Imperial Settlers is a game that has zero tolerance for inefficiency, and it will force that same mind-set upon you.

This year, game designer Ignacy Trzewiczek brought us the next evolution of this engine building game, Imperial Settlers: Empires of the North. During the game, you’ve still got a Lookout phase (where players draw cards to determine which ones to keep) and an Action phase, with Action cards that can be tapped, Buildings that can be Razed, and Fields that can be Harvested.This contains the more ‘basic’ buildings that will let you ramp up your engine to make use of the more powerful faction unique locations.

Sadly, I didn’t draw my first Guardhouse card until the fourth round of the game; the Guardhouse grants two Raze tokens when built, and Raze tokens are required to Conquer any island. There is no deck construction anymore and without common cards, every card that comes into a players hand will be useful in some way.Here’s what intrigued me about the Expedition phase during each of my plays: one would think that a tight card market would lead to some island cards being significantly better than other cards. It feels like you are playing in isolation and it isn't much fun waiting for other people to make their turn since their cards are completely different and so not much interest for you to watch what they are up to.

He and his wife Merry were visiting the Chicago area the weekend before Gen Con, and we were treated to a learning session with Ignacy’s latest game creation: Imperial Settlers. For instance, a player could pay 4 workers to draw a card as well as take a stone from the supply all in one single action. Our ultimate guide to board game cafes has everything you need to know about what a board game cafe is, or how to find one in your area! One of the easiest ways to get resources and abilities is to sail over to a nearby island and pillage it.

Even when the characters depicted are involved in doing something nefarious, they are unquestionably adorable while they are doing it. Even with all the particular rules in Imperial Settlers, it has been very easy to teach, and it plays surprisingly quickly for such a “thinky” game. Each player selects one of four factions (Romans, Egyptians, Barbarians, or Japanese) and uses the corresponding Faction deck in conjunction with a deck of Common cards to produce resources, acquire more cards, build locations, and to score points.

Player turns are quick and snappy, you have just enough time between your turns to work out what the next step in your Grand Plan is, as this game rings with options. Resources are often so tight in Empires of the North that you’ll need to use the action wheel to solve all the world’s problems.

The Action Phase is next, in which players will take turns playing one of 5 available actions (or passes), continuing clockwise until all player have passed. If reading about how the game is actually played bores you, then feel free to scroll down to the THOUGHTS section. To do this, he pays 1 Food, and then tucks the chosen card under the top edge of his Faction board, keeping the Deal area of the card visible. Imperial Settlers: Why Can’t We Be Friends, is the first Empire Pack for Imperial Settlers and includes new common cards for the central deck, new cards for each of the base game’s four factions, and two new cards for use in the solo game with some factions.