Empires of the Middle Ages, subtitled "A Dynamic Simulation of Medieval Europe, 771-1467", is a historical board game published by Simulations Publications, Inc. (SPI) in 1980 that simulates grand strategy and diplomacy in the Middle Ages.
Empires of the Middle Ages, subtitled "A Dynamic Simulation of Medieval Europe, 771-1467", is a historical board game published by Simulations Publications, Inc. (SPI) in 1980 that simulates grand strategy and diplomacy in the Middle Ages.
Empires of the Middle Ages is a board game for 2–6 players, each of whom controls an empire in medieval Europe between 771 and 1467. Each empire is composed of various areas that are rated for wealth, religion, language and population.
The SPI edition game box holds:
The object of the game is to create and grow an empire in terms of wealth, geography and stability. [1]
Each Round represents five years of game time. To begin a round, the Year cards are shuffled, and each player receives five facedown. Players are not allowed to look at them. Player order for the Round is determined by leader stature rating and number of areas controlled, with the highest rated player choosing when they wish to play during that Round (first, second, last, etc.). Once a player order has been determined, the active player
Once all player have had a turn, the next Round is played. [1]
Five Rounds (representing 25 years of game time) is a Game Turn. [1]
A number of short scenarios (ranging from four to eight Game Turns equalling one to two centuries) are included as a means to learn the rules. Once players are familiar with the rules, they can play the entire campaign from the year 770 (the accession of Charlemagne) to 1475. [1]
Empires of the Middle Ages was designed by James Dunnigan and developed by Anthony F. Buccini and Redmond A. Simonsen. Simonsen also developed the graphic design of the game. [2]
The game proved popular, and after its release in early 1980, remained near the top of SPI's Top Ten bestseller list for the rest of the year. [3]
SPI published a thematic sequel game of empire building that used a modified set of the same rules, albeit set in a distant future, titled The Sword and the Stars . [4]
After the demise of SPI, Caledon Software Designs created a DOS computer version of the board game for 1–8 players, published in 1994 under the title Rise of the West. [5]
Decision Games acquired the rights to the board game and released an updated second edition with additional Event cards in 2004. [2]
In Issue 33 of Phoenix , Roger Sandell felt that the main problem of this game was that "it gives little sense of the historical changes taking place in the period it depicts." He also noted that the game didn't "take much account of differing styles of government from country to country." Despite this, Sandell felt that "As a whole the game plays well. It moves reasonably quickly and the eternal problems that beset each nation mean that it is not simply a game of attempting to conquer everything in sight." He did note that there were periods where there was little player interaction. He concluded, "to some extent, an attempt has been made to put too much into one package and one set of rules and that the game might have benefited from attempting to look at a more restricted area, either historically or geographically." [1]
In Slingshot, John Graham-Leigh reviewed the second edition published by Decision Games, and noted that everything was bigger — the maps, the number of counters, even the number of Event cards. But Graham-Leigh was disappointed with the rulebook, which was simply a reprint of the 1st edition rules with a separate supplement for new rules, leaving old and in some cases superseded rules in place. He called this "a very lazy way to do it, and results in a lot of referring back and forth." However, he concluded that "Overall, the game looks to be a genuine improvement on the original. It will best suit players who have a good deal of patience and a fair amount of time available for playing, plus some knowledge of the history and an ability to laugh at misfortune." [6]
Empires of the Middle Ages was chosen for inclusion in the 2007 book Hobby Games: The 100 Best . Game designer Timothy Brown commented, "The game stands out for its innovative balance of mechanics and graphics, guaranteeing an enjoyable session every time." [7]
At the 1979 Origins Awards, Empires of the Middle Ages won the Charles S. Roberts Award for "Best Pre-20th Century Game of 1980". [8]
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