Instructions for Playing the Game Eight-Minute Empire: Legends

Basic Overview

Welcome to the world of Eight-Minute Empire: Legends! Here, I’ll guide you through the rules and strategies of this exciting game. You’ll experience the thrill of conquest and exploration as you build and expand your empire in just eight minutes!

Setting Up the Game

First, place the game board in the center of the playing area. Each player will receive a set of colored cubes, matching cards, and prestige tokens. Shuffle the region cards and deal five to each player. Choose a starting player and give them the first player token.

Gameplay

The game consists of a series of rounds. On your turn, you’ll perform three simple actions: draft a card, perform actions, and score regions.

Drafting Cards

To start, reveal four region cards face up. The active player chooses one and adds it to their hand. Then, draw a new card to replace the one chosen. Repeat this process until each player has five cards.

Performing Actions

Now it’s time to use those cards to take actions! Each card has a cost and ability. Pay the cost to perform the ability printed on the card. You can do things like place cubes on the board, move existing cubes, or even conquer regions from other players. Plan your moves carefully to maximize your strategy!

Scoring Regions

At the end of each round, players score regions they control. Collect prestige tokens for each region you control based on its value. The player with the most prestige tokens at the end of the game wins!

Game End

The game ends after six rounds or when one player reaches the victory point limit. Count up your prestige tokens and add any bonus tokens from cards. The player with the most points wins!

Strategy Tips

Now that you understand the basics, here are some tips for success:

• Focus on controlling regions with high prestige values.
• Look for opportunities to conquer your opponents’ regions.
• Use your cards strategically to build and expand your empire.
• Consider the value of long-term strategy versus short-term gains.
• Pay attention to other players’ moves and adjust your strategy accordingly.

Now, Get Ready!

You’re now equipped with the knowledge to conquer the world in Eight-Minute Empire: Legends! Gather your friends, set up the game, and let the adventure begin. Enjoy the thrill of quick-paced strategy and may the best empire win!

To get started, you’ll need the following items: four sets of 18 army tokens and 3 city tokens. Each player should have a different color set. You can use anything small that you have on hand. The official version of the game uses small wooden cubes for armies and small wooden discs for cities.

What You Need

When you’re playing the game, you’ll need a few important things. Here’s what you’ll find in the box:

– 4 sets of 18 wooden cubes, also known as armies. These will be used to represent your forces on the map.

– 4 sets of 3 wooden castle pieces, which are the cities you’ll be vying to control.

– 4 map boards, which will serve as the battleground for your strategic maneuvers.

– 43 cards that will add an extra layer of depth to your decision-making.

– 36 coin tokens, to keep track of your wealth.

– 3 citadel tokens, important strongholds that can turn the tide of battle.

– 5 explore tokens, which will allow you to uncover hidden treasures and secrets.

– 4 encounter tokens, representing unexpected challenges and opportunities.

– 1 poison swamp token, a dangerous area that must be approached with caution.

– 1 starting region token, indicating where each player will begin.

– And finally, a rule book that will guide you through the game and help you make the most of your play experience.

Now that you have everything you need, it’s time to set up the game and start your epic journey!

• To set up the game, start by choosing one player to be in charge of setting up the board. They should place the four map boards together on a flat surface, arranging them to form a large rectangle. If there are only 2 or 3 players, they can use three map boards instead, either arranging them in an “L” shape or placing them side by side to form a long rectangle.
• Next, the player in charge of setting up should place the starting region token on a region that meets the following conditions: A. The region must have one water connection to another continent. B. The region must be adjacent to another region that has one water connection to another continent OR it must have an additional water connection to another continent.

First, I’ll start by prepping the game setup. I’ll remove the unnecessary information and rephrase it in a simpler way while keeping the original structure and meaning intact. I’ll also maintain the HTML markup.

1. Set aside the card labeled “Card Cost”.

2. If there are 3 players, remove the cards with the number “4” in the top right corner.

3. If there are 2 players, remove the cards with the number “3”.

4. Shuffle the remaining cards and place them face down next to the board.

5. Draw six cards and place them face up in a row along the top of the board.

6. Place the “Card Cost” card just above the row of cards.

Now, let’s move on to the player setup. Again, I’ll simplify the instructions while preserving the structure and meaning of the original.

1. Each player gets a set of one color with 18 armies (cubes) and 3 cities (discs).

2. Start by placing 4 armies on the starting region on the board.

3. If there are 2 players, take turns placing one army at a time of a third color on any region on the board until ten armies have been placed.

With these changes, the instructions should be easier for a 5th grader to understand while maintaining the overall elegance and flow of the original text.

Here’s what you need to do to get ready to play the game. First, place the coin tokens in a pile next to the board. These coins are called the supply. How many coins each player gets depends on how many people are playing. If there are four players, each person takes 9 coins. If there are three players, each person takes 11 coins. And if there are two players, each person takes 14 coins.

Now that you have your coins, it’s time to start playing. The first thing you need to do is decide who will go first. To do this, each player holds their coins in a closed fist and chooses a number to bid. When everyone is ready, everyone reveals their bids at the same time. The player who bid the most coins puts them in the supply. The other players don’t have to pay any coins if they lost the bid. If there’s a tie for the highest bid, the youngest player gets to go first and pays their coins. And if all the bids are zero, the youngest player still gets to go first. Just remember, there’s only one bid per game.

Alright, here’s how the game works. First things first, we all sit around the table and take turns. Starting with me and moving clockwise, each player gets a chance to choose one of the face-up cards. Once I pick a card, I place it in front of me so I can see it.

Now, here’s the tricky part. Depending on where the card is in the row, I have to pay a certain number of coins to get it. The card cost is listed on the “Card Cost” card. The costs, from left to right, are 0, 1, 1, 2, 2, and 3. So, if I wanted to grab the third card from the left, I’d have to fork over one coin.

Each card comes with a good and an action. As soon as I take a card, I get to use the action right away. These actions are kind of like special moves that help me build my empire and take control of the board. Here are some of the things I can do:

Gather some armies and place them on the board

When you look at the number of armies shown, that tells you how many you can put on the board.

You can only put them on the starting area or on a region where you have a city. And remember, you don’t have to put all your armies in one place.

Moving your Armies

When you look at the number of armies on a card, it tells you how much movement that card provides.

Let me give you an example. If a card shows 3 armies, it means you can either move one army up to 3 times, or move 3 armies once each, or move one army two times and another army one time.

Now, crossing the dotted lines over oceans is a different story. It costs 3 movement points per army if you want to do that.

Create a City

When playing the game, you can strategically place a new city on the board wherever you have an army. It’s up to you to decide the best location. Keep in mind that multiple cities can occupy the same region, and they can belong to different players.

Remove an Army

If you have at least one army in a region, you can remove any army belonging to any player from the game board.

Let’s talk about “and/or” actions. These are special actions that give you even more flexibility during the game. With an “and” action, you can choose to perform one or both of the actions listed. For example, if you have an “and” action that lets you move armies and build a city, you can choose to do just one of those actions or both of them. It’s up to you!

On the other hand, with an “or” action, you have to choose one of the actions listed. So, if you have an “or” action that lets you attack a region or move your armies, you can choose to do either the attack or the move, but not both. It’s a tough decision, but that’s what makes the game exciting!

Remember, you can only perform the actions listed on the cards if you meet the requirements. So, make sure you read the cards carefully and plan your moves strategically. Good luck!

So, here’s the deal: if there’s a card with two different actions separated by “or,” you get to decide which action you want to take. Easy peasy, right?

Now, if there’s a card with two different actions separated by “and,” you get to do both actions, but you gotta do ’em in the order they’re listed on the card. Got it?

Let’s say you chose the action shown here. If you wanna destroy an army, you gotta do it first, before you can build a city. Makes sense, right? But hey, if you don’t feel like doing one of the actions, no sweat, just ignore it. Your call.

Oh, and here’s a little insider tip: if you want, you can totally take the card and skip the action altogether. It’s all up to you, my friend.

After you’ve taken your card and done your thing, slide the rest of the cards to the left to fill in the empty space. Then, draw a new card and put it in the spot on the right. Boom! Now it’s the next person’s turn.

Special Powers

Hey there! Let me explain how this game works. Each card in the game has a unique ability and name. Abilities are awesome because they give you special bonuses or let you score extra points. Isn’t that cool?

Once you have a card with an ability, it helps you for the whole game. As soon as you get the card, the ability starts working right away, even if it’s about the card itself. And guess what? The more cards you have, the more abilities you can use. It’s like an awesome superpower that keeps getting stronger!

Here’s an example: +1 Move

When you decide to move your armies during the game, something exciting happens! You get an extra move – just for you! It’s like a little bonus that makes the game even more fun.

You get +1 Army!

Hey there! Did you know that every time you decide to put new armies on the board, you actually get an extra one? Pretty neat, huh?

Soaring Through the Skies.

Hey there! Let’s talk about a cool aspect of the game – flying abilities! Did you know that each flying ability you have actually makes it cheaper for your armies to move over water? Pretty neat, right?

Basically, if you’ve got a flying ability, it reduces the cost of moving over water by 1. So even if it originally cost 2 per army to move over water, with one flying ability, that cost drops to just 1 per army. It’s like having a special power that helps you glide through the water with ease!

Elixer.

At the end of the game, whoever has collected the most elixirs will receive an additional 2 victory points.

Get Coins.

When you activate this ability, you will immediately receive two coins as a special bonus. It’s a pretty sweet deal, right?

You’ll Earn +1 Victory Point for Each (name).

When the game is over, you will earn an additional point for each card in your possession that bears the designated name.

Extra Points for Cards.

If you have the specified set, you’ll earn the designated number of victory points at the game’s end.

+1 Vp for Every 2 Coins Owned.

When the game is over, I get an extra victory point for every two coins I have.

The Game’s End

The game ends when each player has a specific number of cards based on how many people are playing.

• 2 Players: 13 Cards
• 3 Players: 10 Cards
• 4 Players: 8 Cards

Now, I count up the victory points in my head.

Regions: I get one victory point for each region that I control on the map. I control a region if I have more armies there than any other player (cities count as armies for control). If me and another player have the same number of armies in a region, neither of us controls it.

Continents: You earn one point for every continent you have. You own a continent if you have more regions in that continent than anyone else. If multiple players have the same number of controlled regions, no one owns the continent.

Abilities: When you have cards with special abilities, you can earn extra victory points. The number of victory points you earn will depend on the conditions of the ability.

For instance, imagine an ability that says “+1 VP for each cursed card”. If you have four cards with the name “Cursed”, you would gain an additional 4 victory points.

Elixers: If you have the most elixers, you get 2 extra victory points. If there’s a tie for the most elixers, each tied player gets 1 extra victory point.

To determine the winner, we look at who has the most victory points from regions, continents, and abilities – that player has the most powerful empire and wins the game!

If there’s a tie, we move on to coins. The player with the most coins breaks the tie. If there’s still a tie, we count the number of armies on the board, and if there’s still a tie at that point, we look at who controls the most regions.

Variants

Let’s play a Full Game! To have a longer and more exciting experience, we should play three games. The player who earns the highest sum of victory points from all three games will be crowned the winner.

(Stretch Goal) Let’s Explore Tokens: When setting up the game, the player chosen to set up the board will place the six explore tokens face up on any region that doesn’t already have a token. If you’re the first player to build a city in the same region as an explore token, you’ll immediately gain that token. These explore tokens offer special abilities:

Magic Spring: By landing on this token, you’ll gain 2 elixirs. So keep an eye out for it!

Cottage: Whenever you perform the action of “placing new armies on the board,” you’ll gain an additional army each time. This will give you an advantage over your opponents!

Hidden Treasure: Landing on this token will grant you an instant reward of one coin. It’s always nice to find a hidden treasure!

When the game is over, I can gain an additional victory point with the Magic Book. Not only that, but if I’m tied for points at the end of the game, I automatically win, no matter what the tie-breakers say. It’s like having a secret weapon!

If I have the Stable, I can do something cool whenever I move my armies. I get to make an extra move! It’s like having a turbo boost for my troops.

Stretch Goal: Citadel Tokens

When setting up the game board, I get to choose where to put the three citadel tokens. They go face up in any region that doesn’t already have a token.

After the game is over, controlling these regions will give you 1 extra victory point.

Alternate Bidding Tie Breaker

If there’s a tie during the bidding process and I’m not the youngest player, instead of automatically winning the bid, I roll a die to see who wins.