
Europe in the age of imperialism. International investors try to achieve the greatest influence in Europe. With their bonds, they control the politics of the six imperial nations: Austria-Hungary, Italy, France, Great Britain, the German Empire, and Russia. The nations erect factories, build fleets, and deploy armies. The investors watch as their nations expand, wage wars, levy taxes, and collect the proceeds. Since the European nations are under the shifting influence of different investors, new strategic alliances and conflicts arise between them again and again!
Each player represents an international investor. Only he who succeeds in increasing his capital and gaining influence in the most powerful European nations will win the imperial competition.
Imperial is a varied strategy game without the luck of dice or cards. Two to six players, from about twelve years and up, take on the role of imperial investors. The duration of the game is about two to three hours.
Year Published
2006
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Transcript Analysis
Browse transcript mentions, sentiments, pros/cons, mechanics, topics, quotes, and references.
Total mentions: 5
This page: 5
Sentiment:
pos 2 ·
mix 3 ·
neu 0 ·
neg 0
Showing 1–5 of 5
Video qh9agMCbKKA
Board Gamer Reviews game_review at 0:06 sentiment: mixed
video_pk 62231 · mention_pk 154743
Click to watch at 0:06 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
mixed
Pros
- Distinct cemetery theme with flowers as a visual motif
- Fast setup and teardown with only tiles and a board
- Flexible placement within a constrained grid increases strategic depth
- Rearrange mechanic adds dynamic board-shaping opportunities
Cons
- Theme feels abstract and not deeply realized despite the cemetery concept
- Very similar to Quirkle/Quarkle in core mechanics, which may feel derivative
- Simplistic abstraction that may not appeal to players seeking thematic depth
Thematic elements
- honoring the dead with flowers, cemetery imagery
- cemetery/flower memorials
- abstracted, minimal thematic storytelling through tile placement
Comparison games
- Quirkle
- Quarkle
- Rummy-based tile games
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- grid-based placement with row/column declaration — On a turn you declare a row or a column and may place as many legal tiles as fit within that line.
- rearrange action — Before you place, you can rearrange up to five tiles already on the board to create a legal play.
- set collection / run-building on a grid — Place tiles to form rows or columns that are either all the same color with sequential numbers or the same numbers in different colors.
- tile drafting / pool management — On your turn you either add a face-down tile to your active pool or draw from a reserve to refresh your options.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- This game is all about honoring the dead, but honoring specifically with flowers.
- The goal is to get rid of all of your flowers. Place as many flowers as possible in the cemetery in order to win.
- It's kind of a race. So, whoever gets rid of their tiles first is declared the winner.
- I really like how the board is kind of always shifting a little bit with rearranging and trying to make it to where you can actually put more stuff out there.
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video nKj73VuN4kQ
Board Game Dad top_5_list at 7:26 sentiment: positive
video_pk 33886 · mention_pk 100909
Click to watch at 7:26 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- stock market mechanic creates multi-layered strategy
- investing in others' performance adds depth
Cons
none
Thematic elements
Comparison games
- East India Companies
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- stock buying — buy stock in other players/countries to influence outcomes and end-game wealth
- Stock holding — buy stock in other players/countries to influence outcomes and end-game wealth
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- my five favorite board game mechanics
- cards have multiple uses regardless of what your hand draw is
- I love games that engage you when it's not even your turn
- every player gets to do something at the same time
- not only when you pull your workers you get something but every other player also has the option of pulling their workers back at the same time
- stock buying mechanic ... the objective is to have the most money at the end of the game and the way you get the most money is by buying stock in the players
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video K7GhXiN9sis
OFPG Voices general_discussion at 33:52 sentiment: positive
video_pk 9125 · mention_pk 26903
Click to watch at 33:52 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- strong tension and cat-and-mouse play
- dynamic player interaction
Cons
- can be confrontational and lengthy
Thematic elements
- blunting opponent strategies via direct interaction
- Strategic empire-building and conflict
- grand strategic
Comparison games
- Downforce
- Katan
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- take that — Directly affect opponents by disrupting their resources or plans.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- "top 23 board game terms that we mentioned quite a bit"
- "we want to ramp up quicker"
- "we're going to pick out the top 20 is where we started but then we said well it's 2023 so we're going to give you the top 23 board game terms"
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video DoORzQlrc70
Unknown Channel playthrough at 0:00 sentiment: mixed
video_pk 4888 · mention_pk 14538
Click to watch at 0:00 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
mixed
Pros
- Deep, multi-layered economic strategy with bonds, taxation, and investment
- Dynamic alliances and shifting control add drama and negotiation opportunities
- Solid teachable moment for players new to euro-style economic warfare
Cons
- Rule-heavy and text-dense; learning curve may deter casual players
- Tracking multiple tracks (power points, tax, bonds, treasury) is challenging in a live game
- Long playtime can tax player attention over the course of a session
Thematic elements
- Economic leverage, imperial influence, and resource control through bonds and taxation
- Late 19th to early 20th century European imperial power balance among six nations
- explanation-driven playthrough with live teaching notes
Comparison games
- Settlers of Catan
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Battles and region control — Land and naval battles resolve by majority control and unit elimination, with neutral regions and flags influencing control.
- Bond market and treasury management — Purchasing bonds, paying interest, tracking coupon payments, and calculating final scores based on bond-derived income.
- Destruction of factories — Three units can destroy a factory, removing it and restricting that province's entry until recovered.
- Factories and production — Factories produce ships, fleets, artillery, and armies; production requires money; hostile units restrict production.
- Imports and mobility — Units can be imported for a fee, placed in home provinces, and moved via ships/convoys with sea routes.
- Investment and investor card — The investor card triggers bond purchases, interest payouts, and Swiss bank accounting, and can be transferred.
- Neutral territories and flags — Neutral regions can be claimed using flags; ownership influences taxation and production options.
- Rondelle movement — A clockwise rondelle action track controls order and movement, with extra moves purchasable via cash.
- Taxation and power points — Tax actions move markers on the tax track and generate power points, with dividends paid from treasury.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- you can't build a factory if there's a hostile unit in that space
- it's six treasuries for each Nation, these are the bonds you could buy
- the rondelle moves clockwise around each Country
- you'll calculate your victory points by your credit which is the value of bonds that you hold
- the investors action is three stages; the second and third phase activate when you go through it
- the alliances will shift; you might relinquish control of a country when it tanks
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video LWOMVS8IKx0
Broka top_25_list at 12:55 sentiment: mixed
video_pk 868 · mention_pk 94767
Click to watch at 12:55 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
mixed
Pros
- Rich, varied core system
- Lots of expansions for variety
Cons
- Very long and rules-heavy
- Often requires house rules to stay engaging
Thematic elements
- civilizational development with competitive expansion
- civilization-building with custom civilizational decks
- twisty, deck-driven progression
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Deck building — Each civilization has its own deck driving development.
- deck-building with civilization-specific decks — Each civilization has its own deck driving development.
- engine building — Advance your civilization via cards and resources.
- engine-building / resource management — Advance your civilization via cards and resources.
- Variable Set-up: Player — Expansions add variety, but can increase complexity and duration.
- variable setups with expansions — Expansions add variety, but can increase complexity and duration.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- Carpet bombing 25 solo games that you should be checking out if you're a solo player like me.
- This is the life. Ark Nova.
- Dripping with theme. You're a monster.
- Regardless of whether you're a sad loner like me who has to play games in this fashion, it's still only a game and it's still fun.
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
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Showing 1–5 of 5