Exploring New Barbarian Strategies with Imperial Settlers
Follow the rise of a small Barbarian settlement as it grows into a prosperous civilization with Imperial Settlers.
There was a time when I played Imperial Settlers all the time and was so excited to dig into the expansion content. That was… Over a year ago?! I finally pulled out my entire collection to get back into it and start digging into all of the new cards. So much to explore! I forgot how much I enjoyed the challenge of building an engine. Back to the table, at last!
Game Overview
Game Name: Imperial Settlers
Publication Year: 2014
Designer: Ignacy Trzewiczek
Artists: M. Bielski, T. Jedruszek, J. Marcinek, and R. Szyma
Publisher: Portal Games
Solo Mode: Included in the Base Game
Although I have the extra fancy Storage Box Plus, the core game is the same. A unique faction must find ways to collect resources in order to construct the most beneficial buildings. It’s an intricate engine builder that’s easy to learn and very difficult to master every combination!
First Play
January 18, 2020
Complexity
3
Latest Play
July 11, 2024
Expansions
11
Setup Time
5 Minutes
Lifetime Plays
60
Play Time
50 Minutes
High Score
214
Game Area
40" x 24"
Low Score
0
A Proper Rulebook
One of the most iconic images of this series, at least for me, is the original base game box with the happy dog.
Although missing from the Storage Box Plus exterior for some reason, the combined rulebook features this canine! It’s quite the rulebook with everything contained within.
For some reason, though, there were no updates. Page numbers are incorrect and typos remain. Still, not the end of the world… Especially when you see that smiling dog!
Since my last session was ages ago, I spent a little time with the rules. Nothing too complex. Time to begin!
Choosing a Faction
Excluding all of the expansions, I still had to choose from 4 different options in the base game. It had been so long, I actually forgot that I played with all of the factions.
How funny time is in the way it passes so quickly! Rather than try to remember my favorite faction, I used a very scientific method… Alphabetical. Enter the Barbarians!
This isn’t a game where each faction has a slightly different ability. Each has its own deck and strategy.
Exciting! I actually missed this game quite a lot and was very interested to see how much I remembered.
From the Ground Up
Oh, the fun! There is plenty of variety with the smaller deck of faction buildings, but the common buildings introduce so many additional options and combinations.
Granted, this was an utter failure on my part as I failed to construct enough buildings to even score. As expected!
This is a game that has some luck-based elements but is strongly rooted in strategy. Understanding the optimal choices takes experience and adjusting to the cards.
I also forgot about the subtle visual aspects, like the path connections and myriad small artistic details on the cards.
Feature Presentation
Leave it to the Calico Critters to remind me of a very important part of gameplay with each faction! And again, how adorable is this little tomato costume?! Ha ha!
Each play consists of just 5 rounds. It’s vital to get bonuses and build an engine early on. However, storage is basically non-existent and unspent resources are lost each round.
A-ha! But the faction feature showcases the specific type that may be stockpiled between rounds. Here, workers!
This meant I didn’t have to use them for sub-optimal moves. Just some better choices and I would be there!
Successful Settlers
It took me a few tries to put together a strategy, but I ended up pulling it all off at last! My small collection of buildings slowly grew into a coherent settlement.
Note that most faction buildings are harder to construct since they require an existing building to be discarded.
The production buildings were extremely useful, although some bad luck meant I didn’t come across too many of them. Extra resources are almost always amazing!
Still, I didn’t feel like I was done exploring what I had before me. So much content to dig into, which is great!
Playing Solo
The solo opponent also adds to the enjoyment, as it takes very little time to manage these cards. Keeping them neatly splayed is another subject, though. Ha!
Buildings are collected throughout play, and based on the raze symbols, the solo opponent might collect more.
This introduces a bit of a puzzle in the choice of common buildings, as well as the importance of faction buildings.
Yet there are some risks that are worth taking, and some actions allow for a safer space. No stealing my buildings! Well, it happened, but I definitely prevented a few steals!
Open Production
With the base game content firmly instilled in my mind, I felt like a little change was needed. Thank goodness for all the expansion content I had at my disposal! SO MUCH!
I decided to play in order and keep the expansions separate, so just a single one at a time. Too many new cards can dilute the pool, making strategizing difficult.
Why Can’t We Be Friends introduced open production and a few other unique cards. I liked the new aspects!
Yet I quickly found out how small these expansions are for each faction. But maybe that was a good thing…
A Problematic Lifestyle
As much as I enjoy playing as the Barbarians and focusing on razing, there are a few cards that don’t feel good.
The base deck includes Raid, which depicts a few captured individuals around a presumably razed wagon. Far from my favorite, but not entirely problematic in the artwork.
A new card called Captivity is one that fits thematically to help with collecting workers but… I didn’t like this one.
Sure, I earned some bonuses when this was the best choice to make when building. Yet I didn’t like the idea of taking captives like this even in a fictional game setting.
Triple Raiding
I still forged forward with this expansion to see how I liked the other cards. Just a small number of new options actually opened up gameplay a lot and made me think.
Forget what I said about only a small impact on each faction! 10 cards was all it took to change things up just enough without deterring from the core mechanics.
That’s a challenge with expansions, after all. A game needs to change, but not in ways that will harm it.
I was quite proud of this outing with the triple raid features. Every razed card granted me 3 victory points!
Specialized Features
Buildings fall within the categories of production, feature, and action. The first is almost entirely tied to generating more resources to build more in future rounds.
Action buildings typically convert a resource into another for a special benefit. Workers might become gold, stone might become victory points, and so on.
Features can be the most interesting. Many provide ongoing benefits that trigger automatically. Like… Raid!
Knowing how everything ties together is part of the strategy. Not everything can be built during each play.
Growth & Rebuilding
I felt like I saw enough of the first expansion, so I removed those cards to move onto 3 is a Magic Number. By the way, the cards may be numbered but the text is very tiny!
These cards were more about forming sets and getting new sorts of bonuses. I do enjoy set collection!
Yet my favorite aspect was Khrug the Rebuilder. Not only was this just a nice card for the Barbarians, but the artwork was so nice. Look at him cleaning up… Skulls?!
It was still a nice action card that gave me more opportunities to draw cards and take part in more razing.
Maximizing Food
It took another visit from my Calico Critter friend to remember how food can be so important. The Barbarians don’t often utilize it directly, but what about deals?
Rather than constructing a faction building, a food token may be paid to turn it into a deal for the depicted resource.
This is the other way to generate more resources when production falls short. And it was a strategy I wasn’t putting into practice that often. Use the food!
Actually, with the ability to draw more cards and make more deals, there was a chance I might score very well…
Session Overview
Play Number: 37-44
Expansion 1: Why Can’t We Be Friends
Expansion 2: 3 is a Magic Number
Accessory: Storage Box Plus
Solo Mode: Included in the Base Game
Outcome: 0, 0, 77, 57, 62, 79, 67, 89 (3 Wins, 5 Losses)
Yes! This was a partial look at my final layout, which resulted in my highest score yet. Awesome! It took some careful planning yet I managed to have some outstanding results in the final few rounds. I thoroughly enjoyed this and the way each expansion added something different!
%
60 Plays
Affordability
Price & Value
9
Functionality
Challenges & Mechanics
10
Originality
Design & Theme
5
Quality
Components & Rules
9
Reusability
Achievement & Enjoyment
10
Variability
Distinctness & Randomness
8
+ Pros (Positives)
- Each faction plays very differently, yet only a portion of the possible combinations are seen during each play.
- The artwork is very charming with little details in each scene, while the iconography is clear and easy to find.
- Play time is very reasonable and flows smoothly with a sequence that becomes intuitive after a short time.
- There are almost endless card combinations and strategies to discover between the faction and common cards.
- Although the play area can get a bit large, the simple faction board ensures everything is neatly organized.
- Only a handful of resources must be tracked in a set of mechanics that offer a surprising amount of depth.
– Cons (Negatives)
- A special storage solution is needed to keep all of the content organized and easy to locate during setup.
- Cards are labeled and numbered by set, but this process of resorting is time-consuming with the tiny print.
- New content helps expand on gameplay, yet there comes a time when each faction may seem repetitive to play as.
- Luck can seem to be too important during the early rounds, especially when it’s difficult to get production going.
Victory Conditions
Score 70+ Points or Finish an Era
- Overall Goal Progress 100%
Goals and Milestones
Win at least 1 custom campaign as the Amazons.
Win at least 1 custom campaign as the Romans.
Continue the Conversation
What are your thoughts about Imperial Settlers? Do you have a favorite faction or card? I thought this return was a pleasant one, like revisiting an old friend. There are still so many things left for me to discover and I don’t expect to get through everything for a long time! That’s just what I hoped for, though, and I’m glad this will stay in my collection!
Behind Herbaceous, Imperial Settlers is my second most played game. But I haven’t gotten to it for a long while, although I enjoyed it a lot back then (it was when I came back to playing circa 2016).
Maybe some day ! I have still the Aztecs to discover.
That’s awesome to hear! Seems like I also play it in waves, and I haven’t even taken the time to look at the expansion factions. So much to discover! I hope we both have a chance to enjoy everything it has to offer eventually!