Imperium: Classics

This is losing a star for thin cards. Probably should be two stars off since that’s the entirety of this game. You will need to sleeves these if you are going to play more than five times (and why get it if you plan to play it less?). It’s a bit disappointing to see designers make card games with stock of lower quality than Bicycle playing cards.

The first time I played this, I started at around 11 PM. About an hour later it was 3 AM. Imperium is a unique deck builder. You choose a civilization, which usually starts as a barbarian society and works toward empire status. Each civilization has a unique deck of starting cards, and you cycle through the deck to add nation, ascension, and advancement cards into your deck, all the while managing the contents of your deck by putting cards into your history and garrisoning them under regions in play. Each civilization works a bit differently, making for a decent variety. If you're looking for a step up in complexity from Dominion, this is an excellent purchase. Classics is the better game for beginners, as it has the simpler civilizations.

Too slow for my tastes but I'm sure some will like it.

This is such an interesting and innovative deck building game. Kind of like Dominion meets Age of Empires. There's some issues with the graphic design, but the gameplay is very fun and nuanced, once you get past your first game.

Great deck builder that is very thematic and incorporates the civ building into the gameplay. Includes 8 empires in the box, leading to lots of replay value through trying all the different combos. Would recommend it 2 player, as more players increase downtime between turns. Be prepared for longer games, as this is not a light game.

Only played it solo so far, challenging but a fun and thought provoking game!

One of the better deck builders. The asymmetry gives the game a lot of replay value. Theme is strong and art is clear and vibrant. Setup and tear down is a bit of a bear, and the game and larger player counts can bog down, but at 2 or solo, it’s a really crunchy game that doesn’t drag out too long.

Civilization builder that is purely care based that has enough complexity to keep me interested without bogging down lighter gamers. Solo mode is pretty good as well.

Do you like cards and Civ? You can like this a lot!

Great game. Easier to get into initially than legends. Great starting place. Deeper than expected.