How to Play

Imperial Struggle

2-2 players 120-240 min 8.2 Board Game Geek Rating

Players command France or Britain in their century-long 18th-century rivalry from 1697-1789. Through alternating peace and war phases, nations build colonial economies, forge European alliances, and fight global conflicts using event cards and strategic investment. Victory comes from accumulating the most prestige through territorial conquest, economic development, and historical achievements across multiple continents.

Published 2020

Imperial Struggle

Get Ready

Setup the game with these step-by-step instructions before diving into your turn.

1
Set the Victory Point marker
Place the VP marker at 15 on the Victory Track
2
Establish starting control
Each player plus Spain controls Territories and Markets as color printed on the board
3
Flag Markets
Place flags on all starting Markets (Spanish markets optionally flagged)
4
Note Territory control
Color printed Territories count as Flagged but need not have physical Flags placed unless later Switched
5
Set Debt Limits
Both players start with no Treaty Points, no Debt, and a Debt Limit of six
6
Prepare War tiles
Randomly choose one Basic War tile per player per each War Subset for placement sight-seen face-down
7
Begin New Era (Peace Turn 1)
Shuffle the Succession Era Events into the draw pile
8
Place Award Markers
Place two randomly drawn Award Markers face-down in each Region's Award box, then reveal one per Region
9
Select Ministries
Each player selects two Ministries sight-seen face-down from eligible Eras
10
Draw Event cards
Each player draws three Events then discards down to three (discards face-down until both commit, then reveal)
11
Prepare Investment Chits
Draw nine available Chits for the Chit pool
12
Draw Global Demand tiles
Randomly draw three Global Demand tiles to select commodities eligible for scoring
13
Determine Initiative
France has Initiative on Peace Turn 1 and chooses which player takes the first Action Round

On Your Turn

What you can do during your turn.

1
Select an Investment Chit
Choose one available Chit to fund your actions for this Action Round
2
Resolve Events first
If playing an Event, it must fully resolve before other actions
3
Perform Major Action
Spend Action Points shown on the Chit without restrictions
4
Perform Minor Action
Spend AP for only one use or application
5
Pay base costs
Spend AP equal to the printed value on spaces (minimum cost to Shift is 1 AP)
6
Apply cost modifiers
Negative modifiers apply before positive ones
7
Build Fleets
Pay 4 MAP to place a new Fleet in the Navy Box (cannot Sail until next AR)
8
Sail Fleets
Pay 1 MAP to move to an empty Sea, or 2-3 MAP to displace an opposing Fleet
9
Build Forts
Flag an empty Fort space (must control an adjacent space at AR start)
10
Fix Damaged Forts
Pay base build cost -1 MAP to restore to Intact
11
Switch Damaged Forts
Pay base build cost +1 MAP (must have friendly Market or Fleet adjacent)
12
Quell Conflicts
Pay 2 MAP to remove Conflict markers
13
Buy Bonus War tiles
Pay 2 MAP each (maximum two per AR, maximum two per War Subset)
14
Use Advantages
Control by Flagging all connected spaces; use once per Peace Turn then Exhausted
15
Access Markets
May only Shift non-Isolated Markets, unless building a friendly Fort or Sailing a Fleet adjacent in the same AR
16
Take Debt
May freely take Debt within limit to augment Chit or Event AP conformingly
17
Pass and reduce Debt
Choose a Chit, do nothing, and reduce Debt by two
18
Perform Upgrade action
If Chit shows cycle symbol, swap face-down Basic War tiles (either with newly drawn tile or between War Subsets)
19
Reveal War tiles
Turn over all tiles placed in the current War Subset
20
Inflict initial tile results
Tile owners impose Debt increases, Fort Damage, Fleet displacement, or space Shifts on opponent if possible
21
Sum modifiers
Net all modifiers listed for the War Subset (tiles, Alliances, Conflicts, Forts, Fleets, Keywords)
22
Apply results
Tie is a draw; net loser adds Treaty Points; net winner scores VP and inflicts results including Conquest Points
23
Spend Conquest Points
Demand Territory Switch, Fort Switch, Market Change, or Fleet Change
24
Cleanup
Remove Conflict markers that modified the War Subset and return War tiles to pools
25
Score Regional Awards
Compare Flags plus Fleets in each Region; winner scores Award VP
26
Score Prestige
Compare Flags plus Fleets in Prestige spaces; leader scores 2 VP
27
Score Global Demand
Compare Flags in Demanded Markets; score and impose effects as listed by Era
28
Reduce Treaty Points
Each player forfeits all but four TP at end of Peace Turn

Winning

How to claim victory.

1
Achieve instant VP victory
Britain wins if VP marker reaches zero or less; France wins at 30 or more
2
Win all Awards in Scoring Phase
Win all four Regional Awards and three Global Demand Awards in a single Peace Turn Scoring Phase for instant victory
3
Dominate a War Turn
Win all War Subsets (four, or three in War Turn 4) at maximum result level for instant victory
4
Determine Final Scoring winner
After Peace Turn 6, calculate final VP
5
Check final VP position
If VP at or below 15, Britain wins; otherwise, France wins
6
Count valid spaces
Isolated Markets and Damaged Forts count for scoring; Conflicted spaces never count
7
Note tie scoring
Ties always score zero points

watch & Learn

Let the pros teach you with these top videos.

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FULL rules

Looking for the full details? Grab the complete rulebook as a downloadable PDF.

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