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Skull Tales: Full Sail!
- 1–5 players
- 60–150 min
- Complexity 3.9/5
- 2019
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- BGG #14,497
- BGG rating
- 6.7
Empires at Sea: Deluxe Edition
2016
Rules assistance for Empires at Sea: Deluxe Edition
Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.
- 2–5 players
- 60–130 min
- 14+
- Complexity 2.7/5
Rules assistant for Empires at Sea: Deluxe Edition
What would you like to know?
Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
Empires at Sea: Deluxe Edition is a board game released in 2016 for 2–5 players, 60–130 minutes per game, and ages 14 and up. It was designed by Zach Silverzweig and Amy Silverzweig and its main mechanics are Hand Management, Trading, and Dice Rolling.
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About the game
Launch your fleet, capture ports, and wage war in the absolutely epic board game for 2-5 players. In Empires at Sea, you play as one of five nations, and work to amass the largest empire at the end of 15 rounds of play. A Quick Overview of the Game Each Round opens with a History Card, which hurts or helps one nation or another based on the actual impact of the actual historical event. A Weather Card is played, limiting or improving movement for all players for the Round (e.g., ships can only move North and East). Next, all players gain resources, based on the Ports they own, plus any Resource Cards played during the game. Each player then takes a turn, first by playing a Captain's Card (used to launch a ship, advance your military, strengthen a port, etc) and then by sailing their fleet to take command of new ports, trade, or attack their enemies. The combat system is based on a roll of the dice, plus modifiers for ship size, the weather gauge, military advancements, and Captain's Orders. At the end of the round, all players may bribe the Pirate. The highest bidder gets to use this ship to attack their friends/enemies/loved-ones. At the end of the game, you tally up your Empire score based on the ships you sink, the ships you command, the ports you own, and the gold and resources you've collected. The biggest Empire wins.
Designers
Publishers
- Bear & Bandit, LLC
Questions and answers
Empires at Sea: Deluxe Edition supports 2–5 players according to the catalogue. This range comes from the publisher’s listed player count, so the game can be set up for any group size within it. Some setups, rules and scoring details may still vary by player count, so check your edition’s rulebook for the exact configuration.
The listed playing time for Empires at Sea: Deluxe Edition is 60–130 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 Empires at Sea: Deluxe Edition for ages 14 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.
Empires at Sea: Deluxe Edition has a complexity rating of 2.7 out of 5 from BoardGameGeek players, which makes it a medium-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.
Empires at Sea: Deluxe Edition belongs to these categories: Wargame, Territory Building, and Napoleonic. Its main mechanics are Hand Management, Trading, and Dice Rolling. 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 Empires at Sea: Deluxe Edition are: Zach Silverzweig and Amy Silverzweig. 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 Empires at Sea: Deluxe Edition 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.