Eight Minute Empire: Legends

One of the first games I played at Thirsty Meeples was Eight Minute Empire: Legends, by Red Raven Games. This is a sequel to the original Eight Minute Empire, and it is a standalone game rather than an expansion. The game focuses on building an empire by gaining territory and using strategic moves, in a fast-paced fashion. Eight Minute Empire is one of my most played games at home. I picked it up at MCM London in May and I have played it an obscene amount of times. It is wonderful how the game is so compact, with so much to offer in eight minutes - possibly longer if you deliberate over your turns like I do at times. All of the dilemmas approach; which card to choose from the row, which block to move? Do I want to start amassing a small army abroad or produce more armies in the starting base? Oh, the choices!

Eight Minute Empire: Legends, like the original, is played on a modular board that gives you options in the set-up of your map. Once the board is assembled you may select which colour you wish to be. Each player gets a number of blocks and three cities, they place four of the blocks in a central area on the board. The blocks represent armies, that you will be sending out to seize land and populate the areas with. In the two player version I played, another colour is selected to act as a third player on the map and ten more blocks are placed in random places. At the start of the game, players bid to see who goes first using the coins they are allocated, the number of coins will depend on how many players are in the game. 

The deck of cards is shuffled and six cards are laid face up in a row, at the top of the board. The deck lies nearby, ready for the players to draw again and replenish the cards taken. Players take turns to select a card and carry out the action on it, it could be to add more armies, build a city, move armies, or destroy an opposing army block. When cards are taken, the rest are shifted to the left, and a new card is revealed from the deck and placed down. The first card in the row is free, then the rest can be bought using coins from your hand. Once shifted, the older cards become slightly more affordable and the new one is the most expensive. The Legends cards have special abilities that allow you to gain extra Victory Points. To win the game your armies must control the most territory, and your collected cards can help give you bonus points. 

If you get a card that allows you to build a city then you get to place the insanely cute castle on an area of the board where you have one of your armies, and then you can spawn armies from there in future turns. This is ideal if you have a rogue block across the sea, then you can dominate more territory.          

The game ends when each player has a certain amount of cards, again, this depends on how many people are playing as Legends is a 2 - 4 player game. At the end you score points based on how many regions and islands you control, and add up any extra points that your cards have added. This is a highly enjoyable game, it is brief but it gets very heated and after one game I always want another straight after. The board and the cards are beautifully illustrated by the designer, Ryan Laukat, with legendary creatures and mythical lands. The rich artwork, quick set-up and smooth game mechanics make this one a perfect choice, building an empire in 8 minutes or so never looked so good!

Thanks for reading.

Marisa xx