Imperial Struggle

The game setup begins by laying out the board. The event deck is prepared by separating succession era cards and placing them in the event deck area. Investment tiles are mixed and stacked face down in the investment tile display. War tiles are dealt, with each player drawing four war tiles for the War of the Spanish Succession. Flags and squadrons are placed on the map as directed, with remaining squadrons placed in player boxes. The game turn marker is set to turn 1, and the victory point marker to 0. Global demand tiles are mixed and placed face down. Advantage tiles are placed on the map, and initiative markers are placed in the initiative space.

The primary objective in Imperial Struggle is to accumulate more victory points (VP) than your opponent. This is achieved through various means, including controlling regions on the map, winning wars, and gaining prestige. Players must also manage their debt and strategic resources effectively to outmaneuver their rival and secure global dominance.

A game turn in Imperial Struggle follows a structured sequence of phases. The deck phase (turns 3 & 5) involves shuffling new era event cards into the event deck. The debt limit increase phase (turns 3 & 5) increases the debt limit by 4. The award phase deals award tiles to each region. The global demand phase shuffles global demand tiles and draws three. The reset phase removes all exhausted markers and moves investment tiles from available to used. The deal cards phase places nine investment tiles into available tiles and shuffles used tiles when stacks run out, drawing three event cards and discarding two. The ministry phase allows players to select ministry cards. Finally, the initiative phase determines player order for the next turn.

Scoring in Imperial Struggle occurs in several phases. Regional scoring awards victory points based on control of regions, with additional points for flags and squadrons. Prestige scoring grants 2 VP to the player with more prestige spaces. Global demand scoring rewards players controlling more markets of a commodity. A victory check phase occurs at the end of each era, where players win if they meet specific VP conditions or control all regional and global demand awards. Final scoring happens at the end of the game, tallying all VP sources.

The game concludes after the final turn of the third era. However, an immediate victory can occur if, during the victory check phase, Britain achieves 30 or more victory points, or France achieves 38 or more victory points. If neither player meets these conditions, the game proceeds to final scoring, where all victory points are tallied to determine the winner.