Every year we carry out a review of some part of the game looking to see what we improve. This year our focus has been on updating some parts of the rules

contrary to the game design. We've presented the update here as part of a wind of fortune, but we want to be clear that this is a game update that we've

effort to learn to tell them apart. This is a deliberate part of the game design - it's a feature, not a bug. Under normal circumstances you can hear an

details of the Sentinel Gate. Sentinel Gate design - a longer explanation of some of the out-of-character design philosophy for the Gate. Anomalous conjunctions

Sentinel Gate is an essential part of the Empire game design - it allows us to combine a political game centred on Anvil with battles against the Empire's

from the surrounding marshes - but all the signs indicate that this is by design rather than as a consequence of any architectural failure. There are also

the beaten track it rarely sees many visitors. The Starks of Winterfell in Game of Thrones are like an isolated Steading... they rarely visit Kings Landing

come from the simplicity that they ensure. The game design strives to ensure that the complexity of the game is in the field - in the interactions between

meetings in the game. All of these decisions are deliberately taken to make the game as accessible as possible for new players. Setting the game up in this

military game takes place primarily within the Military council - the game is designed to ensure that the senators can't directly move the military game into

The content on this page may be out of date. See Game Design: Spoils of War for more information When the Empire captures a territory from the barbarians

perform it or if the target clearly fails to take the effect. The original game design deliberately set out to make warriors more powerful than wizards on the

difficult for anyone to formally address the council. The new design carries the Empire game design ethos through to the logical conclusion for the Military

crudely mechanical - with the result that it was easy for a few players to game the system and circumvent this key element. The mechanism suggested in the

response you want can present a real in-game challenge This article was originally written by Andy Rafferty, one of the game team, as a blog post in 2020. It

fifteen years ago. In that time the expectations of what a game should offer and what a game organiser could try to deliver have changed, and our rules

suit our game style that a character can create very powerful game effects without interacting with one of the major political bodies of the game to get

character-driven game - an open world that you are free to explore and influence. This page is part of our introduction to Empire, explaining more about the game. It

is to setting Tests of Mettle, Ardour and Resolve. We have created a game design page especially to provide guidance on setting a test. An earl who possesses

fascinating design challenge in Empire because of its mass participation nature. The more players who participate in the Conclave game - the slower the game runs