A Time of Unrest While Learning How to Play Imperium: Legends
Travel back in time to follow the rise of a fledgling civilization into an impressive empire with Imperium: Legends.
When there was a lot of buzz about Imperium: Legends, finding a local copy was practically impossible. Yet on a fateful day, there it was, just sitting on a shelf staring back at me! It took me a few weeks to get it to the table at last… This is actually rather good, considering my track record of sometimes waiting years! Off to build up my first civilization.
Game Overview
Game Name: Imperium: Legends
Publication Year: 2021
Designers: Nigel Buckle and Dávid Turczi
Artist: Mihajlo Dimitrievski
Publisher: Osprey Games
Solo Mode: Included in the Base Game
A unique deck represents 1 of 8 possible civilizations, each of which plays very differently. Through acquired cards and unrest management, an empire slowly emerges with its own advancements, technologies, and more. I chose the Mauryans for their low complexity and… You’ll see!
First Play
November 22, 2021
Complexity
4
Latest Play
November 23, 2021
Expansions
0
Setup Time
10 Minutes
Lifetime Plays
2
Play Time
1 Hour & 15 Minutes
High Score
0
Game Area
30″ x 28″
Low Score
0
Preparing to Play
Talk about a lot of setup steps! This wasn’t overwhelming, yet I didn’t expect there to be so many different decks.
Just looking at some of the cards before I understood the rules was interesting. I could see how so many options would be possible with all sorts of available choices.
Would it turn out to be a narrative experience? I wasn’t sure about it, although there was definitely potential.
I had to keep adjusting where I put everything so I had a little space for an almost unimportant area… My own play area for my pinned cards and hand! Can’t leave that out!
Pinned to the Top
As I rolled into the sequence of play, I rather liked it… Even if I wasn’t quite sure what I was doing! Learning a new game takes time, and just following the steps helps.
I started to get the hang of things as I pinned cards and saw the benefits of garrisoning cards.
My deck flowed quickly as I moved closer to becoming an empire. It was interesting how a lot of cards only activated once when pinned. Yet there were some strategies to learn.
Following the solo opponent’s table of actions wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. Except for one tiny thing…
A Topic of Unrest, Errata, and Frustration
I long read how the rulebook was on the not-so-great side, and I assumed that was in reference to the glossary of actions. Not my favorite way to learn. There was a lot of flipping around. Before I began and a few times during play, it seemed like the classification of unrest cards as “other” for the solo opponent was off. I searched and searched.
Maybe I should blame myself, but I went through pages of forum topics related to unrest and solo. Nothing came close to explaining something game-breaking, so I waltzed through these first couple of plays with the wrong ruleset.
In a nutshell, unrest cards are special! The solo opponent doesn’t collect these cards, but places them back in the common unrest pile. Such a difference! I mostly played to collect the unrest myself to refill the pile before I lost. Note that it’s basically impossible to even enter the empire stage when playing incorrectly in this way.
Again, I suppose I’ll take a little bit of the blame for not finding this information. Yet to have this left out of the solo rulebook broke the game and nearly soured me on it. Pardon a little sass in this post! It was a frustrating first experience to realize something so crucial had been left out. Mistakes happen, though, so back to civilized life!
My Favorite Cards
How in the world would I not play the Mauryans with all of the elephants?! Although not as stealthy as I would have liked, there were some other stealthier cards out there…
These elephants were quite useful! I managed some break throughs, which helped manage the unrest and provide new cards to get closer to turning into an empire.
Note, too, that my unrest management was played incorrectly as the solo opponent just kept the cards…
Grumble, grumble. At least I only played with the wrong rules for a couple of plays! Should be easier next time.
Desperate for Glory
As unrest swept over the land, I was far from achieving glory and entering the age of an empire. Most start out in the barbarian state, gradually advancing along the way.
Many cards may be used at any point, yet some require either a barbarian or empire state. It adds a layer of strategic planning to picking and choosing new cards.
For instance, maybe I could stockpile powerful empire cards, but I would mostly be cluttering up my deck.
Or, what if I could pick those cards up but find a way to discard them for bonuses? So many clever combinations!
Accursed Unrest
I’ll kindly put aside the solo rulebook omission about unrest cards. Really, it was more of an annoyance and gave me a chance to cut my learning session to a few hours!
There was still an important element in keeping the unrest cards under control. I found some ways to return several at once, which seemed to save future actions.
Losing to unrest seems like the least likely occurrence based on my play style, but technically it happened here!
Despite the slight bitterness, I could see something very fun in the way the cards worked and deck cycled.
A Beautiful Land
I played again with the incorrect solo unrest cards, but was very proud of the gorgeous scene I created! Among the hills and plains, beyond the snow-capped mountains…
This greenery was in sharp contrast to all the unrest. Maintain peace, for crying out loud! Oh, solo rulebook.
I never got to the point where I even considered victory points, yet I didn’t seem to be in a bad spot.
Alas, this gorgeous area of pinned cards that worked so well during the solstice phase never got to see what it would have been like as an empire. Next time, though!
Session Overview
Play Number: 1 and 2
Solo Mode: Included in the Base Game
Play Details: Mauryans vs. Qin (Chieftain Difficulty)
Outcome: 0 and 0 (2 Losses)
Despite my debacle with the rulebook, I actually managed to make it to the empire state just before the unrest deck ran out! Not too shabby at all, considering how difficult I made things. I’m now armed with the latest errata document and expect to give this a whirl again sometime with the right way to handle the unrest cards. For glory! And the correct set of rules! Charge! Or calm down. Ha!
%
1 Play
Affordability
Price & Value
6
Functionality
Challenges & Mechanics
10
Originality
Design & Theme
8
Quality
Components & Rules
3
Reusability
Achievement & Enjoyment
7
Variability
Distinctness & Randomness
10
+ Pros (Positives)
- Each civilization has its own unique deck and way to play that takes time to learn, understand, and master.
- There are all sorts of strategies to try out based on the different cards and the current game situation.
- Besides being a challenge to play as, every civilization can be a solo opponent with its own action table.
- Advancing from barbarian to empire changes many aspects and makes certain cards more or less valuable.
- The progress of a civilization during play feels organic and has elements of storytelling as it grows.
- After a couple of plays, most of the rules are fairly intuitive and don’t require as much use of the rulebooks.
– Cons (Negatives)
- The solo rulebook is missing a crucial element about unrest, but at least there is an official errata document.
- For an entirely card-based design, the quality of the cards feels rather thin and the edges are prone to wear.
- Flipping around between and within the rulebooks is often necessary to fully understand the sequence of play.
- Having the 3 separate cardboard pieces to mark different card piles is frustrating since it’s easy to jostle them.
Victory Conditions
Score the Most Points
- Overall Goal Progress 0%
Goals and Milestones
Win at least 1 game at the chieftain difficulty level.
Win at least 1 game as the Mauryans.
Continue the Conversation
What are your thoughts about Imperium: Legends? Did you suffer the same sort of blunder I did with missing out on the errata? The good news is that even though I was a little annoyed, I still enjoyed most of the game! To build a civilization and see it grow is quite satisfying, and next time I can try out the empire state. Very excited to play… Correctly! Ha ha!
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