- BGG rating
- 7.7
Embers: The New Guard
- 1 player
- 15 min
- Complexity 1.0/5
- 2025
- BGG rank
- BGG #7,348
- BGG rating
- 7.5
Embers
2025
Rules assistance for Embers
Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.
- 1 player
- 15 min
- 10+
- Complexity 1.9/5
For 1 player
Rules assistant for Embers
What would you like to know?
Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
Embers is a board game released in 2025 for 1 player, 15 minutes per game, and ages 10 and up. It was designed by Steven Aramini and its main mechanics are Hand Management, Grid Movement, and Solo / Solitaire Game.
Expansions
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About the game
The heroes' meager campfire sputters. Hungry beasts stalk the edges of the light, waiting for their feast. In the nightmarish darkness, the safety of dawn seems impossibly far away. Embers is a solo-only game of survival. Use your heroes to defend against waves of encroaching monsters and keep your campfire lit. Your band of heroes huddles around the dying fire. Use each hero's unique strengths and movements to defend the fire from attack and prepare for the next onslaught. As long as the fire lives, so do they. Each turn, spawn new monsters to face. Spend each hero’s action points to move them around the campfire, attack monsters, upgrade their abilities, support each other, and forage for material to keep the fire going. After the heroes act, the monsters strike: damage the nearest hero or even the fire itself. When the night card appears, a new round begins. Survive four full rounds without the fire being extinguished to win!
Categories
Designers
Publishers
- Button Shy
Questions and answers
Embers supports 1 player according to the catalogue. This is the publisher’s listed player count, so the game is designed for exactly that number of participants. Variants for other group sizes, if any, are described in the rulebook of your edition, so check it before setting up a different configuration.
The listed playing time for Embers is 15 minutes. This is the publisher’s estimate for a full game. The actual duration depends on the group, the player count and familiarity with the rules: first sessions usually run longer, while experienced groups often finish faster. Setup and teaching time are not included in this estimate.
The catalogue lists Embers for ages 10 and up. This is the publisher’s recommendation and reflects reading demands, rule complexity and small components rather than theme alone. Younger players can often join with help from an adult, so check the age guidance on your edition and consider your group’s experience with board games.
Embers has a complexity rating of 1.9 out of 5 from BoardGameGeek players, which makes it a light game. The rating reflects how much rules knowledge, planning and decision-making a typical game demands. Expect a longer first teach for heavier games, and use a preparation guide before game night.
Embers belongs to these categories: Card Game, Fantasy, and Fighting. Its main mechanics are Hand Management, Grid Movement, and Solo / Solitaire Game. Categories describe the theme and setting of a game, while mechanics describe what players actually do on their turns. Each mechanic links to a catalogue hub with similar games, which helps when you want something comparable.
The credited designers of Embers are: Steven Aramini. These credits come from the published game data and name the people responsible for the game’s design, not its illustrators or publishers. Designer pages on MeepleRules collect other titles by the same designers, which helps when you enjoy a game and want to find similar ones.
The catalogue lists Embers as a base game. It can be played on its own with the components in the box and does not require any other title. Expansions, if any exist, add new content or rules on top of it and are listed separately in the catalogue with a link back to this base game.