After the Empire

After the Empire made it out of the new-game pile because its premise is immediately appealing and it does not ask for an endless evening. It presents well; the plastic pieces could use more care, but building up for a siege has real table appeal. A promise is not a ruleset, unfortunately.

The game marries worker placement to tower defence: you make your choices, then invaders arrive to test the castles you have built. Our first play came from a misread that put four face-down enemy cards into every round. It was brutally difficult, nothing survived, and yet the failure at least had some teeth.

With the invaders running as intended, the second game felt nearly like a different design. Very few castles fell, and the siege had all the urgency of an audit. Then further rule errors emerged, affecting the economy; they correct some of that softness, but apparently also permit a winning approach that ignores the castle entirely. Tower defence with no reason to defend the tower. Economical, in its way.

I would play it once or twice, especially with people who have not yet worn out their welcome for board games and may find the mixture fresh. It is not quite a gateway game, but it sits one step above one. Anyone wanting a design that survives close inspection and rewards proper defence should look elsewhere.