Emperor’s Choice

About this board game

Emperor’s Choice is a strategic board game for 3–5 players, played over approximately 120 minutes and six rounds. Set in 221 BC, after Emperor Qin Shihuang united China, it places players in the roles of powerful subordinates competing for influence within the Imperial Court.

Players advance the Emperor’s policies and projects while carefully managing their own standing. Their achievements can include building sections of the Great Wall, amassing troops and carriages, recruiting philosophers and academics, and collecting important literature.

Characters within the Imperial Court also have an important role. Players must employ and properly utilize these characters as they pursue the achievements that will earn them victory points. The central challenge is that the Emperor’s policies are constantly subject to influence and change, so the priorities shaping the game may not remain fixed.

• Promote the Emperor’s various policies and large-scale projects.
• Build sections of the Great Wall and amass troops and carriages.
• Recruit philosophers and academics while collecting important literature.
• Employ and properly utilize characters within the Imperial Court.

At the end of the sixth round, the player with the most victory points wins. Players earn these points by presenting their achievements according to the Emperor’s policies, making influence and timing essential to a successful bid for recognition.

With its focus on imperial reform, courtly standing, and monumental projects, Emperor’s Choice presents a contest to determine which subordinate can exert the greatest influence and ensure their accomplishments go down in the annals of history.