Emira

About this board game

Emira is a competitive game for 3–5 players, with each game taking about 100 minutes. Players take the roles of Arabian sheiks seeking to expand their harems by attracting princesses with different preferences.

Each round introduces another princess, and her particular preferences determine which sheik she finds most attractive. Before she makes her choice, players compete in auctions to decide who will perform available actions. These choices shape each sheik’s resources, appearance, and status as the contest for the princess continues.

During the auction-driven rounds, players may choose to play event cards or acquire improvements and resources. Available purchases include spice caravans, palace sections, and camels, while investments in appearance and status can make a sheik more appealing to the princess who arrives that round.

• Auctions: Bid for the opportunity to perform an action each round.
• Princess preferences: Each new princess evaluates the competing sheiks according to her own preferences.
• Harem goals: Personal goal cards provide different routes to victory, such as collecting six princesses or acquiring four princesses with three specific skills.

After every player has performed an action, the princess selects the sheik she prefers. Players must balance immediate opportunities with the requirements of their individual goal cards, deciding how best to develop their position while competing for the favor of the current princess.

Originally known as Harem, Emira won first place in the 2004 Hippodice Spieleautorenwettbewerb. It was released in 2006 and combines auctions, character preferences, acquisitions, and varied objectives in a contest to build the most successful harem.