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A Game of Thrones: The Board Game (Second Edition)
- 3–6 players
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Struggle of Empires
2004
Rules assistance for Struggle of Empires
Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.
- 2–7 players
- 180–240 min
- 13+
- Complexity 3.6/5
For 2 players
Rules assistant for Struggle of Empires
What would you like to know?
Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
Struggle of Empires is a board game released in 2004 for 2–7 players, 180–240 minutes per game, and ages 13 and up. It was designed by Martin Wallace and its main mechanics are Auction / Bidding, Income, and Loans.
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About the game
Struggle of Empires recreates the various wars fought between the European powers as they attempted to become the dominant force in Europe and the rest of the world during the eighteenth century. Build armies and fleets, make alliances, establish colonies, improve your economy, and ultimately wage war to expand your empire. Be careful, though, as a profligate country can end up being consumed by revolution. From the designer: Think of Civilization/Age of Renaissance set in the 18th century. Players take the role of one of the major powers of the period and fight in both Europe and the colonies. The twist to the game is that in each war, players must form into two alliances. Once allied with a player, you cannot fight each other. This means that you do not have the backstabbing of Diplomacy to worry about; if he's allied, he's with you until the end of the war. This means that a player has to think carefully about who he wants to fight against and who he wants to ally with. Very often he will want to ally with his natural enemy and go to war with the guy who doesn't really want to fight him. On top of this, you have lots of improvement tiles that you buy to shape your empire, plus alliances with minor powers, and the possibility of going into revolution. Even though it is a big empire building game, it will scale from 3 to 7 players and has pretty simple rules.
Mechanics
Designers
Publishers
- Eagle-Gryphon Games
- Skellig Games
- sternenschimmermeer
- Warfrog Games
Questions and answers
Struggle of Empires supports 2–7 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 Struggle of Empires is 180–240 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 Struggle of Empires for ages 13 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.
Struggle of Empires has a complexity rating of 3.6 out of 5 from BoardGameGeek players, which makes it a medium-weight 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.
Struggle of Empires belongs to these categories: Fighting, Economic, and Territory Building. Its main mechanics are Auction / Bidding, Income, and Loans. 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 Struggle of Empires are: Martin Wallace. 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 Struggle of Empires 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.