Empire Reborn

Play Details: 2-4 Players, 60 Minutes, Ages 12+

The Empire of York is in shambles after a century of misrule. The imperial family has fled with what’s left of the treasury, leading the citizenry to the path of revolution and anarchy. Civil war is imminent. The old Imperial Army has mobilized to maintain order, but the old empire was vast and filled with a patchwork of cultures and factions. The Imperial Army isn’t the only one with a stomach for a fight. The future of the empire will be determined in the coming months. The time to march is upon you!

I’ve long wanted to design a war game. It’s not only my favorite genre of board games, but also one of the most crowded. Not merely crowded, but it’s packed with outstanding games, ranging from the beautifully accessible Memoir ’44, the wonderful 1812: The Invasion of Canada, Heroscape, Conflict of Heroes, and recently the ridiculously innovative Risk: Legacy.

Early prototype components

Empire Reborn is accessible, rich with player interaction, and plays with up to 4 players with 4 unique factions, all in a short one hour play period. The game features no dice and instead gives each player an Army deck using 7 simple card types: Infantry, Cavalry, Artillery, General, Imperial Guard, Fog of War, Diplomat. That’s it.

Card mockups

Cards are played to add Reinforcements to the board, but more importantly, to activate powerful Tactics. Tactics include things like Infantry Charges, Ambushes, or sending the enemy False Orders. The uncertainty of the cards drawn paired with the actions of your opponents will allow for a great deal of variety that’s easy to learn.

Game test in progress

I’m also excited by how expandable the core system is. I already see great potential for small and large expansions that add a naval aspect to the war, additional players, unique armies (i.e. new decks with new tactics), terrain modifications, Leader units, and more.

All told, Empire Reborn is a unique war game that works just at well at lunch, game night, or the Thanksgiving table after dinner. The game is deep into beta and balance testing now.

If you have any thoughts, comments, or questions regarding Empire Reborn, please . I will be demoing and testing the game at GenCon in hopes of finding a publisher.

Here are some helpful links! Please keep in mind that everything is in progress. Also, all art images on this page are purely reference and are not indicative of intended art.

  • Visual Reference on Pinterest
  • Rules for Empire Reborn
  • Card Layout Example
  • Card Distribution and Tactics Tuning
  • Map Layout
  • Player Tactics Boards (Reference tableaus)
  • Video Walkthrough of Empire Reborn
  • Field Marshals Booster Rules

5 thoughts on “Empire Reborn

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  3. How has pinterest been for organizing info? Have you used it more than just visual reference? I have a pmwiki and a blog for organizing some ideas, but I wouldn’t mind something more visual. What sort of content can you post/link on there?

    Reply
    • I use Pinterest primarily for visual reference (i.e. something I would show to an illustrator I hire to create art for the game) and just for thematic inspiration. For example, when searching for Empire Reborn I discovered that Camel Artillery is a thing. Very helpful. Looking up the Native Americans versus T. Roosevelt’s Rough Riders gave me inspiration for two different army types. Pinterest is only for posting images. Honestly, it’s free — you should just get it and try it for yourself.

      Reply

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