- BGG rank
- BGG #4,251
- BGG rating
- 6.9
Spy Club
- 2–4 players
- 45 min
- Complexity 2.2/5
- 2018
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- 7.3
Rules assistance for Lanterns: The Emperor's Gifts
Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.
- 2–4 players
- 30 min
- 8+
- Complexity 1.8/5
Rules assistant for Lanterns: The Emperor's Gifts
What would you like to know?
Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
Lanterns: The Emperor's Gifts is an expansion for Lanterns: The Harvest Festival released in 2016 for 2–4 players, 30 minutes per game, and ages 8 and up. It was designed by Jason D. Kingsley and its main mechanics are Hand Management, Set Collection, and Tile Placement.
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About the game
The emperor has declared that pavilions shall be constructed among the lanterns floating on the lake for this year’s festival. Place pavilions to earn gifts from the emperor and redeem those gifts for powerful actions to make this the best harvest festival yet! In Lanterns: The Emperor's Gifts, an expansion to Christopher Chung's award-winning Lanterns: The Harvest Festival, players start with a small supply of pavilions. When you place a tile, you may choose to build a pavilion on that tile. When you make a color match on a pavilion, you earn a gift from the emperor, a new currency that can activate special actions, as defined by emperor cards. Two emperor cards are revealed each game. On their turn, a player can redeem two gifts to activate one card and perform the special action associated with it — make an extra dedication at the end of your turn, convert favor tokens into victory points, and more! These new abilities add variety and enhance the experience of Lanterns: The Harvest Festival while honoring the simplicity of the original game.
Categories
Designers
Publishers
- Pegasus Spiele
- Broadway Toys LTD
- Renegade Game Studios
- Foxtrot Games
Questions and answers
Lanterns: The Emperor's Gifts supports 2–4 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 Lanterns: The Emperor's Gifts is 30 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 Lanterns: The Emperor's Gifts for ages 8 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.
Lanterns: The Emperor's Gifts has a complexity rating of 1.8 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.
Lanterns: The Emperor's Gifts belongs to these categories: Abstract Strategy and Expansion for Base-game. Its main mechanics are Hand Management, Set Collection, and Tile Placement. 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 Lanterns: The Emperor's Gifts are: Jason D. Kingsley. 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 Lanterns: The Emperor's Gifts as an expansion for Lanterns: The Harvest Festival. Expansions add new content, rules or scenarios to the base game and usually cannot be played on their own, so you need Lanterns: The Harvest Festival to use it. Check that your edition of Lanterns: The Harvest Festival is compatible, as some expansions were revised between editions.