Empire's End Rulebook

Table of Contents

Objective
Components
Setup
Gameplay
Disaster Phase
Double Disaster Phase
Economy Phase
- Starting Economy Abilities
- Economy Phase Example
Industry Phase
Innovation Effects
Military Phase
- Anatomy of a Military Card
- Military Phase Example
Industry/Economy Phase
End Game
- Tie Breaker
Ability Glossary & FAQ
Lightning Mode
- Setup
- Gameplay
Quick Start Guide
- Setup (Page 3)
- Game Play
Credits

Objective

The game is played in a series of phases. After each phase is resolved, the progress track is advanced one space and the next phase begins. When the "End" space is reached, the game ends, players count their final score, and the player with the most victory points is the winner.

You'll earn victory points during the game through Military phases and certain Innovation abilities. At the end of the game, you'll add points for your healthy Locations and any End Game Innovation abilities.

Successful players will balance the loss of their Locations with the acquisition of powerful Innovations. Lose too many Locations to Disaster and you won't have the points to win; be too protective of your empire and you won't have the flexibility to navigate the later phases of the game!

Components

1 Game Board
44 Location tiles (4 sets of 11)
11 Military Cards
88 Disaster Cards
12 Exhaust markers
4 Player Screens
4 Score markers
10 Game markers (8 Disaster (flame), 1 First Player (temple), and 1 Turn marker (hourglass))
120 Resource Tokens (with extras) (35 Wheat, 30 Axe, 30 Hammer, and 25 Coin)

Setup

Place the Game Board in the middle of the play area. If you're playing with 2 players, use the side of the board with the 2-player marker. If you're playing with 3-4 players, use the side of the board with the 3-4 player marker. Ignore the lightning bolt on the game board; that is used for Lightning Mode only (page 19).
Place the turn marker (hourglass) on the square that reads "Start".
Separate the resource tokens and Exhaust markers into separate piles within easy reach of every player. Split each token type into two piles if needed.
Shuffle all the Disaster cards into a deck and place the deck face down on the table.
Shuffle all the Military cards into a deck and place the deck face down on the table.
Give the First Player marker (the temple token) to a randomly selected player.
Give each player the following…
- A privacy screen.
- 2 orange Disaster markers (fire).
- 2 single-value Resources of each type (2 coins, 2 wheat, 2 hammers, and 2 axes). Place these tokens behind the screens so players can't see each other's Resources.
- 4 random cards from the top of the Disaster deck. Each player may look at their own cards.
- A set of 11 Location tiles.
Stack a point tracker matching the color of each player's privacy screen on the outer edge of the board, on the 0-point square.
Have the First Player shuffle their Location tiles and randomly place them, healthy side up (the healthy side has the point value in the upper left hand corner in black font). Every other player arranges their Location tiles in their own play space in the same order as the First Player.

For Example: The First Player placed their Locations in this random order. Each other player arranges their own Locations in a matching order.

Gameplay

Your Empire

Each player has an empire made up of the same 11 Location tiles: one city, two towns, two armies, three roads, and three farms. Each Location in an empire has a different point value that only scores if that Location is healthy at game end.

Each Location tile has similar features. Its healthy side shows:

A. Type of Location.
B. Victory point value if healthy at the end of the game.
C. Repair cost if destroyed.
D. Ability's phase of play.
E. Ability.

A destroyed Location:

F. Is worth no points at the end of the game.
G. Costs a specific amount to repair.
H. Does not have an ability.
I. Does not activate any Innovations underneath it.

Every player begins with the same arrangement of Locations in their empire, but over the course of the game, Location tiles will move and be destroyed, leaving each player with a very different situation to manage.

Resources

During the game, each empire will spend Resources to stave off Disaster, repair damaged Locations, fight Military conflicts, and purchase Innovations. These Resources are represented by tokens.

There are four token types: wheat, hammers, axes, and coins. The first three token types represent the economic, industrial, and military Resources of your empire, while coins are a wild Resource that can be spent in place of any other Resource token during the game. All players begin the game with two of each Resource, including coins.

Tokens with a 5 are worth five of the same single value tokens.

Game Phases

The game is played in a series of phases indicated on the game board. At the beginning of the game, players advance the hourglass from the Start space to the first space.

All players then complete the phase that the hourglass is now on (for the first phase, this will always be a Disaster phase).

When all players have completed the current phase, advance the token again, and all players then complete the new phase (in this example, an Economy phase). This process continues until the hourglass token reaches the End space, at which point the game is over, and players count their final points.

The different types of phases in Empire's End are:

Disaster — During a Disaster phase, a Disaster card is revealed, threatening a specific Location. Players bid Resources to avoid taking the Disaster card. Disaster phases are discussed on page 6.

Double Disaster — In 3-4 player games, there are double Disaster phases, where two Disasters are played at once, and both must be individually bid away or taken. Double Disaster phases are discussed in detail on page 8.

Economy — During an Economy phase, all players simultaneously activate all green abilities in their empire, producing and converting Resources and activating Economy Innovations. Economy phases are discussed in detail on page 8.

Industry — During an Industry phase, players repair damaged Locations and build new Innovations from their hand, as well as activate brown abilities and Industry Innovations. Industry phases are discussed in detail on page 10.

Military — During a Military phase, players reveal a Military card and simultaneously secretly bid axes and coins to see who wins the conflict, and who loses. Players may gain victory points and Resources, remove exhaust markers, and move Locations during this phase. Military phases are discussed in detail on page 13.

Economy/Industry Combined Phase — In 3-4 player games, players complete an entire Economy phase and an entire Industry phase, in either order. Each phase must be fully completed before moving on to the next. The Economy/Industry combined phase is discussed on page 15.

Simultaneous Play

During Economy, Military, and Industry rounds, players play simultaneously. In early games it can be helpful to have players complete these rounds one at a time, to make sure everyone understands and is playing correctly.

"Our greatest glory is not in never failing, but in rising every time we fail." — Confucius

Disaster Phase

Disaster phases are the most common phase. They represent the many challenges facing your waning empire. Disaster cards are all laid out as follows:

A. The name of the Disaster. There are 11 of each Disaster type.
B. A target Location number, indicating which Location in each player's empire is being targeted. Each player counts Location tiles (both healthy and destroyed) from left to right in their empire and places a Disaster marker on the Location indicated. Later in the game, as tiles get moved around, this can reference different Location tiles for different players.
C. The Resources that can be bid on this card. These can be wheat, hammers, axes, or some combination of those. Coins are wild and may always be used instead of any other Resource type.
D. The cost, in hammers, to build the card from your hand during the Industry phase. Some cards cost two hammers to build instead of one.
E. The phase the Innovation ability activates in.
F. The Innovation ability gained if this card is taken.

To resolve a Disaster phase:

Turn over the top card of the Disaster deck and place it on the table in the middle of the play area.
Each player then places their Disaster marker on the targeted Location in their empire. This makes it easy for other players to see which Location in your empire is targeted.
Beginning with the First Player, players (in clockwise order) choose to either "pass" or "take" the Disaster card. To pass, you must bid one Resource of any of the types indicated, placing it on the table next to the Disaster card. Turns will continue going around the table clockwise until a player chooses to take the Disaster.

Once any player chooses to take the Disaster, no more turns are taken by any players.

Disaster Phase Abilities

There are certain Innovation abilities you can only activate during a Disaster phase. These must be "Exhausted" to be activated and then cannot be activated again until they are "Refreshed."

To activate a Disaster phase ability, take one of the wood Exhaust markers and place it on the cube spot of the ability card. The ability is now Exhausted.

Note: Exhausted abilities do not automatically refresh. Something must cause them to refresh. The primary way to do this with the abilities on two of your starting roads (see the Starting Economy Abilities box on page 8).

The most common type of Disaster phase ability is a "Free Bid" ability, like the one shown above.

These abilities show a Free Bid icon, followed by a Resource type. You may activate this ability to pass, for one turn, on a Disaster card that requires the indicated Resource without having to bid a Resource token. A pass only covers one bid. If the bid returns to you again in the same Disaster, you will have to bid again.

Taking the Disaster Card

When a player takes the Disaster card, they do 4 things:

A. They gain the First Player marker (temple).
B. They take ALL the Resources that were bid on that Disaster, putting those Resources behind their screen.
C. They "destroy" the targeted Location in their empire by turning it over to the burning side. If the targeted Location was already destroyed, they must pick one of its adjacent Locations to destroy. If both adjacent Locations are destroyed, they must pick the next closest Location to destroy.
D. They gain the Innovation at the bottom of the Disaster card, and assign it underneath a healthy Location. See page 11 for more on gaining Innovations.

After the player has completed these steps, the Disaster phase is over.

Low Resources

After taking a Disaster, if that player has fewer than five combined Resources, they may remove their screen, revealing all of their Resources. Then, they may lose 2 points on the victory tracker to gain one coin. This may be repeated until the player has 5 combined total Resources. It is possible to go into negative victory points by doing this.

Disaster Phase Example

It's the second Disaster phase of the game and a Fire Disaster has struck. Both players have their 3 point farm in the 9th spot of their Empire. Both players place a fire meeple on that farm to show that it's at risk.
Player B took the last Disaster, so they begin bidding. B decides to bid one wheat.
Player A does not want to lose their farm, so they bid one axe, returning the bid to B.
Player B decides that they are okay losing their farm. They flip it over, indicating it is destroyed.
Player B gets all the Resources that were previously bid (their own wheat and Player A's axe), AND they get to place the Fire Disaster under one of their healthy Locations so that the brown Industry Innovation part of it is showing.

"Great deeds are usually wrought at great risks." — Herodotus

Double Disaster Phase

Double Disaster phases only occur in games with 3-4 players. In a Double Disaster phase, reveal two Disasters. All players mark both targeted Locations by using both Disaster markers.

Then, starting with the First Player and proceeding clockwise, each player must choose to bid on or take each Disaster, in either order.

Players, on their turn, may bid on both Disasters, take both Disasters, or bid on one and take the other.

Resources gained from taking one Disaster can be used to bid on the other, but both Disasters must be addressed during your turn.

The First Player marker is given to whoever takes the second Disaster.

Note that it is possible for both Disasters in a Double Disaster phase to target the same Location. In this case, a player taking both Disasters would have to use the adjacency rules on page 7 to determine where the second Disaster strikes.

Economy Phase

In the Economy phase each player may activate each of their Economy abilities in healthy (non-destroyed) Locations. This includes starting abilities and Innovation abilities.

All players activate their Economy effects simultaneously, in any order. Wait to move onto the next round until every player has completed their Economy phase.

IMPORTANT: You may NOT activate any Innovation abilities attached to destroyed Locations, but those Innovations are not discarded. They are left in place and may be activated again if that Location is repaired.

Economy Innovation abilities do a variety of things, usually gaining you Resources or converting a Resource into other Resources. Details for what different Innovation abilities do is included in the glossary on page 16.

Starting Economy Abilities

Gain 1 wheat token.
Gain 1 hammer token.
Gain 1 axe token.
Convert (2X): You may convert 1 Wheat into 1 hammer OR 1 axe. You may do this conversion up to 2 times. This conversion is completely optional.
Refresh: Refresh all exhausted abilities attached to Locations adjacent to this one. Certain abilities can become "Exhausted" and they cannot be activated again until they are refreshed. They are marked with a wood Exhaust cube to indicate their Exhausted status and this ability refreshes them by removing that cube.

Economy Phase Example

It's the Economy phase, and this player activates all the green abilities in their empire on or under healthy Locations.
For this player, that means they get 1 hammer from their 11 point farm, and 1 axe from their 8 point farm, but not the wheat from their 3 point farm because that Location is destroyed.
They'll also get to activate the various trade powers they have, including the option to trade wheat for hammers OR axes in their 14 point road (3a), and the option to trade wheat for hammers AND axes with the Innovation under their 14 point road (3b).
Note that they don't have any exhausted ability Innovations, so their 9 point road does nothing at this time.

"In the midst of chaos, there is also opportunity." — Sun Tzu

Industry Phase

In the Industry Phase each player may do the following in any order:

1. Build or sell two cards from their hand.

During the Industry phase, they may build up to two cards from their hand of 4 Disaster cards. Each card normally costs one hammer (or coin) to build, but certain Innovations cost an extra hammer, as indicated by a two-hammer icon above their ability. Building a card means you gain the Innovation and attach it to a valid Location in your empire (see Gaining and Placing Innovations on page 11). As always, coins can be used to replace hammers.

Each healthy town in a player's empire makes one card one hammer cheaper to build. If both of those towns are healthy, both of those cards may be free to play. Players may not use both towns to make a card with the two-hammer cost completely free; their effects must be applied to different Innovation cards.

Instead of building a card, players may instead sell a card by discarding it and gaining a coin from the supply. Thus, you could build 2 cards, OR sell 2 cards and gain 2 coins, OR build 1 card and sell 1 card to gain 1 coin. After building or selling 2 cards, players may now optionally discard all remaining cards in your hand.

If a player discards one card, you have to discard both; they cannot keep just one. Afterwards, draw until you have 4 Disaster cards in their hand.

2. Repair 1 destroyed Location in their empire.

The cost to repair a destroyed Location is indicated beneath its name on the card. The player must pay the indicated number of hammers and/or coins to the bank to flip the Location tile back over to the healthy (non-destroyed) side.

IMPORTANT: Players may only repair one Location each Industry phase. If you repaired a Location with an Industry effect, you may activate that ability, as well as the abilities of any Innovations underneath it, this round. Players may also activate other Industry abilities in healthy Locations.

3. Activate any Industry abilities.

Certain Locations and Innovations have Industry abilities. At the start of the game, only the city has an Industry ability.

Innovations built in step 1 that have Industry abilities may be activated the phase they are built.

Industry abilities do a variety of things. Details for what different abilities do are included at the end of the rules.

Starting Industry Abilities

Discount: This reduces the cost of one of your Innovation purchases this phase by 1 hammer (step 1 on Page 10). Note, you have two copies of this ability at the start of the game, so as long these abilities do not get destroyed, your card buys will usually be free, unless they cost two hammers.
Swap (city ability): Choose any two Locations in your empire and swap their positions. All attached Innovations on the swapped Locations move with them.

Gaining and Placing Innovations

In two separate phases, players will gain Innovations. During the Disaster phase, Innovations are gained by taking the current Disaster(s). During the Industry phase, Innovations are gained by building them from your hand of 4 cards.

In either case, when an Innovation is gained:

Place the Innovation under a healthy Location so that only the special effect at the bottom of the card is showing.
Innovations can never be placed under a destroyed Location tile.
Innovations can be placed under any healthy Location that has the least (or tied with the least) Innovations under it.
Players cannot place a second Innovation under a Location tile until every healthy Location has at least one, and can't place a third until every healthy Location tile has at least two. Continue this pattern as more Innovations begin to pile up under healthy Locations. If a healthy Location has multiple Innovations underneath it, all are active.
If a Location above an Innovation is destroyed, but then later restored, the Innovation is activated again.
Each Innovation will provide a new ability or end-of-game effect for as long as the Location it is under isn't destroyed.
Innovations always "travel with" the Location they are under, even if that Location is destroyed. So if you swap Locations due to your city's effect, or due to an Upheaval during Military conflict, make sure the Innovations under those Locations stay under them. Note that there is an Industry power that lets you move an Innovation to another Location — this is an exception to this rule.

Innovation Effects

Disasters of the same type have similar Innovation effects, allowing you to quickly identify which might be most useful to your empire.

FIRES destroy your buildings and burn your farms, but they also spur new construction and rebuilding. Fire Innovations allow you to rebuild, refresh, and rearrange Locations during the Industry phase. They also allow you to conserve your hammers so they can be used to rebuild.

REVOLTS can overthrow one regime, but they can also inspire loyalists to defend your empire. Your military swells as young people follow the call of patriotism and join the army. Revolt Innovations increase your military power for the Military phase, as well as make axes worth victory points at the end of the game.

FAMINES lead to widespread suffering, but those who survive are stronger for it. Your people learn to conserve food, and how to make the most of what they have. Famine Innovations provide points at the end of the game for leftover wheat and allow you to skip a bid on them during the Disaster phase.

FLOODS destroy villages and towns alike, but the water's minerals and deposits fertilize your soil like never before. Flood Innovations allow you to produce more Resources during the Economy phase.

BLIGHTS kill your citizens, decimate your livestock, and devour your crops. Religions grow in the face of this horror, and your destroyed towns and farms become monuments to the past. Blight Innovations provide victory points, either during the Industry and Economy phases, or at the end of the game.

BARBARIANS bring war, but also new trade, treaties, and technologies from abroad. Barbarian Innovations provide a diverse mix of abilities. They allow you to repeat Economy effects, trade wheat, exchange the current Disaster for a new one, and conserve axes.

PLAGUES wipe out entire population centers, but those in the community grow closer as neighbors are forced to rely upon each other. Plague Innovations depend upon their placement within the empire, providing points, military power, and End Game scoring determined by adjacent Locations.

EARTHQUAKES tear down walls, monuments, and even entire cities. But as earthquakes take, they also give. Priceless treasures and remnants of ancient civilizations are revealed each time the earth shakes, shifting the course of your civilization. Earthquake Innovations all provide a bonus when the Location on top of them is destroyed.

"When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom." — Solomon

Military Phase

In the Military phase, perform the following actions in order:

Turn over the top card of the Military deck and place it in the middle of the play area.
Total each player's starting Military strength from healthy Locations and Innovations. Any red ability that grants Military strength (crossed axes) adds that value to the player's starting Military strength (for example, your army Locations grant 2 Military strength each).
Each player then secretly puts any number of axes (and/or coins) from behind their screen into their hand, then holds their hand out in a fist. When all players are ready, they reveal how may axes/coins they put in their hand. The number of axes/coins you revealed plus your Military strength from abilities is your total Military strength.
Each player then compares their total Military strength to the revealed Military card, and gains (or loses) the victory points and other bonuses as indicated. (points gained are tracked on the point track on the outside edge of the Game Board.) Additionally, whichever player(s) had the most Military strength gains the victory bonus.
Finally, all players who did not have the highest total Military strength must make the Location swap indicated at the bottom of the Military card. This will be swapping either their 1st, 2nd, or 3rd highest victory point value healthy Location with whatever card is in the Location number indicated.
All axes and coins revealed during the hidden bid are discarded back to the bank. The revealed Military card can be put in a discard pile. The Military phase is now over.

Anatomy of a Military Card

A. Victory: These points and Resource token are granted to the player(s) having the most, or tied for most, Military strength. Players earn these points along with the points described in point B below.
B. The three point-thresholds describe the consequences/rewards for achieving a certain Military strength. You may only achieve one of these, and receiving negative points from not having a high enough Military strength can send you into negative points on the Game Board point track.
C. The amount of victory points received (or lost) for each outcome.
D. The amount of Resource tokens rewarded for each outcome. Military cards may also refresh exhausted abilities, which will be indicated by the Refresh icon. This action can be used to remove (only) one exhaust cube from your tableau.
E. The Upheaval box describes the outcome for all the players who did not have the highest total Military strength. These player are penalized by having two Location tiles (and their attached Innovations) swap places.

Military Phase Example

Player 1 has 5 initial Military strength from their armies and an Innovation, while Player 2 has 3 initial Military strength.
Both players have already avoided point loss for having 2 or fewer Military strength, so their hidden bid will only determine which tier of rewards they are able to achieve.
Player 1 secretly bids 2 axes, taking their total Military strength up to 7. They earn the rewards for that 7+ tier: 7 points and two wheat tokens!
Player 2 has been hoarding axes and is able to bid 4 axes and a coin, taking their total Military strength to 8! They earn the rewards from the 7+ tier AND they get 3 more points and a coin token for being the victor!
Player 1 must now suffer an Upheaval of their empire; in this case, they must swap their highest value healthy Location with the Location in their 11 spot. This will result in them switching their city and farm, no real harm done this time.
Lastly, all Resources bid by all players are returned to the bank and play continues to the next phase.

Industry/Economy Phase

Near the end of the Progress Track in 3-4 player games is a phase that is both an Industry and Economy phase. Each player independently decides to either first complete an Economy phase and then an Industry phase or vice versa. A player must complete the first phase before starting the other, they cannot intermix parts of their Economy phase with parts of their Industry phase.

End Game

When the turn marker (hourglass) reaches the end space, the game ends and players calculate their final score, tracking points on the victory point track around the outside of the main board.

Players add the point value of all healthy Locations in their empire to their current score.

Then, they add points from any End Game Innovation abilities they have attached to healthy Locations.

This is their final victory point total.

The player with the most victory points wins.

Tie Breaker

In the event of a tie, the winner is the player with the most healthy Locations in their empire. If that is tied, those players all win.

Ability Glossary & FAQ

Convert 1 Wheat into 1 Coin

This conversion may be completed up to three times each Economy phase.

Other abilities like this work similarly, allowing you to convert a Resource (always a coin or wheat) into other Resources, and they indicate the number of times the conversion can be completed each Economy phase. If there is a +, acquire both Resources.

Repeat Economy Ability

"Repeat one other Economy ability you have."

Choose any other Economy phase ability in the same empire and complete it an additional time. This can be from Innovations or starting abilities.

Points for Adjacent Destroyed Locations

During the Economy phase, gain the listed number of points for each destroyed Location adjacent to this Innovation.

Gain 1 Token

Gain 1 wheat token if there is a healthy farm Location directly to the left, and 1 wheat token if there is a healthy farm Location directly to the right. Meaning, depending on the position of this ability in the empire, it can grant 0, 1, or 2 wheat tokens each Economy phase.

Similar abilities also give Resources or victory points based on being adjacent to various types of healthy Locations.

Note: While this ability requires adjacent Locations to be healthy, it still, as always, requires its own Location to be healthy.

Gain Points

Gain the listed number of points during the Economy phase. Mark those points on the point track.

Discount Adjacent Repairs

"Adjacent locations cost 1 less to repair."

During the Industry phase, adjacent Locations cost one less hammer to repair.

Move Innovation

"Move an innovation to any open location in your empire."

Choose an Innovation attached to any Location and reattach it to any other Location. This placement must follow all normal rules for placing an Innovation. Note that only one Innovation is moved; this is not a swap.

Remove an Adjacent Exhaust Markers

This ability is identical to the Refresh ability of the Economy phase, except that it is activated during the Industry phase.

Free Bid Token

Exhaust this ability to pass one turn on a Disaster card that requires an axe bid. See more on this ability on page 6. Other abilities like this allow Passing on Disasters requiring wheat and hammers.

Military Strength for Adjacent Destroyed Locations

During the Military phase, gain 1 Military strength for each destroyed location adjacent to this Innovation.

Replace a Current Disaster

"Swap current disaster with top card from the deck. Shuffle deck."

At any point during the Disaster phase (even after multiple rounds of passing), you may exhaust this ability to discard the current Disaster (or one of the current Disasters in a Double Disaster phase), and replace it with a new Disaster drawn from the top of the Disaster deck.

All previously bid Resources are kept with the new Disaster, but the targeted Location may change.

Note that activating this ability does not let you skip your bid for this turn. You must pass or take the card before or after replacing the Disaster.

Gain 1 Military Strength

During the Military phase, every Location or Innovation that has crossed-axe icons adds 1 to your base Military strength for each icon.

Destroyed Location Scoring

"Gain 2VP per destroyed location."

At the end of the game, score 2 victory points for every destroyed Location in the empire. Do not score for destroyed Locations in other players' empires.

Copy an End of Game Ability

"Copy one End of Game ability you have on ANY location."

At the end of the game, score another End Game ability in this empire a second time.

Endgame Points for Adjacent Destroyed Locations

At the end of the game, gain the listed number of points for each destroyed Location adjacent to this Innovation.

End Game Token Scoring

At the end of the game, score the listed amount of victory points for each token of the listed type in the empire's stash. During end game scoring, coins can only count as coins, not as other Resources.

Endgame Points for Adjacent Locations

During the End Game phase, gain the listed number of points for each adjacent Location of the listed type.

Points for Most Destroyed Locations

"Gain 13VP if you have the most destroyed locations."

During the End Game phase, score 13 victory points if you have the most or tied for the most destroyed Locations out of all the players.

Activate when the Location Tile for this Innovation is Destroyed

All the "Earthquake" Innovations have abilities that are activated when the Location tile above them is destroyed. Should the Location tile be repaired, the power can activate again if it is destroyed a second time in a subsequent phase. Most give a certain number of Resource tokens or points when the Location tile is destroyed. Some refresh ALL the Exhaust cubes in your empire when the Location they are attached to is destroyed.

"Difficulties strengthen the mind as labor does the body." — Seneca the Younger

Lightning Mode

"After I'm dead, I'd rather have people ask why I have no monument than why I have one." — Marcus Porcius Cato

Setup

Instead of placing the round marker on the START space, place it on the specially marked space with the lightning bolt.
Deal each player 4 Disaster cards.
Individually, each player must choose 2 of the Disaster cards to enact on their kingdom.
Each player may discard their hand of 4 and redraw once. If they do, they must enact both of their Disasters from their second hand.
- To enact a Disaster card, destroy the Location signified by the Disaster number, then place the Innovation underneath any healthy Location. Both Disaster cards are enacted simultaneously.
After enacting 2 Disaster cards, each player should have two destroyed Locations and two Innovations under healthy Locations. Players' starting spreads will not match.
Each player should discard the remaining 2 cards, then draw a hand of 2 cards instead of 4.

Gameplay

Gameplay proceeds mostly the same as in regular gameplay, albeit with fewer rounds. Players maintain hands of 2 instead of 4. During the Industry phase, they can still build or sell 2 cards from their hand, but they will not have any leftovers.

Quick Start Guide

Setup (Page 3)

Shuffle the Disaster and Military decks and set to the side. Place the appropriate number of Score markers on the zero spot of the score track. Place the hourglass on the spot marked "Start." Give the temple (First Player marker) to a randomly selected player.
Each player gets a set of 11 Location tiles, 2 of each Resource token (hidden behind their privacy screen), 2 Disaster markers, and four randomly dealt Disaster cards.
The First Player randomly arranges their Location tiles, and the other players exactly match that arrangement with their own tiles.

Game Play

The game is played in a series of phases indicated on the game board. At the beginning of the game, players advance the hourglass from the START space to the first space. After completing each phase, advance the hourglass to the next phase and continue.

Disaster Phase (Page 6)

During each Disaster phase, flip over the top card of the Disaster deck. The number in the top right of that card indicates which Location in your empire is at risk of destruction (counting from the left). Starting with the First Player, players may pay one Resource (of the types shown on the card) to avoid having the Disaster strike their empire. Players continue, in turn order, paying this cost until someone chooses not to pay.
If you choose not to pay, the Disaster will destroy a Location in your empire.
But…you'll receive all Resources paid by all players for that Disaster and add its Innovation to a healthy Location in your empire!

Economy Phase (Page 8)

During Economy phases, activate green abilities to gain Resources and refresh Innovations.

Industry Phase (Page 10)

During Industry phases, activate brown abilities and build Innovations from your hand.
You may spend the indicated number of hammers to rebuild one Location.
You may pay 1-2 hammers each to play a card from your hand under a healthy Location in your empire. Each healthy town you have makes this placement 1 hammer cheaper!

Military Phase (Page 13)

During Military phases, draw a Military card and secretly bid axes and coins.
Add that value to the number of Military strength (crossed axe) icons in your empire.
Assign rewards and consequences based on the Military card.

End Game (Page 15)

Add up the point value of all healthy Locations in your Empire.
Add points from End Game Innovations and the victory track.
The empire with the highest score is victorious!

Credits

Design: John D Clair

Development: Hayden Dillard

Art: Kwanchai Moriya

Graphic Design: Matt Paquette & Co.

Development Team: Andy Myers, Daniel Chance, James Ayres, David Lueders, Ethan Reid, Giovanni Di Rauso, Matt Chapman, Jacob Gaines, Wade Bates, Alesandra Bell, Christopher Spenner, Jacob De Hoyos, John Mistretta, Brad Weiler, Jaison Binu, Noah Bemont.

Empire's End - 1st Edition; 1st Printing

Empire's End title and logo are Trademark; Brotherwise Games, LLC, 2023.

Published in 2023 by Brotherwise Games, LLC; Redondo Beach, CA.

Find us on the World Wide Web at www.brotherwisegames.com

Empire's End Rulebook

Table of Contents

Objective
Components
Setup
Gameplay
Disaster Phase
Double Disaster Phase
Economy Phase
- Starting Economy Abilities
- Economy Phase Example
Industry Phase
Innovation Effects
Military Phase
- Anatomy of a Military Card
- Military Phase Example
Industry/Economy Phase
End Game
- Tie Breaker
Ability Glossary & FAQ
Lightning Mode
- Setup
- Gameplay
Quick Start Guide
- Setup (Page 3)
- Game Play
Credits

Objective

Components

1 Game Board
44 Location tiles (4 sets of 11)
11 Military Cards
88 Disaster Cards
12 Exhaust markers
4 Player Screens
4 Score markers
10 Game markers (8 Disaster (flame), 1 First Player (temple), and 1 Turn marker (hourglass))
120 Resource Tokens (with extras) (35 Wheat, 30 Axe, 30 Hammer, and 25 Coin)

Setup

Place the Game Board in the middle of the play area. If you're playing with 2 players, use the side of the board with the 2-player marker. If you're playing with 3-4 players, use the side of the board with the 3-4 player marker. Ignore the lightning bolt on the game board; that is used for Lightning Mode only (page 19).
Place the turn marker (hourglass) on the square that reads "Start".
Separate the resource tokens and Exhaust markers into separate piles within easy reach of every player. Split each token type into two piles if needed.
Shuffle all the Disaster cards into a deck and place the deck face down on the table.
Shuffle all the Military cards into a deck and place the deck face down on the table.
Give the First Player marker (the temple token) to a randomly selected player.
Give each player the following…
- A privacy screen.
- 2 orange Disaster markers (fire).
- 2 single-value Resources of each type (2 coins, 2 wheat, 2 hammers, and 2 axes). Place these tokens behind the screens so players can't see each other's Resources.
- 4 random cards from the top of the Disaster deck. Each player may look at their own cards.
- A set of 11 Location tiles.
Stack a point tracker matching the color of each player's privacy screen on the outer edge of the board, on the 0-point square.
Have the First Player shuffle their Location tiles and randomly place them, healthy side up (the healthy side has the point value in the upper left hand corner in black font). Every other player arranges their Location tiles in their own play space in the same order as the First Player.

For Example: The First Player placed their Locations in this random order. Each other player arranges their own Locations in a matching order.

Gameplay

Your Empire

Each Location tile has similar features. Its healthy side shows:

A. Type of Location.
B. Victory point value if healthy at the end of the game.
C. Repair cost if destroyed.
D. Ability's phase of play.
E. Ability.

A destroyed Location:

F. Is worth no points at the end of the game.
G. Costs a specific amount to repair.
H. Does not have an ability.
I. Does not activate any Innovations underneath it.

Resources

During the game, each empire will spend Resources to stave off Disaster, repair damaged Locations, fight Military conflicts, and purchase Innovations. These Resources are represented by tokens.

Tokens with a 5 are worth five of the same single value tokens.

Game Phases

The game is played in a series of phases indicated on the game board. At the beginning of the game, players advance the hourglass from the Start space to the first space.

All players then complete the phase that the hourglass is now on (for the first phase, this will always be a Disaster phase).

The different types of phases in Empire's End are:

Simultaneous Play

"Our greatest glory is not in never failing, but in rising every time we fail." — Confucius

Disaster Phase

Disaster phases are the most common phase. They represent the many challenges facing your waning empire. Disaster cards are all laid out as follows:

A. The name of the Disaster. There are 11 of each Disaster type.
B. A target Location number, indicating which Location in each player's empire is being targeted. Each player counts Location tiles (both healthy and destroyed) from left to right in their empire and places a Disaster marker on the Location indicated. Later in the game, as tiles get moved around, this can reference different Location tiles for different players.
C. The Resources that can be bid on this card. These can be wheat, hammers, axes, or some combination of those. Coins are wild and may always be used instead of any other Resource type.
D. The cost, in hammers, to build the card from your hand during the Industry phase. Some cards cost two hammers to build instead of one.
E. The phase the Innovation ability activates in.
F. The Innovation ability gained if this card is taken.

To resolve a Disaster phase:

Turn over the top card of the Disaster deck and place it on the table in the middle of the play area.
Each player then places their Disaster marker on the targeted Location in their empire. This makes it easy for other players to see which Location in your empire is targeted.
Beginning with the First Player, players (in clockwise order) choose to either "pass" or "take" the Disaster card. To pass, you must bid one Resource of any of the types indicated, placing it on the table next to the Disaster card. Turns will continue going around the table clockwise until a player chooses to take the Disaster.

Once any player chooses to take the Disaster, no more turns are taken by any players.

Disaster Phase Abilities

There are certain Innovation abilities you can only activate during a Disaster phase. These must be "Exhausted" to be activated and then cannot be activated again until they are "Refreshed."

To activate a Disaster phase ability, take one of the wood Exhaust markers and place it on the cube spot of the ability card. The ability is now Exhausted.

The most common type of Disaster phase ability is a "Free Bid" ability, like the one shown above.

Taking the Disaster Card

When a player takes the Disaster card, they do 4 things:

A. They gain the First Player marker (temple).
B. They take ALL the Resources that were bid on that Disaster, putting those Resources behind their screen.
C. They "destroy" the targeted Location in their empire by turning it over to the burning side. If the targeted Location was already destroyed, they must pick one of its adjacent Locations to destroy. If both adjacent Locations are destroyed, they must pick the next closest Location to destroy.
D. They gain the Innovation at the bottom of the Disaster card, and assign it underneath a healthy Location. See page 11 for more on gaining Innovations.

After the player has completed these steps, the Disaster phase is over.

Low Resources

Disaster Phase Example

It's the second Disaster phase of the game and a Fire Disaster has struck. Both players have their 3 point farm in the 9th spot of their Empire. Both players place a fire meeple on that farm to show that it's at risk.
Player B took the last Disaster, so they begin bidding. B decides to bid one wheat.
Player A does not want to lose their farm, so they bid one axe, returning the bid to B.
Player B decides that they are okay losing their farm. They flip it over, indicating it is destroyed.
Player B gets all the Resources that were previously bid (their own wheat and Player A's axe), AND they get to place the Fire Disaster under one of their healthy Locations so that the brown Industry Innovation part of it is showing.

"Great deeds are usually wrought at great risks." — Herodotus

Double Disaster Phase

Double Disaster phases only occur in games with 3-4 players. In a Double Disaster phase, reveal two Disasters. All players mark both targeted Locations by using both Disaster markers.

Then, starting with the First Player and proceeding clockwise, each player must choose to bid on or take each Disaster, in either order.

Players, on their turn, may bid on both Disasters, take both Disasters, or bid on one and take the other.

Resources gained from taking one Disaster can be used to bid on the other, but both Disasters must be addressed during your turn.

The First Player marker is given to whoever takes the second Disaster.

Economy Phase

In the Economy phase each player may activate each of their Economy abilities in healthy (non-destroyed) Locations. This includes starting abilities and Innovation abilities.

All players activate their Economy effects simultaneously, in any order. Wait to move onto the next round until every player has completed their Economy phase.

Starting Economy Abilities

Gain 1 wheat token.
Gain 1 hammer token.
Gain 1 axe token.
Convert (2X): You may convert 1 Wheat into 1 hammer OR 1 axe. You may do this conversion up to 2 times. This conversion is completely optional.
Refresh: Refresh all exhausted abilities attached to Locations adjacent to this one. Certain abilities can become "Exhausted" and they cannot be activated again until they are refreshed. They are marked with a wood Exhaust cube to indicate their Exhausted status and this ability refreshes them by removing that cube.

Economy Phase Example

It's the Economy phase, and this player activates all the green abilities in their empire on or under healthy Locations.
For this player, that means they get 1 hammer from their 11 point farm, and 1 axe from their 8 point farm, but not the wheat from their 3 point farm because that Location is destroyed.
They'll also get to activate the various trade powers they have, including the option to trade wheat for hammers OR axes in their 14 point road (3a), and the option to trade wheat for hammers AND axes with the Innovation under their 14 point road (3b).
Note that they don't have any exhausted ability Innovations, so their 9 point road does nothing at this time.

"In the midst of chaos, there is also opportunity." — Sun Tzu

Industry Phase

In the Industry Phase each player may do the following in any order:

1. Build or sell two cards from their hand.

If a player discards one card, you have to discard both; they cannot keep just one. Afterwards, draw until you have 4 Disaster cards in their hand.

2. Repair 1 destroyed Location in their empire.

3. Activate any Industry abilities.

Certain Locations and Innovations have Industry abilities. At the start of the game, only the city has an Industry ability.

Innovations built in step 1 that have Industry abilities may be activated the phase they are built.

Industry abilities do a variety of things. Details for what different abilities do are included at the end of the rules.

Starting Industry Abilities

Discount: This reduces the cost of one of your Innovation purchases this phase by 1 hammer (step 1 on Page 10). Note, you have two copies of this ability at the start of the game, so as long these abilities do not get destroyed, your card buys will usually be free, unless they cost two hammers.
Swap (city ability): Choose any two Locations in your empire and swap their positions. All attached Innovations on the swapped Locations move with them.

Gaining and Placing Innovations

In either case, when an Innovation is gained:

Place the Innovation under a healthy Location so that only the special effect at the bottom of the card is showing.
Innovations can never be placed under a destroyed Location tile.
Innovations can be placed under any healthy Location that has the least (or tied with the least) Innovations under it.
Players cannot place a second Innovation under a Location tile until every healthy Location has at least one, and can't place a third until every healthy Location tile has at least two. Continue this pattern as more Innovations begin to pile up under healthy Locations. If a healthy Location has multiple Innovations underneath it, all are active.
If a Location above an Innovation is destroyed, but then later restored, the Innovation is activated again.
Each Innovation will provide a new ability or end-of-game effect for as long as the Location it is under isn't destroyed.
Innovations always "travel with" the Location they are under, even if that Location is destroyed. So if you swap Locations due to your city's effect, or due to an Upheaval during Military conflict, make sure the Innovations under those Locations stay under them. Note that there is an Industry power that lets you move an Innovation to another Location — this is an exception to this rule.

Innovation Effects

Disasters of the same type have similar Innovation effects, allowing you to quickly identify which might be most useful to your empire.

"When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom." — Solomon

Military Phase

In the Military phase, perform the following actions in order:

Turn over the top card of the Military deck and place it in the middle of the play area.
Total each player's starting Military strength from healthy Locations and Innovations. Any red ability that grants Military strength (crossed axes) adds that value to the player's starting Military strength (for example, your army Locations grant 2 Military strength each).
Each player then secretly puts any number of axes (and/or coins) from behind their screen into their hand, then holds their hand out in a fist. When all players are ready, they reveal how may axes/coins they put in their hand. The number of axes/coins you revealed plus your Military strength from abilities is your total Military strength.
Each player then compares their total Military strength to the revealed Military card, and gains (or loses) the victory points and other bonuses as indicated. (points gained are tracked on the point track on the outside edge of the Game Board.) Additionally, whichever player(s) had the most Military strength gains the victory bonus.
Finally, all players who did not have the highest total Military strength must make the Location swap indicated at the bottom of the Military card. This will be swapping either their 1st, 2nd, or 3rd highest victory point value healthy Location with whatever card is in the Location number indicated.
All axes and coins revealed during the hidden bid are discarded back to the bank. The revealed Military card can be put in a discard pile. The Military phase is now over.

Anatomy of a Military Card

A. Victory: These points and Resource token are granted to the player(s) having the most, or tied for most, Military strength. Players earn these points along with the points described in point B below.
B. The three point-thresholds describe the consequences/rewards for achieving a certain Military strength. You may only achieve one of these, and receiving negative points from not having a high enough Military strength can send you into negative points on the Game Board point track.
C. The amount of victory points received (or lost) for each outcome.
D. The amount of Resource tokens rewarded for each outcome. Military cards may also refresh exhausted abilities, which will be indicated by the Refresh icon. This action can be used to remove (only) one exhaust cube from your tableau.
E. The Upheaval box describes the outcome for all the players who did not have the highest total Military strength. These player are penalized by having two Location tiles (and their attached Innovations) swap places.

Military Phase Example

Player 1 has 5 initial Military strength from their armies and an Innovation, while Player 2 has 3 initial Military strength.
Both players have already avoided point loss for having 2 or fewer Military strength, so their hidden bid will only determine which tier of rewards they are able to achieve.
Player 1 secretly bids 2 axes, taking their total Military strength up to 7. They earn the rewards for that 7+ tier: 7 points and two wheat tokens!
Player 2 has been hoarding axes and is able to bid 4 axes and a coin, taking their total Military strength to 8! They earn the rewards from the 7+ tier AND they get 3 more points and a coin token for being the victor!
Player 1 must now suffer an Upheaval of their empire; in this case, they must swap their highest value healthy Location with the Location in their 11 spot. This will result in them switching their city and farm, no real harm done this time.
Lastly, all Resources bid by all players are returned to the bank and play continues to the next phase.

Industry/Economy Phase

End Game

When the turn marker (hourglass) reaches the end space, the game ends and players calculate their final score, tracking points on the victory point track around the outside of the main board.

Players add the point value of all healthy Locations in their empire to their current score.

Then, they add points from any End Game Innovation abilities they have attached to healthy Locations.

This is their final victory point total.

The player with the most victory points wins.

Tie Breaker

In the event of a tie, the winner is the player with the most healthy Locations in their empire. If that is tied, those players all win.

Ability Glossary & FAQ

Convert 1 Wheat into 1 Coin

This conversion may be completed up to three times each Economy phase.

Repeat Economy Ability

"Repeat one other Economy ability you have."

Choose any other Economy phase ability in the same empire and complete it an additional time. This can be from Innovations or starting abilities.

Points for Adjacent Destroyed Locations

During the Economy phase, gain the listed number of points for each destroyed Location adjacent to this Innovation.

Gain 1 Token

Similar abilities also give Resources or victory points based on being adjacent to various types of healthy Locations.

Note: While this ability requires adjacent Locations to be healthy, it still, as always, requires its own Location to be healthy.

Gain Points

Gain the listed number of points during the Economy phase. Mark those points on the point track.

Discount Adjacent Repairs

"Adjacent locations cost 1 less to repair."

During the Industry phase, adjacent Locations cost one less hammer to repair.

Move Innovation

"Move an innovation to any open location in your empire."

Remove an Adjacent Exhaust Markers

This ability is identical to the Refresh ability of the Economy phase, except that it is activated during the Industry phase.

Free Bid Token

Military Strength for Adjacent Destroyed Locations

During the Military phase, gain 1 Military strength for each destroyed location adjacent to this Innovation.

Replace a Current Disaster

"Swap current disaster with top card from the deck. Shuffle deck."

All previously bid Resources are kept with the new Disaster, but the targeted Location may change.

Note that activating this ability does not let you skip your bid for this turn. You must pass or take the card before or after replacing the Disaster.

Gain 1 Military Strength

During the Military phase, every Location or Innovation that has crossed-axe icons adds 1 to your base Military strength for each icon.

Destroyed Location Scoring

"Gain 2VP per destroyed location."

At the end of the game, score 2 victory points for every destroyed Location in the empire. Do not score for destroyed Locations in other players' empires.

Copy an End of Game Ability

"Copy one End of Game ability you have on ANY location."

At the end of the game, score another End Game ability in this empire a second time.

Endgame Points for Adjacent Destroyed Locations

At the end of the game, gain the listed number of points for each destroyed Location adjacent to this Innovation.

End Game Token Scoring

Endgame Points for Adjacent Locations

During the End Game phase, gain the listed number of points for each adjacent Location of the listed type.

Points for Most Destroyed Locations

"Gain 13VP if you have the most destroyed locations."

During the End Game phase, score 13 victory points if you have the most or tied for the most destroyed Locations out of all the players.

Activate when the Location Tile for this Innovation is Destroyed

"Difficulties strengthen the mind as labor does the body." — Seneca the Younger

Lightning Mode

"After I'm dead, I'd rather have people ask why I have no monument than why I have one." — Marcus Porcius Cato

Setup

Instead of placing the round marker on the START space, place it on the specially marked space with the lightning bolt.
Deal each player 4 Disaster cards.
Individually, each player must choose 2 of the Disaster cards to enact on their kingdom.
Each player may discard their hand of 4 and redraw once. If they do, they must enact both of their Disasters from their second hand.
- To enact a Disaster card, destroy the Location signified by the Disaster number, then place the Innovation underneath any healthy Location. Both Disaster cards are enacted simultaneously.
After enacting 2 Disaster cards, each player should have two destroyed Locations and two Innovations under healthy Locations. Players' starting spreads will not match.
Each player should discard the remaining 2 cards, then draw a hand of 2 cards instead of 4.

Gameplay

Quick Start Guide

Setup (Page 3)

Shuffle the Disaster and Military decks and set to the side. Place the appropriate number of Score markers on the zero spot of the score track. Place the hourglass on the spot marked "Start." Give the temple (First Player marker) to a randomly selected player.
Each player gets a set of 11 Location tiles, 2 of each Resource token (hidden behind their privacy screen), 2 Disaster markers, and four randomly dealt Disaster cards.
The First Player randomly arranges their Location tiles, and the other players exactly match that arrangement with their own tiles.

Game Play

Disaster Phase (Page 6)

During each Disaster phase, flip over the top card of the Disaster deck. The number in the top right of that card indicates which Location in your empire is at risk of destruction (counting from the left). Starting with the First Player, players may pay one Resource (of the types shown on the card) to avoid having the Disaster strike their empire. Players continue, in turn order, paying this cost until someone chooses not to pay.
If you choose not to pay, the Disaster will destroy a Location in your empire.
But…you'll receive all Resources paid by all players for that Disaster and add its Innovation to a healthy Location in your empire!

Economy Phase (Page 8)

During Economy phases, activate green abilities to gain Resources and refresh Innovations.

Industry Phase (Page 10)

During Industry phases, activate brown abilities and build Innovations from your hand.
You may spend the indicated number of hammers to rebuild one Location.
You may pay 1-2 hammers each to play a card from your hand under a healthy Location in your empire. Each healthy town you have makes this placement 1 hammer cheaper!

Military Phase (Page 13)

During Military phases, draw a Military card and secretly bid axes and coins.
Add that value to the number of Military strength (crossed axe) icons in your empire.
Assign rewards and consequences based on the Military card.

End Game (Page 15)

Add up the point value of all healthy Locations in your Empire.
Add points from End Game Innovations and the victory track.
The empire with the highest score is victorious!

Credits

Design: John D Clair

Development: Hayden Dillard

Art: Kwanchai Moriya

Graphic Design: Matt Paquette & Co.

Empire's End - 1st Edition; 1st Printing

Empire's End title and logo are Trademark; Brotherwise Games, LLC, 2023.

Published in 2023 by Brotherwise Games, LLC; Redondo Beach, CA.

Find us on the World Wide Web at www.brotherwisegames.com