Potemkin Empire

About this board game

Potemkin Empire is a bluffing and building game for 3–5 players, with sessions lasting about 45 minutes. Set in Russia in 1787, it casts players as village mayors preparing for Empress Catherine the Great’s surprise journey down the Dnieper River.

The Empress will soon pass your modest village, but there is no time or money to truly transform it. Instead, you must create the most impressive view possible from the river. What lies behind the facades matters less than the opinion of Imperial Majesty.

To develop your settlement, you draft interior cards that may represent real or fake buildings. You then combine those interiors with facades to create an imposing, if potentially flimsy, village. Carefully presenting your construction can make a humble settlement appear prosperous and stable.

• Produce goods in industrial buildings to score points.
• Use spies to expose opponents’ fake buildings.
• Construct government and cultural buildings.
• Pass off fake buildings as real ones.

Every mayor is trying to look more successful than the villages around them, while also finding ways to reveal where competitors are faking their prosperity. The result is a contest of drafting, deception, and carefully arranged appearances.

With its theatrical premise and focus on appearances, Potemkin Empire turns the legendary idea of Potemkin villages into a competitive tabletop challenge. Build the most convincing settlement, earn the most points, and win the Empress’s approval before her visit is over.