First Empires: The Game of Conquest – Criticism, Review, Test

In First Empires by Eric B. Vogelspiele I see a rising civilization in antiquity. Through skillful conquests I try to make my civilization grow and expand.

Civilization is a game developed by Sand Castle Games and published by Asmodee Germany. It’s for two to five players and ages 12+ are recommended.

Materials and instructions from First Empires

In the game box there is an insert with which all materials can be neatly sorted. There is a player chest for each individual player. This box can be used to store player color materials.

The material is very good quality for me. Operator panels are two-layer panels. The cards are firm and stable. The turn sign is a cute Greek column. Progress signs (marks of civilization) and maple are made of wood. The game board is printed on both sides.

The instructions are very easy to read and understandable. It is also repeatedly described in the examples of how to proceed in the individual game stages.

How is First Empires played?

In First Empires, the orientation of the game board depends on the number of games. A recommendation was also written as to which empires I should use best with a certain number of players. This keeps the game balanced, and as a single player I don’t have much of an advantage over my fellow players.

The object of the game is to earn points by being victorious, completing achievement cards, and progressing in my progress bar. There are also so-called city tiles that are distributed over time on the game board. These city tiles also earn me points at the end of the game. Whoever has the most points at the end wins the first empires.

The beginning of the game

In the beginning I get my player board and materials, as well as my achievement cards. My player pad is full of civilization markers, which also show my progress in the ongoing gameplay.

The game is played in three phases and over eight rounds: Roll – Action and Conquer – Advance. This order is also displayed on my launcher panel with progress bars. Here I can see how many dice I can roll and how many times I can roll them again. In the move and capture phase, it shows how many steps I can move. Here I can move with one or more Meeple. I also have to read on my tablet how many meeples are on the game board at the beginning of the game. Just like the number of achievement cards I hold in my hand at the start. My Meeples is placed on the starting city displayed on the game board.

Typical movement in the first empires

My turn starts by rolling the dice and letting me re-roll as many times as the default on the player board. The dice denote different regions or swords. Then I move the meeple to an adjacent area. If there is no other player here, you have occupied the territory without any problems. If one of my opponents controls the area, I can only move into it if I can conquer it. To do this, I need more votes than my opponent in the district. An additional option is that the swords on the dice are also considered maples.

The last stage is about whether you have made any progress. If the dice indicate regions and I control the regions indicated, then I can move the civilization marker of the corresponding color up the progression path.

Depending on the color, this can mean that I have more dice in my next turn, can roll more dice more often, have more moves available, take an achievement card in my hand, or have more dice on the game board.

Once I achieve achievement cards, I can score them. To do that, I have to prove to my fellow players that I’ve mastered the task. Points on the card are counted at the end of the game. At certain points in my turn, I can also discard achievement cards face down in order to create special effects.

How do I find First Empires?

On first impression, First Empires reminds me a bit of the well-known stuff risk. However, it does a little more for me. I am not a fan of conquest games but this game gave me great gaming experiences. Not only do I try to conquer areas, but I also have to get ahead of the player’s mat in order to gain victory points and get certain advantages over other players. This completes the feel of the game quite well for me. It requires some tactical skills: “What moves am I doing now and how? What will make me the fastest way to get the most victory points at the end?” Due to the effect of “rolling your luck” into the dice, the mechanism is always exciting in its own way. I think it’s a successful conquest game.