Gamehelpimperialminers

Core Mechanisms

• Simultaneous Play: All players act at the same time during each phase.
• Chain Reactions: Every newly placed card activates itself and one card above it in a sequence leading up to the Surface board.
• Faction Synergies: Six different factions offer unique strategic paths.

Card Types & Factions

Mine cards are divided into four levels (I to IV), built into the mine from top to bottom.

• Scots: Powerful effects with costs that decrease for every other Scottish card in your mine.
• Atlanteans: Utilize Machine tokens that grow in power over the course of the game.
• Egyptians: Focus on rapid progression along the Progress boards.
• Japanese: Benefit from having a wide variety of different factions within your mine.
• Barbarians: Extremely strong effects but often come with the risk of Collapse tokens.
• Romans: Reward precise placement and the collection of completed Carts.

Gameplay

The game lasts exactly **10 rounds**. Each round consists of two phases:

1. Event Phase

• Draw one card from the Event deck.
• All players resolve its effect (Immediate, Ongoing, or End of Round).

2. Mine Phase

All players perform these steps simultaneously:

1. Play a Card: Choose a card from your hand, pay its cost, and place it in the corresponding level of your mine.
   • Placement Rule: Every card must be adjacent to at least one card directly above it (or the Surface board).
2. Trigger Chain Reaction:
   • Activate the newly placed card (choose one of its effects).
   • Then, choose one adjacent card directly above it and activate it.
   • Repeat this until you reach the Surface board, where you choose one of its three bonus effects.
   • Each card can be activated only once per round.

Important In-Game Details

• Machines: Can be placed on cards to enhance effects (max 3 per card).
• Collapse: Blocks a card. When activated, only the Collapse token is removed instead of resolving the card's effect.
• Carts: Can be completed between cards to score points at the end.
• Progress: Move your marker on a Progress board to unlock powerful one-time bonuses.
• Hand Limit: Maximum of 8 cards after resolving any effect.

End of Game & Scoring

After 10 rounds, the player with the most Victory Points wins.

• Total sum of Victory Point tokens.
• +1 point for every completed Cart in the mine.
• Ties are broken by the most gold, then by the most cards in the mine.