Review of the Twilight Imperium
Review of the Twilight Imperium
Nothing creates chaos like a power vacuum. And what could be more chaotic than a vacuum of power in a vacuum space ?
The emperor of the galactic empire Lazax died. Now, on behalf of your people, you must do whatever it takes to ensure that your faction becomes a new center of power.
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See the full overview of Twilight Imperium board games below.
A brief overview of the Twilight Empire
Twilight Imperium is a powerful galactic diplomacy and war game for 3 to six players .
As the leader of one of the many foreign civilizations, you must expand your influence and control over the remnants of the Lazax empire by meeting goals and collecting winning points. Whoever scores 10 points first wins the game and takes the seat of power in the capital Mecatol Rex.
On a board made up of 51 system tiles, no game should be the same. Crude force, negotiations, diplomacy, bribery, trade and technological discoveries are just some of the weapons at your disposal. If you win, you will need a combination of all.
Unpacking Twilight Imperium
The universe is called space for a reason: it is made up of a lot of empty space (don’t quote me about that). The Twilight Imperium, however, is a whole other story. You’re going to have to rent some extra space for this big guy. Together you will get:
- 354 miniature plastic (59 for each fraction)
- 17 fractional sheets
- 6 command sheets
- 51 system boards
- 8 strategic maps
- 8 ten-sided cubes
- 1 track with victory
- 454 maps (to present planets, technologies, goals and programs, to name a few)
- 714 tokens
That's right. It's big. Your first game could use more than 35 tiles to assemble a galaxy, depending on how many players you have in the group. While each faction will also need a lot of space to store reinforcements, cards and chips.
But it looks great when you manage to set it up, although it can take a while. A vast galaxy plunges a table into a sea of dark blue, ready to conquer.
The best part - and the one that takes up the most space - are the Miniatures . They are beautifully crafted, each with fine detail. What's more, there are tons of them. This is undoubtedly what contributes to the hefty price, but only the components make up for it.
As for the artwork, I’m a big, big fan. It’s nothing particularly innovative, but it relies on nostalgia for the sci-fi of the elderly. The deep, bold colors are very retro and evoke memories of a bunch of old SEGA Mega Drive games I played. You also don’t have to be a trekkie to notice its impact here.
How to play Twilight Imperium
Setup
For starters, each player is randomly assigned one of six factions that have different strengths and weaknesses. They take the appropriate tiles of the home system and the cards for the home planets listed on it, along with the units and technologies on their fraction sheet.
Place your game board on your first game as described in the instructions, but you can create custom galaxy layouts in future games using modular system tiles.
In the end, everyone takes a secret target card and hides it from other players. Then place ten objective cards face down next to the track with the winning points and turn the first two over so everyone can see.
The goal
To win the Twilight Imperium, you must be the first player to score 10 winning points. These are achieved by meeting goals (either your secret or shared) and are awarded at the status stage. When someone scores 10 winning points, the game ends immediately.
Stages of conversion
Twilight Imperium takes place in four phases:
- Strategy phase
Players take turns publicly taking one of eight strategic cards from the Common Area . They are divided into leadership, diplomacy, politics, construction, trade, warfare, technology and imperial.
These allow the owner a special action in the next stage. For example, the Leadership card will give the owner additional tokens for commands, the Imperial card will allow the owner to take an additional objective card, and the Trade card will help the owner gather their resources.
Each card has a number between one and eight, which determines the order of the players in the next stage (ie initiative).
- Action phase
This is the bulk of the game. In the order of the initiative, the players perform one action in a row (some of which are described in more detail below) and continue in a group until all the players have decided to pass. There are three types of measures:
- Tactical - moving units, fighting with other players, creating new units or various other actions that affect the units on the board. One action costs one command token.
- Strategic - Use the main action on your strategic card. There will also be a secondary action on the card that your opponents will be able to use when you use the primary action. It costs them a command token.
- Component - Use the action on one of your controlled components, including the fraction sheet and technology cards.
Effective management of your command sheet and command tokens is important here. Once you obtain the command tokens, you need to choose there what type of future action you will assign it to by placing it in the appropriate place on your command sheet.
- State phase
It’s time to reward and clean up. Players who meet the goal cut their points and further goals are revealed. Then the repair can be done and everything is restored. Each player also receives two command tokens.
- Agenda phase
Now players in the galactic world are voting on measures that will affect future rules of the game. The more influence you have, the more votes you can cast!
Control of the planets
When the player takes control of the planet, he takes his corresponding card. You can see on the card to which sources and influences you are entitled. Resources can be used to gain units of technology, while influence allows you to gain command tokens or gain more votes in the agenda phase.
Invasion and struggle
Breaking into new systems is a big part of the Twilight Imperium. To do this, players will have to enter the system and knock out all the ships defending it before they can defeat the ground forces.
The fight is solved with the same number of dice fights as the units you have in battle. We roll them separately for each unit. If the roll is higher than the combat value of this unit, it scores and destroys one of the units of the opposing player. The other player can choose the unit.
Moving through the game
The above is just the light dust of action we can expect. As progress changes, players will develop and upgrade their fleets of ships, invading planets to expand their galactic hegemony, unlock new technologies, trade with other empires or bribe other countries, and conduct other diplomatic missions. All in an effort to achieve goals and win points.
The first player to score ten wins.
Your first game Twilight Imperium
There is a lot going on in the Twilight Empire and you will definitely miss something. One of the most important areas to try to correct yourself is the strategic map, as it will hang you for the entire phase of the campaign.
So, first of all, it is not uncommon to make a mistake if we assume that we can use both actions on the card. No. The primary action is for you, and the secondary can be used by others. So don’t consider this in any plan you plan unless you consider it to be available to your opponents.
Then, if you are not a person who has played a strategic card, remember to use these secondary powers! They are there, so make the most of them.
Lastly, when playing, keep in mind that you need to use your main action on the strategic card. You won’t be able to do it before you do.
Even when allocating factions at the beginning of the game, I think it’s best not to allow people to choose. Each faction has very different abilities and statistics, and some are certainly more desirable than others. As such, to alleviate any resentment over the game, which could last 8 hours, I recommend doing so at random. That way, the last one won’t feel like he’s left with thin choices.
Advantages disadvantages
Twilight Imperium is an extensive experience that combines several concepts and creates a broad strategy game. This is not a simple military campaign. Oh no. There are a whole host of issues and levers that will give strategy buffs more than enough to nibble on, from ground invasion logistics to high-level diplomacy.
Advantages:
- Complex strategy game
- Good balance of strategies
- Modular tiles mean excellent repeatability
Weaknesses:
- Completion can take 5+ hours
- For some, it might be a bit weighty (literally and figuratively)
It is especially good to balance different approaches, especially with strategic maps. No card seemed significantly more powerful than the others. This is aided by the various goals set throughout the game that encourage players to develop their strategies. I liked that success did not necessarily depend on who had the largest army - although this will be of great help.
I, too, am a fan of any game that allows for trading and relationships that can consequently be built (and destroyed). It works great in the Twilight Imperium and nicely adds an extra layer to the game’s diplomacy. In particular, it allows and regulates binding and non-binding transactions, it can help solve some potential arguments ...
Well balanced
And while this is a very multi-layered game, I think the balance of depth and detail with playfulness is just right. The fight and invasion aspect, for example, isn’t easy to throw a few pieces of plastic on a card, throw dice, and claim it’s yours. Instead, you need to figure out how to destroy defense ships; bomb ground defenses; to defend the anti-ship cannons ... even before the company even set foot on the sand / snow / mud (delete if necessary). Physical invasion of the soil is then a whole other thing!
As we all know, man does not simply walk into the Mordor universe .
This extensive level of detail invigorates. And while much needs to be accepted, this is not surprising. The various mechanics, such as mapping, initiatives, fighting, trading, and voting on the agenda, are simple enough that we can understand them at first reading.
Comfortable ...
These simple systems keep the game attractive, although it can sometimes take up to 8 hours. Processes don’t take as long as in other in-depth strategy games like this, and that’s a big plus. Not to mention, the fact that players exchange individual actions in the action phase focuses everything.
Of course, 8 hours is still a big part of the time and this may not be to everyone’s liking. In particular, the first game could easily come down to this once players learn the ropes - especially given the rules , it’s barely the most concise. Before you start, make sure everyone is on the long road.
TL; DR
Twilight Imperium is a huge but useful company. If you take control of an alien race, you must direct your civilization to become the dominant force in the galaxy.
It will take a long time to make an effort, but it will make you incredibly happy. It’s not just a war of spaceships, explosions and thermal detonators (though it certainly is). It is an all-encompassing 4X clash of economics, politics, diplomacy, trade and technology. Perfect (space) war.
Conclusion: a verdict?
When the game goes into that kind of depth, it has to mix smoothly to keep things interesting and the players engaged. Needless to say, I was completely lost in the world of the Twilight Imperium. Preparations for battle and waging war were intense. But because of galactic diplomacy, technological breakthroughs, interstellar trade agreements, and politics, I was all upset. Who doesn’t love a nice set of trade negotiations, right Star Wars fans?
In addition, the modular tiles that make up the map mean that you can create hundreds of different star systems and create a very different challenge each time. So while the Twilight Imperium may cost you a good amount in the beginning, the total amount of gaming hours you get is an incredibly effective investment.
When your band finishes Twilight Imperium, you’ll feel like you’ve just made history . Empires rose and fell. The heroic resistance movements intensified before they crumbled to dust. Legends were born ...
But it was not free. You will talk about them for years to come.
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