Founders of the Empire

About this board game

Founders of the Empire is a tile-placement and resource-management board game for 2–4 players, with games lasting around 45 minutes. Set along the Mediterranean Sea three hundred years before the Common Era, it challenges players to build the domain destined to become a great civilization.

Each player develops a personal domain using four types of square tiles. Green landscape tiles—including forests, cliffs, lakes, and other natural features—can be added freely and provide wood, stone, plants, and water. Blue village buildings must be placed beside the natural resources they require, such as a mine needing stone and water.

• Purple city structures provide resources and grant action tokens.
• Marketplaces, inns, workshops, and army camps belong to the city tile category.
• Red temples and altars provide 1–3 victory points and require specific resource combinations.
• Action tokens can buy opponents’ resources, pillage enemy tiles, move resources between tiles, or convert resources into victory points.

On each turn, add a tile from the stack to the common market. You may then play one of your tokens before selecting a tile from the market and adding it to your own domain.

The game ends once all red tiles have been added to players’ domains. Players total the victory points from their temples and tokens, and the player with the highest score wins. With its connected landscape, village, city, and temple tiles, Founders of the Empire combines expanding territories with carefully managed resources and timely actions.