Imperial 2030 is a game on its own, based on the rules of Imperial. The six powers (USA, Europe, Russia, China, India, and Brazil) develop their industrial basis and build up armies and fleets. They fight over control of neutral land and sea areas in order to become the most powerful nation worldwide.
In this game it is not the players who take turns, but the six powers, one after another. The players are just internationally operating investors who act in the background. By giving money to the six powers, which all have their own treasuries, the players influence the politics. The biggest investor in each nation gains control of that nation's government and decides what the nation will do. As control of a government can change with each new investment, players may control several governments at the same time. As investors, players should not get too attached to their preferred nation, but rather focus on where their investments have the best rates of return. Essentially the game is about money, and not about military domination!
Imperial 2030 was released at Essen 2009 by PD-Games and Rio Grande Games. Compared to "Imperial" there will be some new features:
- new wooden bits
- the Swiss Bank
- a new 30 million bond to invest in
- more neutral territory, generating higher taxation
- fewer home provinces
- control of canals (Panama and Suez).
For those who already owned Imperial, there was the opportunity to get only the new map and bonds at Essen '09, as it can be played with the old wooden bits as well.
- Deep strategic depth without excessive complexity
- Elegant rondel mechanism for action selection
- Thematic economic and geopolitical simulation
- Well-suited for 3-6 players and longer play sessions
- Can be quite lengthy (up to ~3 hours)
- Rule complexity and setup may be challenging for new players
- economic simulation of nation investment, governance, and power projection
- Year 2030, global geopolitics with six superpower nations on a world map
- instructional and explanatory
- Imperial (original)
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Bonds and treasury management — Players invest by buying nation bonds to fund governments; the governor of a nation is determined by the most money invested; bonds generate interest payable from the treasury.
- Factories and production — Nations build factories in home provinces (costing 5 million from the treasury); production adds units to cities with factories, with enemy presence potentially blocking production.
- Investor and Swiss bank mechanic — During an investor action, interest is paid, the investor is activated, and players with Swiss bank tokens can buy bonds; the investor action can trigger subsequent steps including bond purchases.
- Maneuver, combat and flag placement — Nations maneuver ships and tanks to capture regions; battles are resolved with casualty-based outcomes; flags are placed on neutral regions to indicate control and influence scoring.
- Naval movement and canals — Ships move across seas; movement can be aided by canals (Panama, Suez) with control conditions; canal access depends on other nation control and permissions.
- Power track and endgame — Nations accumulate power on a power track; when a nation reaches 25, the game ends and bonds are liquidified for final scoring.
- Rondel action selection — A central circular track (rondel) determines the available actions each turn; governors move the token along the track, with the first turns offering freer movement and later turns incurring costs paid from the governor's treasury.
- Supply and transport rules — Movement costs are influenced by the first three free steps and a tax on the governor's treasury thereafter; rail/harbor rules affect transport options and strategic positioning.
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- imperial 2030 designed by mark gertz
- featuring his great rondel mechanism
- it is an economic game with players being investors of great nations trying to make the most profit
- I prefer this just a little bit more
- a classic game with great depth without being too heavy