Inhalt

GAMEBOARD................................................................................................................3
GAME MATERIALS........................................................................................................4
SET-UP...........................................................................................................................4
GAME PLAY .................................................................................................................6
OBJECT OF THE GAME / END OF THE GAME...........................................................6
TREASURIES / START OF THE GAME........................................................................7
SPACES ON THE RONDEL .........................................................................................7
Factory...............................................................................................................7
Production........................................................................................................7
Import..................................................................................................................8
Maneuver............................................................................................................8
Investor............................................................................................................11
Taxation.............................................................................................................12
Tips on strategy...................................................................................................13
About the development of Imperial.............................................................13
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)................................................................14
Variant without Investor card......................................................................15
New edition rule changes................................................................................15

DESCRIPTION
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.

Version 2010, 3. Edition

 GAMEBOARD
There are six Great Powers on the gameboard:
Austria-Hungary, Italy, France, Great Britain, the German Empire and Russia. In the rules following,
they are called ”nations“. Each Great Power has five home provinces. Land areas outside the Great
Powers are called ”land regions“.

Rondel Land region “Norway“ Province “Moscow“

The six nations The 15 brown land Each nation consists of 5 home
choose the regions are located provinces with one city each. One
actions that outside the six nations. factory can be built in these provinces,
make up their Only armies are allowed either as a shipyard (blue city) or as an
turns here. to enter them. armament facility (brown city).

Treasury of Italy Switzerland Tax Chart

Repository for Italian The only region that may not be entered The tax
money and bonds. since the investors reside here. revenue of
the nations
is marked
Sea region Scoring Track here.
“Western Mediterranean Sea“ Shows the current power points for the
Only fleets are allowed to enter six nations (0-25). Above the current
the blue sea regions. power points is the Power Factor.

3
 GAME MATERIALS
Printed tiles Wooden components
• 1 gameboard • 48 armies in the six nation colors .
• 54 bond cards of the six nations, called (10 yellow; 6 red; all others 8 each)
”bonds“ below (in denominations of 2, 4, 6, 9, • 48 fleets in the six nation colors.
12, 16, 20, 25, 30 million) (6 yellow; 10 red; all others 8 each)
• 90 flags in 6 colors (15 per nation) • 30 factories (15 brown armament facilities
• 6 nation flag cards and 15 light blue shipyards)
• 1 investor card • 6 octagonal high markers in the six nation
colors (for the rondel)
• 130 Bank notes (35 x 1 mil., 55 x 2 mil., .
25 x 5 mil., 15 x 10 mil.) • 12 octagonal low markers in the six nation
colors (one for the scoring track and one for
• 1 instruction booklet the tax chart)
• 1 quick intro • 1 turn maker (wooden pawn)
• 1 booklet ”Historical Data on the Six Powers“

SET-UP
1. General set-up (see illustration below) brown squares and a light blue shipyard on the
light blue squares. The 18 factories that have not
Nation Markers: The high nation marker for each
yet been built are placed next to the gameboard.
nation is placed into the middle of the rondel. The
low nation markers are placed on the first space Bonds: The 54 bonds are sorted according
of the scoring track (“0”) and on the lowest space to their nations in six piles in ascending order
of the tax chart (“2-5”). (lowest value on top). Each pile is placed next to
the appropriate nation’s treasury.
Factories: Each nation starts with two factories
that are placed onto the square cities on the Bank: The money is sorted and placed next to
gameboard: a brown armaments facility on the the gameboard as the bank.

4
 Set-UP
2. Distributing the bonds With four or five players, not all nation flag cards
are distributed initially. The remaining card(s)
The starting money and government(s) handed
is/are given in each case to the player(s) who
out to the players depend on the number of
own(s) the “2 million” bond of this nation (since
players.
they have the highest credit sum). If none of a
4 to 6 players: nation’s bonds have been distributed, its nation
Each player receives 13 million (1 x 5 million, 4 flag card remains in the bank for the moment.
x 2 million) from the bank.
The 6 nation flag cards are shuffled face down
and dealt to the players in turn; each player gets
one nation flag card. Variant for experienced players
3 players: This variant for bond distribution increases
the strategic possibilities and is therefore
Each player receives 24 million (2 x 5 million,
recommended for experienced players.
7 x 2 million) from the bank.
The nation flag cards of Austria-Hungary, Italy, Each player gets the following starting money
and France are shuffled face down and dealt to from the bank:
the players in turn; each player gets one nation • With six players, 15 mil.
flag card. After that, each player gets one more • With five players, 18 mil.
nation flag card: • With four players, 22 mil.
Great Britain to Austria-Hungary • With three players, 28 mil.
Russia to Italy • With two players, 40 mil.
Germany to France Determined by lot, one of the players is the first
2 players: who is allowed to grant a bond of his choice to
Each player receives starting money amounting Austria-Hungary. If he decides to do that, he
to 35 mil. (3 x 5 mil., 10 x 2 mil.) from the bank. chooses one Austro-Hungarian bond from the
The nation flag cards of Austria-Hungary and Italy bond pile and pays its amount into the Austro-
are shuffled face down and dealt to the players in Hungarian treasury that is on the gameboard.
turn; each player gets one nation flag card. After After him, all other players are allowed to grant
that, each player gets two more nation flag cards: one Austro-Hungarian bond in clockwise rotation,
and in that case pay its amount into the Austro-
France and Germany to Austria-Hungary
Hungarian treasury on the game board.
Russia and Great Britain to Italy
After Austria-Hungary, bonds are given to Italy.
The player who is sitting to the left of the starting
The initial distribution of the bonds is shown on the player is the first one allowed to choose an Italian
backs of the nation flag cards. Each player takes bond. After that, all other players in clockwise
the bonds shown on the back(s) of their card(s) fashion are allowed to grant any available Italian
from the bond pile and pays the corresponding bond (one per player).
price into the treasury of that nation. When all
Then bonds are given in turn to France, Great
initial bonds are distributed among the players,
Britain, Germany, and Russia in the same way.
each player will have 2 million remaining – the
The price of the bond chosen must be paid into
rest will be in the nations’ treasuries.
the respective treasury. Finally each player who
Each player keeps the nation flag card(s) that does not form a nation’s government receives a
he has been dealt. This indicates that he has Swiss Bank instead.
given the highest contribution to the nation and
After every player had the opportunity to grant
therefore forms that government.
bonds to every nation, the game can start.

5
 GAME PLAY
The six imperial Great Powers (nations) operate
on the gameboard. The players are investors
who grant bonds to these nations. The player
who has granted the highest credit amount to
a nation controls the government of that nation
and decides the actions on the gameboard. This
player is referred to as, in short, ”the government
of the nation“.
Regardless of the number of players, all six Great
Powers (nations) take part in every game.
Selecting a space on the rondel
The move of a nation consists of choosing a
space on the rondel. In a nation‘s first turn, the
game piece is placed on any space of the rondel.
All following turns are chosen on the rondel by
moving the game piece clockwise; remaining in
place is not allowed. The playing piece may be
moved to one of the three spaces ahead at no
Example:
cost; each additional space costs the player who
leads the government of that nation 2 million, paid Italy is standing on the ”Investor“ space on the
to the bank. The maximum move on the rondel rondel. In order to choose ”Taxation“ on the
next turn, Italy must move forward four spaces;
is six spaces.
the Italian government (player with the flag)
must pay 2 million to the bank accordingly. In
order to move from ”Investor“ to ”Factory“, the
government would have to pay 4 million to the
bank, etc.

OBJECT OF THE GAME / END OF THE GAME

According to their economic power (factories) The players add up the values of all their bonds
and their military strength (occupied sea and land and, after that, add all their cash. Each million
regions), the nations collect power points in the equals one victory point. The player with the most
course of the game. The points are added on the victory points wins the game.
scoring track. As soon as a nation has reached In case of a tie, the player who has the higher
25 power points, the game ends. credit sum in the nation with the most power
A player’s final score is the interest of their points wins. If there is still a tie, the credit sums
bonds multiplied by nations’ Power Factors on in the nation with the second most power points
the scoring track, plus cash on hand. are compared, and so on.

Example:
France has 17 power points; the counting bar
reads factor “3”. The French bond on 12 mil.
generates an interest of 5 mil., resulting in the
following value:
5 mil. x 3 = 15 mil.

6
 TREASURIES / START OF THE GAME
Separate capital Start of play
The treasury of the six imperial nations and the Austria-Hungary begins the game; after that,
individual cash of the players have to be kept the nations move clockwise according to the
strictly separate. The players hold the treasuries order of their national deposits on the edge of
they control in trust. They are not allowed to the gameboard (1. Austria-Hungary, 2. Italy,
dispose of the treasuries personally nor lend or 3.  France, 4. Great Britain, 5. the German
give away money from the treasury. However, Empire and 6. Russia). The turn marker is used
they are allowed to give personal cash to in each case to identify which nation‘s turn it is.
the treasury at any time in order to support it In case a nation has not been granted a bond, it
financially. has no government yet. In this case, the move
Each player may check the contents of all of this nation is skipped.
treasuries anytime for control purposes, but he At the start of the game, the investor card goes
may keep his own, personal cash secret from to the player seated to the left of the player who
the other players. controls Austria-Hungary. If there is none, the
Players are not allowed to lend or give money investor card goes to the player to the left of the
away to one other. They are also not allowed to player who controls Italy.
trade bonds among each other or to relinquish
them in any other way.

SPACES ON THE RONDEL

The function of the spaces on the rondel is
explained in the following passages. Production
Each armaments facility and shipyard of a nation
Factory may produce one army or one fleet respectively
for free. Factories in a home province in which
The nation is allowed to build one new factory. hostile armies (standing upright) are present
Armaments facilities may be built only in brown cannot produce. Nor can the occupying force
cities whereas shipyards may be built only in light itself produce in an occupied foreign factory.
blue cities. A factory may be built only in one The new armies and fleets are placed on the
of the nation’s own cities if there are no hostile gameboard in the home province of their factory.
armies (standing upright) in its home province. In this context, it is unimportant how many military
Only one factory may be built in each city. units are already present in that region.
The nation pays 5 mil. into the bank and the Example:
chosen factory is placed on the gameboard in
Germany owns
the appropriate city.
factories in Berlin,
Example: Hamburg and
Munich. There is
Germany has factories in Berlin and Hamburg.
a hostile Russian
There is a French army in Cologne. Therefore,
army (standing
a factory can be built only in Munich or Danzig.
upright) in Berlin,
That means that on the rondel ”Factory“ space,
and a friendly
Germany may build either a shipyard in Danzig
French army
(light blue) or an armaments facility in Munich
(lying) in Munich.
(brown). To do that, 5 million must be paid from
When on the
the treasury to the bank
rondel ”Production“ space, Germany can place
a fleet in Hamburg and an army in Munich.

7
 IMPORT - MANeuver
Import harbor of London can only move into the English
Channel (anchor) and the fleet lying in the harbor
The nation may buy military units for 1 million of Dublin can only move into the North Atlantic.
each from the bank. The number of military units, As an alternative, any fleet may stay where it is.
however, is limited to three in total. The military If a fleet moves to a sea region in which fleets
units may be placed in all home provinces that of other nations are present, it turns into a
do not have hostile armies (standing upright); battle if at least one side wants it. In a battle the
fleets, however, may be placed only in light blue fleets are matched 1:1 and removed from the
seaports. Deploying several military units in the gameboard. The government of the invading fleet
same home province at the same time is allowed. may choose, if need be, which of the fleets in the
region it wants to match. If fleets already in the
Example:
sea region want a battle, it has to be declared
Austria-Hungary imports two fleets and one directly after the other fleets have moved in. If
army, paying 3 million from its treasury into the
none of the parties wants a conflict, they keep
bank. All three military units are established
peacefully lying next to each other in the same
in Triest. It would also have been possible to
deploy the army in one of the other four Austro-
sea region. Fleets of the active nation that do not
Hungarian home provinces. move can also battle fleets of other nations that
are in the same sea region.

Maneuver Example of a fleet battle:

This turn is conducted in three steps. First the fleets
are moved, then the armies, and finally flags are
placed in newly occupied regions.

1. Fleets
All fleets of a nation are allowed to move to an
adjacent sea region (to cross a blue sea border).
After their production or their import, fleets lie
If the purple fleet moves to the left Sea, Purple
in the harbor; consequently, their first move is
can decide whether the fleet should fight. If it
always to the sea region that is adjacent to the
does so, Purple can also decide whether the
harbor (this region is additionally marked by an purple fleet fights against the green or the yellow
anchor). Once fleets are at sea, they cannot fleet. If Purple does not want to do battle, the
return to land. purple fleet moves to the left Sea and Purple
asks the other governments if they want to
Example:
fight. The order in which the other governments
The fleet from the English Channel can either are asked is decided upon by the purple fleet.
move into the North Atlantic, the Bay of Biscay, If no one wants to fight, all three fleets remain
or into the North Sea. The fleet lying in the peacefully side by side in the Ionian Sea.

8
 MANeuver

2. Armies Mediterranean Sea has already been used by

the first army. But the second army can land in
All armies of a nation are allowed to move to Tunis, for example, since there is another ship in
an adjacent land region (except for Switzerland). the Ionian Sea that has not yet transported any
Alternatively, they can also be transported army; and Tunis is also adjacent to the Ionian
overseas via their own fleets (convoy). In doing Sea.
so, they may cross one or more adjacent sea
regions provided the nation already has a fleet Railroad transport: Each nation has a railroad
in that region. Each fleet may transport only one network that exists between the home provinces
army per turn. and ends at its own national borders. If hostile
A sea transport is only possible if an army is in armies (standing upright) are present in a home
a land region that is adjacent to a sea region, province, the railroad network in this home
or reaches this region by railroad (see next province is suspended. Before or after they
paragraph). After doing the convoy, the army is move, armies may be transported by railroad
in a land region again. within the country at will.

Example of sea transport (see picture above): Example of a railroad transport:

There are two yellow armies In Triest. Via The Dutch army (see illustration to the right)
ship, one of the armies can land in Algeria. In cannot get to Denmark, Sweden or Norway. A
this case, however, the second army cannot direct sea transport is not possible since there
be transported any more over the western is no German fleet in the adjacent sea regions.
Mediterranean Sea since the ship in the western The army can move to Hamburg; then it can
get to each other German home
province. But its ”Maneuver“
turn is done, and it can neither
leave Germany over a land
border nor move to another land
region by means of the fleet in
the Baltic Sea.
The German army in Cologne
can get to Hamburg by railroad
and then take its ”Maneuver“
turn, either directly to Denmark
or by means of the fleet in the
Baltic Sea to Denmark, Sweden
or Norway.

9
 MANeuver
Battles: The battle between
armies is conducted in the
same way as the battle
between fleets, i.e., the
active nation may match
armies in land regions
1:1. Armies of foreign
nations can call for a battle
if their land region has
been invaded. Fleets and
armies can battle against
each other only if the fleet
is still in the harbor. In this
case, an invading army can
attack the fleet or the fleet
can call for a battle.
Example of the destruction of a factory:
Entering provinces of other Great Powers: There is one shipyard in Venice, and one fleet
If an army moves into the home province of still lies in the harbor of Venice. First, a yellow
another Great Power, the government of that army may move from Vienna to Venice and
army has to decide if the intentions are hostile battle the fleet. The armies from Budapest may
or friendly. A hostile army, placed standing go to Vienna by railroad, then they may move to
upright in the province, blocks the province (no Venice along with the army from Vienna. Now
production, no import, no building of factories, no three yellow armies are standing in Venice and
taxation). A friendly army, however, is laid on its may destroy the factory. In this case, the three
side; it leads to no constraints. During the next armies and the light blue shipyard are removed
maneuver turn of the nation, the status of the from the gameboard.
armies can be changed, even without moving
them into another province. Also in the case of
such a status change, armies of other nations in 3. Flags
the province can call for a match. A nation‘s flag is placed in newly occupied land
If a nation has only one factory left that is not or sea regions that don’t contain foreign military
occupied by hostile armies (standing upright), the units. Home provinces of foreign nations cannot
province of this factory may not be entered by be assigned flags.
hostile armies. Armies of other nations that enter A flag remains in a region until the region is
this province are laid on their sides. occupied exclusively by another nation. As the
Destruction: A foreign factory may be destroyed result of a battle, it may happen that an inactive
by three armies if no armies (fleets) of the nation winds up occupying the region exclusively;
defender are (any longer) in the home province. in this case the previous flag is removed and
The foreign factories and the three armies are replaced by a flag of that nation.
removed from the gameboard. Exception: If a
nation has only one factory left that has not been
occupied by hostile armies (standing upright), this
factory cannot be destroyed.

10
 INVESTOR
Investor 3. Investing as Swiss Bank
Each player who has a Swiss Bank and does not
This turn is conducted in three steps. Steps two hold the investor card at the same time is also
and three are executed when the „Investor“ allowed to invest once. Investing with the Swiss
space on the rondel is not landed on but is Bank is done in the same way as if the player
only passed through. In this case, the action holds an Investor card, but without collecting two
determined by the space landed on is completed million from the bank.
first. If several players have a Swiss Bank, investing
is done in the order of play (clockwise), starting
1. Paying out interest from the player currently with the Investor card.
Each player who granted bonds to a nation gets
its interest paid by the treasury. If the treasury
At the end of the Investor turn, a check is made to
does not have enough money to pay all interest
see if there will be any changes of government. In
of its bonds, the player who leads the government
this context, the sum of all bonds of a player in the
must turn down his own interest, completely
pertinent nation will determine the government
or partly, and, if necessary, must take on the
of that nation. If, due to the allocation of bonds,
payment of interest to others from his personal
a new player has achieved the highest credit
cash.
sum (a tie is not sufficient), he takes over the
2. Activating the Investor government of that nation and is given the nation
The player who is holding the Investor card flag card. If several players achieve the same
(Investor) gets paid 2 million from the bank and highest credit sum, the player first in seating
then may invest in any nation. He may only select order, counting from the player with the investor
from the bonds that are available in the nation‘s card, takes over the government.
bond repository, and may choose whether to take
a new bond or increase an existing bond of the If a player does not control any government,
same nation. he gets a Swiss Bank instead. Ownership of a
Swiss Bank continues as long as the player does

+
An additional bond is paid in total to the not control a nation.
appropriate treasury, and the player takes the If he takes over a
bond card. This way, he may own even several government again, he
bonds of the same nation. If an existing bond is has to return the Swiss
increased, the card of the bond is sorted into the Bank.
pile of the nation‘s bond cards, the new bond The owner of a Swiss
card is taken from the repository, and only the Bank may force nations
difference between the two bonds is paid into on the rondel not to Swiss Bank
the treasury. pass over Investor if
Example: its government intends
to do so. However, this can only be done if the
A player takes the Italian 12-million bond and
treasury of that nation has sufficient money to
puts the Italian 4-million bond back into the pile.
He pays the difference of 8 million into the Italian pay out all interest.
treasury.
Finally, the Investor card moves clockwise to the
next player.
2 5
⇔
Kingdom Kingdom
of Italy of Italy
4,000,000
, Four Imperial Million .
12,000,000
, Twelve Imperial Million .

2,000,000 (50%) 5,000,000 (42%)

11
 Taxation
Taxation 3. Collecting money
This turn is conducted in three steps. When landing on the ”Taxation“ space on the
rondel, the nation has to pay 1 mil. soldiers’ pay to
1. Tax revenue / Success bonus each of its armies and fleets. One million for each
The national taxes are comprised of two army and fleet of the nation is subtracted from the
components: tax revenue. Only the remaining amount is paid
from the bank into the treasury on the gameboard.
• 2 mil. per unoccupied factory
If the amount is negative, no payment is made.
• 1 mil. per flag.
A factory is unoccupied when
there is no hostile army in the
home province of the factory. The
maximum possible tax revenue is
25 mil. (10 mil. from 5 factories
plus 15. mil. from 15 flags).
The taxation is completed, then
recorded on the tax chart by
means of the game piece. If the
taxes are 5 mil. or less, the game
piece is put on the lowest space
of the tax chart (“2-5”); if the tax
is 15 mil. or more, the game piece
is put on the highest space of the
tax chart (“15+”).
Example:
For any increase on the tax chart,
The German game pieces stand at 6 (mil.) on
compared to the previous level,
the tax chart and at 1 on the scoring track. The
the government (player) is paid a
illustration shows the German situation:
success bonus from the bank. The
bonus is 1 mil. for each additional The German Empire selects the ”Taxation“ space
space. If the taxes are constant or on the rondel.
decreasing, no bonus is paid out; 1. The tax revenue is 7 mil. (2 factories and 3
however, the owner of the flag does flags). So the tax marker moves up from 6 (mil.)
not have to pay anything. to 7 (mil.). Since the tax marker has moved up
one space, the German government (the player
2. Adding power points with the German nation flag card) gets 1 mil.
paid from the bank as a success bonus.
According to its tax revenue, the
nation gains additional power 2. The tax chart shows ”+2“ points. Accordingly, 2
points as shown on the right side points are added on the scoring track, and the
German marker is moved from ”1“ to ”3“.
of the taxation chart. The newly
acquired power points are added to 3. The German Empire has two armies and one
the previous point standing on the fleet. So 4 mil. (7 mil. tax revenue minus 3 mil.
scoring track at the bottom edge of soldiers‘ pay) is paid from the bank into the
the gameboard. German treasury.
As soon as a nation has reached a
total of 25 power points, the game ends. If during
the move to the „Taxation“ space the Investor
space has been passed through, part 2 and 3 of
the Investor move are not conducted any more.

12
 Tips on strategy
Don‘t forget the power points Use the Swiss Bank
Only when a nation builds factories, places flags, The Swiss Bank is very useful to get hold of many
and in the end plays ”taxation“, can it advance smaller bonds with higher interest rates. And if
with its power points. It may not be possible to the preconditions are fulfilled, it is mostly a good
avoid conflicts with other nations, but nations who thing to force a nation to stop on Investor and
set up troops and wage war all the time, will not pay out interest.
be successful in collecting many power points.
The end of the game may come surprisingly
Be careful when concentrating on one nation fast
It may be tempting to grant bonds exclusively Nations who are well developed, owning many
to the nation in which the player has control, in factories and tax regions, can progress on the
order to stabilize the government and to enable scoring track very quickly. A nation needs only
the nation to build factories and pay interest. 4 factories and 7 tax regions to gather 10 power
But this may be a dangerous strategy, if no points. Therefore it can easily happen that a
other investors invest there, and no one else is nation that is behind, suddenly rushes ahead and
interested in seeing the nation flourish. The nation ends the game by reaching 25 points.
will be attacked sooner than expected.
How many turns does a game of “Imperial“
Take care of your money usually take?
Of course it is important to develop the nation in A typical game of “Imperial“ takes about 120
which the player has control. But nonetheless individual turns, i.e. 20 turns per nation. The
one should not forget the role of being an investor game usually ends after the winning nation has
desperately in need of money in order to win the entered Taxation four times. However, this does
game. Entering the Investor space on the rondel not necessarily mean that the player controlling
may slow down the nation, but it usually is the that nation wins the game.
most efficient way to get money.

About the development of Imperial

Dating back to the eighties, Imperial could be go to Peter Hawes and Ralph Anderson who
played only in private circles, because only a few contributed wholeheartedly to the development
handmade copies existed. of the game and had many constructive ideas.
The old version developed in terms of the Without Peter Eggert, who was rapidly infected
playtime, complexity and game flow, in order to with enthusiasm, without Peter Dörsam, who
suit the requirements for publishing. This was a contributed to the success with his deep game
challenge which could only be met by devoting analysis and his publication house PD-Verlag ,
considerable time and energy to many test without Matthias Catrein, who showed the best
rounds. All the time new ideas that emerged had of his graphic talents, and last but not least,
to be discussed and tested intensely, and many without the many other players and helpers who
were often rejected. But the basic structure of all cannot be mentioned here, the publication of
Imperial remained unchanged: Imperial would not have been possible. I thank
The six imperial powers in Europe before WWI my wife Kathia, who was pregnant at the time, for
who compete with their economies and armies her everlasting patience and assistance.
are controlled by the changing influence of May your imperial investor‘s intrigues be
different players. successful!
Most test rounds took place in the cultural center Hamburg, September 2006 Mac Gerdts
”Rieckhof“ in Hamburg. Also the ”Hamburg
Meeting of Game Designers“, which takes place
on a regular basis, was very important for us. Even Thanks to Carlton Dempfle for the translation of
in the United States and in Australia test rounds the booklet ”Historical Data on the Six Powers“
were conducted; therefore, very special thanks into English.

13
 Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Can factories also be destroyed by fleets? Are players allowed to borrow or receive a
Fleets cannot destroy a factory since they are gift of money?
not allowed to return from a sea region to a land No. Players are not allowed to borrow, lend or
region. receive a gift of money from one another or from
a treasury or the bank. They are only allowed
When can nations use their military units to give money to the treasuries, or during the
to fight? Investor turn to grant bonds that have been
There are two possibilities: defined exactly.
1. Nations that have chosen the rondel space
Is making agreements allowed?
„Maneuver“ are allowed to fight against foreign
armies and/or fleets anytime. Yes, this is not prohibited. For instance, nations
can make arrangements about influence zones or
2. Inactive nations are allowed to fight against
non-aggression pacts; however, there is no game
any foreign army or fleet that has just moved into
rule that forces a player to stick to the agreement.
a region in which the inactive nation has military
But even if agreements are kept, the situation
units. This also applies if a „friendly“ army moves
into a home province or if an army changes its can change suddenly by changes of government.
status from „friendly“ to „hostile“. Can the investor invest twice if he does not
Can armies and fleets fight against each lead any government?
other? No. It is not possible to use the investor card and
This is only possible if the fleet still lies in the at the same time invest for a second time because
harbor and the home province of the harbor is the investor player leads no government.
entered by an army or the army is already there. Can flags also be put in provinces of other
Can armies also enter islands? Great Powers?
No. The islands on the gameboard (such as No. A hostile occupation of a foreign nation‘s
Sicily, Sardinia, Corsica, Crete) are not named home province prevents the foreign nation from
and do not count as independent regions. Only deploying military units there, levying taxes for
the province of „Dublin“ (Ireland) can be entered a factory that is located there, or building a new
by armies. factory.

What straits can be crossed by armies? When is a flag removed from the
Armies can move from Bulgaria to Turkey.
gameboard?
However, it is not possible to move armies from Only if the region is occupied by one other Great
Sweden to Denmark nor from Spain to Morocco. Power exclusively. That means the flag remains
To do so, armies need a fleet convoy. if there are military units of several nations there
or no military units in the region any more.
What does it mean if a railroad network is
suspended? What happens when supplies of a nation
If, for instance, a hostile Russian army stands in
are all used up?
Berlin, then it is not possible to get from Hamburg, In this case, no more armies or fleets can be
Cologne or Munich to Danzig by railroad. deployed.

Can bonds be given back? Is there a railroad connection from Great

The giving back of bonds is allowed only if the
Britain to Ireland?
respective nation is given a new, higher bond at No. Armies cannot move to the province of
the same time. „Dublin“ by railroad.

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 Variant without Investor card
This variation results in fewer changes in the In addition to this procedure, players not owning
ownership of governments. governments can invest in any nation they wish,
Remove investor card from game. Instead of at any time.
using the investor card, each player can invest On the rondel playing field “Investor,“ only the
in a nation immediately after that nation takes interests are paid. Passing through that field no
its turn. longer has any special consequence.
For example: If in the beginning no bond has been given yet
After Italy takes its turn, its owner can invest in by a nation, bonds can be granted to this nation
Italy. Then all the other players can invest in Italy, directly after the previous nation‘s turn. The
starting with the player to the left of the owner of government of the previous nation is the first to
Italy and going clockwise around the table. After invest.
that France takes its turn.

New edition rule changes

Swiss Bank Flags
This new edition introduces the Swiss Bank. Tax regions are marked with a flag (there are 15
Players who do not control any government get flags per nation instead of 10 chips).
a Swiss Bank instead. In addition to additional Starting distribution of bonds
chances to invest (as before), this also gives the
Each player starts with two bonds of 9 and 2
right to prevent other nations from passing over
million, and 2 million cash as additional starting
the Investor space on the rondel if the nation’s
money. Now it takes longer for a change of
treasury contains sufficient cash for all payouts.
government to be possible. The special rule of
Bonds the second edition (which required paying an
Each nation has an additional bond of 30 million additional 1 million when taking over the last
(interest 9 million) available. Now it takes longer government before it had taxed) is no longer
for all bonds of a nation to be sold out. applied. The variant for experienced players
remains unchanged.

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Imperial 2030: In 2030 the old powers USA, Europe, Hamburgum: Hamburg in the 17th century. Mighty
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15
 The markers representing the nations are moved clockwise around
the rondel. (Moving 1-3 fields costs nothing; for each additional
field, the government [player] pays 2 million to the bank,
moving a maximum of 6 fields).

Factory A factory may be built for 5 million.

Nation→Bank (brown city = armaments facility; light blue city = shipyard)

Production Each unoccupied factory produces an army or a fleet, respectively.

Placement: In the province of the factory (the fleet in the harbor).

Import The nation may buy a maximum of 3 new military units for 1 million
Nation→Bank each. Placement: Anywhere within the home provinces.

Maneuver 1. Fleets are allowed to move to an adjacent sea region. Battles: 1:1
2. Armies may move to an adjacent land region or, via fleets, to
another land region (1 army per fleet); additionally, before or
after each such movement, armies can travel by railroad between
home provinces. 3 armies may destroyed a factory. Battles: 1:1
3. Flags are placed in newly occupied sea & land regions containing
no foreign military units (not in any home provinces).

Investor Parts 2 & 3 are also executed when passing through the investor field.
Nation→Player 1. The interest is paid out to the players holding the nation‘s bonds.
The government must ensure that all interest is paid.
Bank→Player 2. The player with the Investor card gets 2 million from the bank
and may take out 1 bond or increase 1 existing bond (pay money
Player→Nation to the nation). After that, the Investor card moves clockwise to
the next player.
3. Other players who own a Swiss Bank may invest as well.

Taxation 1. The tax (2 million per unoccupied factory & 1 million per flag) is
recorded on the tax chart; if the chart position has increased, the
Bank→Player government (player) gets the increase as a dividend from the bank.
2. Add the power points (on the right side of the tax chart) on the
scoring track.
Bank→Nation 3. Collect the tax minus soldiers’ pay (1 million per army/fleet).

End of game: As soon as a nation accumulates 25 power points.

Victory points: interest of bonds x factor of the nations (0-5) + individual cash.

règles française,
regole italiano,
reglas español ...
www.pd-games.com/imperial

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