Empire the Board Game

Empire is one of those games that pretty much everyone has heard about, and has a general idea of what the object of the game is and how the rules work. But despite its widespread cultural presence, relatively few people have actually played the game, and even fewer have played it all the way through to the end even once. The game's original creator is probably the only one to have ever played it according to the original rules.
The main goal of the board game is for the player to use their resources and armies to conquer the world. One of he reasons that people rarely play the game to its end is that at some point it becomes evident which player will win, and at that point the game really is not much fun anymore, particularly for the loser(s.)

History

The first game sets were very basic, made out of simple materials and not particularly ornate. Once it became known as a challenging strategy game for 'smart people,' rich people started to commission increasingly elaborate sets.

Components and tools

Empire is a game with many pieces, the most important of which is the game board. The game board depicts a map. Depending on the exact version of the game, it might be a map of the world, or a continent, or some smaller region. The map is divided up into various provinces. A large number of small markers in different colors and/or shapes are used to represent armies. There are also markers for generals, forts, and bridges, which are placed on the map to effect gameplay, and small tokens to represent money. A deck of cards with various events that either help or hinder the players. 10-sided dice are used to determine the outcome of battles and other events.