The Settlers series can be found not only on gaming screens, but also on desktop computers. This is because this brand has managed to make a breakthrough in board games as well. Today we have a review for you on its latest addition. The following paragraphs will tell you how Miners of the Empire is played and whether you should pay attention to them.
- Number of players: 15
- Game time: 45-60 minutes
- Price: 779 CZK (Tlama Games)
- Age: 10+
Empire Miners takes you deep
In The Settlers you mostly build. It’s similar here, only you can’t create magnificent cities, but the mine has four floors, or better yet, it can have four floors in total. There are ten rounds ahead of you, during which you will always expand your mine by ten rooms in Empire Miners. At the start, you have four cards of your choice at hand, which you work with and try to connect them with the floors above as efficiently as possible.
It is necessary that there is always something above this map, because diggers always need a cart with which they will pull gold and diamonds out of the depths of the mine. Therefore, you actively connect cards and create interesting combinations from them. At your disposal are items that most of the time belong to at least one of the six factions. In Miners of the Empire you can meet Romans, Egyptians, Scots, Japanese, cavemen and inhabitants of the mythical Atlantis.
Each group found in the mines brings its own special bonuses depending on the faction’s focus. The Scots love money, the Egyptians promote knowledge, and the Japanese love the ability to work together. You can shape your mine through gameplay to include as much community as possible, or conversely, focus on having only one or at most two factions in the complex. The basic assortment of cards is not constant. Of course, you can throw away unnecessary pieces over time and pick up new ones, activating the mine.
And it is precisely this action that is one of the main reasons why individual floors of the shaft must be firmly connected to the previous ones. When you place a card, the activation phase immediately begins, where everyone simultaneously selects a piece to activate. He then launches the chosen card above him, you take the bonus from it and continue in this way until you reach the surface, where you choose between receiving two coins, three new cards, or moving around the development field.
Without progress you won’t hit rock bottom.
Evolving your mining faction involves a number of positive elements in Miners of the Empire. Sometimes you get money in it, sometimes you get victory points in the form of diamonds. However, you will mostly be trying to get tier 4 cards because the only way to get them is by going through development. You always have three tabs at your disposal, which always offer an interesting bonus to the one who fills them out, after which he can rush to work on the next development board.
As for the card activation itself, it is often associated not only with the choice of cards, but also with some special ability. More than once you will encounter the fact that individual works have more than one possible solution, which is due to the peculiarities of this grouping. The Scots, for example, sell progress and diamonds. Additionally, when you have enough of them in the mine, the price requirement drops quickly with each Scottish card. Sometimes you come across works that combine two nations into one, and it’s just fun.
At the start of each round, various events affect the Empire’s Miner group, determining the shape of that turn. Sometimes this is a significant factor that manifests itself already at the start. Other times it lasts the entire round. Thanks to this, you can reduce the price of cards, get diamonds for certain moves, or otherwise benefit from your actions. This element is implemented very well here. But once ten event cards disappear, the game is over. At this point, you count all the diamonds and associated gold carts, then the one with the highest value wins. Any draw is determined by the money won.
Miners of the Empire is an affordable mining cart.
The next addition to The Settlers series is an interesting card building game that very effectively implements the idea of connecting buildings and different game factions. Personally, I liked Miners of the Empire immediately after the first game. If you’re looking for an affordable part to start “building” with, this might be a good choice.
We would like to thank Czech distributor Blackfire for providing us with a copy of Empire Miners.
Source :Indian TV
