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What is Tabletop Ubuntu? This column aims to discuss the thriving genre of digital tabletop games. Prior to the pandemic, I did not play these games much myself, preferring to spend my time and money on boxes and boxes of wood, plastic, and paper. I stacked them nicely on shelves. They were beautiful. When I ran out of space, I bought more shelves. And they were beautiful. When COVID happened, I watched my games slowly gather (more) dust on the shelf. It seemed natural to try out digital versions that I could play with others. Pros of digital tabletop games: you save shelf space, nothing gets dusty and the components are never lost. Cons: you are probably still going to buy games that you will not have time to play. Unless that’s just me? I mean, it was such a good sale, and expansions were included! Anyway, my point is, if your physical board game library is taking up too much room, you can now fill up your hard drive instead (likely for a fraction of the cost). Okay, that is enough chatter, on to the game!
Do you have a minute? How about eight? In the time it takes to make a cup of bean juice*, you can play a game of Eight-Minute Empire. Developed by Acram Digital, Eight-Minute Empire is a fast-paced strategy game that uses card-driven area control. It is a port of the tabletop game of the same name, which was designed by Ryan Laukat and published by Red Raven Games. At the time of this writing, the game is available on Steam for $5.99 (It also has Android and iOS versions, which are probably fun, but that’s not my jam. I’m reviewing Tabletop Ubuntu games here).
In Eight-Minute Empire, players take turns selecting one card from six that are displayed. During setup, players are given an amount of coins based on the total number of players. They then bid to determine turn order. On each player’s turn, they select one of six cards from the card row. The first card is free and subsequent cards cost coins. Each card provides a resource and also has an immediate action that the player can use. Resources are worth victory points at the end of the game depending on type. Actions allow the player to recruit more troops, move troops on land, move troops over water, destroy other troops, or build a city where subsequent troops can be recruited. For example, the first card in Figure 1 is free, provides one iron, and lets the player recruit three troops. The fourth card costs two coins, provides one tree, and lets the player destroy one soldier from another player or build a city.
If a player has the most troops in a region, they control the region and gain 1 victory point. Likewise, if a player controls the most regions on a continent, they control the continent and gain one victory point. For example, the map in Figure 2 shows individual regions controlled by blue, red, yellow, and green. This control is indicated by the border highlight color of each region. Because the red player controls the majority of regions, they control the continent.
The central tension in playing Eight-Minute Empire is balancing set collection of resources with recruiting and moving troops in order to control regions and continents. The simple rules, fast play, randomization of cards, and different AI levels give it a lot of replay value. Additional maps are also available for purchase.
For me, Eight-Minute Empire finds the sweet spot in terms of speed and content. It is easy for beginners and quite challenging if you turn up the AI. Despite its name, I can often play the game in five minutes. In fact, I played multiple games while writing this review (those screenshots weren’t going to take themselves after all). If you are looking for a fast-paced, turn-based strategy game, I highly recommend it!