Imperium: Horizons

So much thought has gone into each civilisation that you actually feel like you're learning about the civilisations whilst playing. I've only played 3 of them (all solo and multiple playthroughs each) but they all feel very different, you really have to play true to the civilisation in order to succeed and therefore each civilisation is a unique game in its own right (absolute bargain for the price). It can end up taking up a lot of table space and i've also found play time hugely variable. My first playthrough of the Abbasids (who use the trade module and are my favourite so far) took 6 hours. Japanese (peaceful and probably the most relaxing experience so far) was 2 hours. Magyar (aggressive - I haven't come close to cracking this one yet, clearly i'm more comfortable with the peaceful civs) took about 4 hours. The AI is fantastic and despite the potentially intimidating tables it actually flows really well and offers some really dynamic interaction. After a couple turns I had the AI table pretty much memorized. It's a really impressive system and whilst when the imperium system initially came out I wasn't excited by it, Imperium Horizons is probably my favourite board game I own. It's really crunchy and i've been left exhausted but satisfied after every playthrough. Cons: - The giant floppy rulebook is a nuisance to use and whilst I appreciate the detail that's gone into it to let you play with a lot of clarity (including some turn examples with pictures!). It's also needlessly extensive considering pretty much everything you need to know is on the cards themselves (and they're different for every civ). This game would have benefited from a quick start guide. - The solo practice mode was the first game I played (because that's what the rulebook suggested) and it left me quite underwhelmed, I can see the use for it but would not recommend it as a first run through of the game as it doesn't showcase where the game shines: the incredible AI and the civ interaction. - The insert is useless as you still can't store the box on vertically, it takes up a ridiculous amount of space and still doesn't have separate token compartments (you'll need to provide your own plastic bags). The plastic insert lid (for the organizer labels for when you play) also doesn't really close properly and they move around (rendering it useless). It does look pretty though, quite impressive to see the spread. The cons are all minor, more cosmetic than anything, I adore this game but I wanted to be honest.

If you have the previous two Imperium games then you’re going to like this a lot. With the addition of several more nations and the addition of a trade mechanism this game is definitely worth getting. It’s a big box too so you can store all three of the series in this box. If you sleeve your cards then the insert isn’t much use so you’ll probably need to look at picking up the Folded Space insert for this game. Like the other games in the series it plays really well solo.