Economic

Europe is in the age of imperialism. Internationally operating financial investors aim for the highest political influence in Europe. Great Britain, German Reich, Russian Empire, Austria-Hungary, Kingdom of Italy, and Republic of France are each controlled by different investors. The six imperial nations build factories, troops and fleets to expand their power in Europe. They collect taxes from occupied regions to pay interests to their investors. As financial control over the imperial nations changes, there are always new strategic alliances and conflicts emerging between them.

The players represent internationally operating investors who stay in the background. There are always six imperial nations acting in the game, no matter how many investors take part. Only the investor who gets the best return on his investments, who controls the most powerful imperial nations, and who shows the best diplomatic skill, may win the game!

Imperial is a challenging strategy game without any luck of cards or dice. Players take over the role of internationally operating financial investors and control European diplomacy in imperial times.

Zeus, the greatest of all gods, has decided to build a universe that he can gaze upon from high atop Mount Olympus. He has enlisted the help of several unknown gods to do this for him - and they have 5 days to finish the job. The god who performs the best while building this universe will be elevated in status and receive admission into Mount Olympus.

The game progresses over the course of 5 rounds or "Days". Each day has three phases (a morning, an afternoon, and an evening). During these phases, players will select actions such as making planets, placing planets, etc. After these three phases are completed, night happens in which scoring occurs and Zeus gazes upon the work of the players. Players receive Prestige Points for things such as having the most planets in an orbit and for constellations (connections of planets) they have built.

At the end of the 5th day, whoever has earned the most prestige wins.

Hacienda has players competing for space on the South American pampas, aiming to bring their livestock to the most markets. You get three actions a turn to buy cards which then let you lay tiles to control land and herds, or you may buy extras, such as waterholes or the haciendas of the title to get bonus points.

The game has two card decks, one showing the different land types on the hex map, the other the different animals (pigs, cows, horses and sheep). Some cards are laid face up and you pay 3 pesos to buy the ones you want, or 2 pesos for an unknown card from the draw deck. You spend the cards to put your markers on land and to place your animal tokens on the board. Animals of a type go together to make a herd naturally, and each time a herd touches a market town on the board, you earn money for the size of herd and land attached. With careful hand and herd management, you can make good cash gains and also block your opponents. You need the money to buy more cards of course. 12 pesos also buys waterholes you can place next to your herds, or haciendas to go on your land or herds. If you run short of money, you can call a harvest and get cash off your land.

But the game is not about money. You score victory points halfway through the game and at the end. The more markets you are serving, the more points you get. The herds and the land get you points. The water and haciendas get you bonus points as well, which can be crucial to your success.

It should be noted, the game board has two sides: a symmetrical dog-bone shape of land types (appears in most of the photos), and a "random" more varied pattern of land types.

Each player represents the leadership of a 17th century Scottish clan looking to expand its territory and its wealth. The success of your clan depends on your ability to make the correct decision at the opportune time, be it by establishing a new pasture for your livestock, growing grain for the production of whisky, selling your goods on the various markets, or investing in the cultivation of special places such as lochs and castles.

Glen More offers a unique turn mechanism. Players take territory tiles from a rondell. Picking a tile has not only influence on the actions you get by the surrounding tiles in your territory, it also determines when you'll have your next turn (and how many turns you will have in the game). But having a lot of turns is not always the best strategy for a successful chieftain.

Glen More is 6 in the Alea medium box series, and is rated a 4 on the alea complexity level.

Note: This game is available by request only and requires having a membership to play.
See game associate for details.

This is Funkenschlag (Power Grid) in a version for the power supplier EnBW with a special double sided board. Baden-Württemberg is a complete new board and the other side has a board of Germany with Mannheim deleted and Karlsruhe added.

From Box Back
Imagine, you run a utility like EnBW. You have customers you must supply power, and you have stockholders and partners, the demands and expectations of your business. And of course there's the environment that will be spared, at which energy you use? What locations are suitable for which type of energy? Is the capacity of your power plants to your customers - private as well as industrial customers - safe, reliable, sustainable and environmentally compatible supply of energy?

Two to six players from twelve years can present their strategic skills in this exciting game to the test.

EnBW wishes you the playful power suppliers luck and have fun!

Re-implements:

Power Grid

Incorporated into:

Power Grid: Québec/Baden-Württemberg (the map)