Empire Plateau: The Lateral Thinking Battle Game Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Setup - 2 Player
• Setup - 4 Player
• Movement of Armies
• Special Movements
  • 2s
  • 4s
• Emblem Army
• Capturing Armies
• Restrictions
• 4 Player Variations
• Tips
• FAQ

Setup - 2 Player

The board shows four Empires, one at each compass point: the Greek Empire, the Median Persian Empire, the Roman Empire and the Babylonian Empire. Each Empire's armies are arranged along the spokes of latitude and longitude radiating out from the center of the board toward that Empire's base, with the small armies (2s, 4s and 6s) placed on the dots nearest their own Empire and the Emblem army placed furthest out at the Empire's base.

In the 2-player setup, each player controls two opposing Empires (for example, the Greek and Roman Empires against the Median Persian and Babylonian Empires), with the armies for both of a player's Empires set up as shown on the board.

Setup - 4 Player

In the 4-player setup, each player controls a single Empire: Greek, Median Persian, Roman or Babylonian. Each Empire's armies - 12 x 2s, 4 x 4s, 2 x 6s and 1 x Emblem army - are placed on the board exactly as shown in the 4-player setup diagram, with each Empire occupying its own quarter of the board.

Movement of Armies

• You control a whole Empire: made up of - 12 x 2s, 4 x 4s, 2 x 6s (small armies) and 1 x Emblem army. The number on the army represents the maximum moves it can make e.g. 2 = 2 moves max, the Emblem army is able move up to 12 spaces.
• You must move a minimum of 6 spaces per turn and you can use any combination of Armies to complete your move.
• The smaller armies can only ever be moved a maximum of 6 spaces per turn. However, a maximum of 12 moves can be made if deploying the Emblem army.
• All Armies move along the lines of latitude and longitude shown on the board.
• Spaces are counted as movement between dots. One space = movement from one dot to the next.
• Armies can move in any direction and change direction during their movement - but can never land more than once on the same dot during that turn.
• Each movement must be counted aloud "1, 2, 3 ...." etc.
• Movement of an army ends when you remove your fingers from it.
• Announce "Your move" to your opponent to indicate your turn is complete.

Special Movements

2s

• To capture another army the 2s must move in an L-shape motion. Unlike all other Armies, 2s cannot capture straight on. This L-shape movement also applies when conquering other Empires' bases.
• Allowed: an L-shape path made of one turn between two straight segments.
• Not allowed: capturing in a straight line without the L-shape turn.

4s

• 4s have the ability to jump any other army as the first move of their turn before completing their move.
• 4s can only jump one army at a time and that army has to be on one of the dots directly next to it.
• When jumping, 4s cannot change direction in the air and the jump and land counts as 2 moves. J = Jump, C = Captured and F = Finished move.

Emblem Army

• Move up to a maximum of 12 spaces.
• The Emblem army can only be moved once per turn, on its own (all 6 to 12 spaces) or before or after the small armies have been moved.
• If the Emblem army is moved after any of the small armies, then your small armies also cannot then be moved again on that turn.

Capturing Armies

• Captured Armies are removed from play (see 4 Player Variations).
• To capture an opposing army, simply land on the dot it occupies and replace it with your own.
• As soon as it captures another army or its position on the board moved, that army's movement ends for that turn.
• Capturing an opponents' Empire base is called conquering. This is the objective of the game.

Restrictions

• Armies cannot cross the area outlined in red in the center of the board.
• No small armies may move through or occupy their own Empire's base. Only the Emblem can use its matching Empire's base throughout the game.
• Armies cannot move diagonally or through an occupied space. However, 4s can jump over other Armies (see Special Movements for Jumping 4 rule).

4 Player Variations

• Gold (Babylonian) Empire goes first.

• Play continues in a clockwise direction.

• You begin by battling the Empires to your left and right.

• When Armies are captured, place them to the corner of the board shared with that opponent (to your left or right) - Armies captured from opposite Empire can also be placed in corners.

• When an Empire base is conquered, all of its remaining Armies are removed from play. THEY'RE OUT!

• The conquering Empire can now bring any of their captured Armies, taken off the board by their fallen foe, back into play. These freed Armies are to be positioned back on their original places, used at the start of game, or the corresponding army positions of the Empire they have conquered.

  Note - If your Armies Emblem is freed this will only be able to be placed on its own Empire's base and not on conquered base, this is because one of your smaller armies will now be occupying the conquered Empire's Emblem base.

• The game ends immediately when all but one Empire base has been conquered.

Tips

• To avoid making bad moves count out moves in advance using just your fingertip. The best players will always punish bad moves.
• To begin an Attack choose from your Empire's left or right flank. Attacking from both flanks at the same time may leave you open to counter attacks. Remember - Defend and Attack.
• Don't leave your base unguarded and make sure it is not vulnerable to long distance Emblem army attacks.
• Once proficient, try your hand at Advanced Plateau, two players playing the 4-Player set up. Control, link up and ally with the Empire opposite, Advanced Plateau requires even more lateral thinking and games can often go on far longer than the standard 2-Player format. Three players can also play this format with the most favoured player allying with the Empire opposite against two players controlling one of each of the remaining Empires.

FAQ

Q: When mobilising the small armies do they have to be moved the minimum 6 spaces? A: No, you could move a small army just 1 place and then finish your move by mobilising your Emblem army the remaining 5 moves needed.

Q: If I did move a small army just one place, can I also then move the Emblem its maximum 12 spaces? A: No, that would make 13 moves. So for the example given the Emblem could only move 11 spaces instead of 12 as the small army has already used up 1 move.

Q: What about If my Emblem moves first say, 7 spaces, will I then have the option of moving the small armies up to the remaining 5 moves to make it 12 moves in total? A: Yes. In this instance you could move the small armies up to 5 spaces (counted aloud as 8, 9, 10, 11, 12) after moving the Emblem army. Remember the small armies and Emblem army do not both have to be used together on each turn, however to use more than 6 moves you will need to deploy the Emblem army.

Q: What about if my Emblem moves first say, just 3 spaces, could I then move the small armies the remaining 9 spaces? A: No, you can only ever move the small armies up to 6 spaces on each turn. So, if the Emblem went first with a move of 3, the small armies could only move up to 9 moves on that turn but no more (3 + 6 = 9). Remember as well the Emblem could not then be moved again on that turn. And also - small armies cannot be moved again on the same turn if already moved before the Emblem is deployed.

Q: Ok, so If the Emblem is deployed first and it moves less than 6 moves, is it ok just to then restart the count between 1 to 6 for the small armies instead of carrying on the counting sequence from the last move of the Emblem? A: Sure, when the Emblem army is deployed first with a move of 5 or less, when mobilising the small armies afterward it may help just to restart the count of 1 to 6, so 12 moves aren't mistakenly made.