While I deem it too early to provide a definitive review or a solid strategy guide for Imperial Struggle, some aspects can definitely be analyzed. One of them is of course the initial set-up of the game, which is specific to each nation and provides different opportunities. What follows is analysis of the major game dimensions with a brief summary of each. A more detailed article – what to do with those opportunities – will follow once I play more games of this fantastic title.

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Other articles from The Boardgames Chronicle regarding Imperial Struggle:

Imperial Struggle – what’s in the box?

Imperial Struggle – initial after-action report

Imperial Struggle AAR – a crushing French victory

Europe

• Control (Award Marker) – France starts with 4-3 lead
• Prestige – both sides are equal with 1 space controlled by each

Probably the most important theater. You cannot neglect it and plan to win but controlling only that area will not grant you the victory. What is worth remembering – political spaces do not need adjacency, so Europe is virtually open for all possible diplomatic actions from each side. It is also full of advantages (7 of such) which can be a powerful addition.

North America

• Control (Award Marker) – equal, with 4 spaces controlled by each faction
• Trade Goods – Furs – both sides are equal with 1 space controlled by each
• Trade Goods – Fish – Britain starts with 1-0 lead

All French areas are in the Northern Sub-Region, while all British in the Southern. As this is a mainly economic (Markets) region it is hard to get to some of the spaces and take control of them or build a fort. Adjacency is a key. A well-placed fleet can help, while a conflict marker can stop the expansion.

Caribbean

• Control (Award Marker) – equal, with 5 spaces controlled by each faction
• Trade Goods – Tobacco – Britain starts with 1-0 lead
• Trade Goods – Sugar – France starts with 2-1 lead

A very thematic theatre – all those Pirates! I tend to forget that Florida and Louisiana is also part of this, thus overlooking those spaces often. You need to build your economy empire step by step, again preferably with fleet assistance remembering about the adjacency. Here you can also use the Optional Variant with Spanish presence. The fight in the Caribbean could be very fierce.

India

• Control (Award Marker) – equal, with 4 spaces controlled by each faction
• Trade Goods – Cotton – France starts with 2-1 lead
• Trade Goods – Spice – British starts with 1-0 lead

A very balanced theatre – and a very interesting one. There are initially two choke-points of interest – West Bengal (Cotton) in the Northern Sub-Region and Tiruchirappali (Spice) in the Southern which once taken over, provides access to a broad spectrum of possibilities. While not a primary target for initial turns for any of the sides, whoever will find some resources to start investing here will reap the fruits of this foresight.

Fleets

Not surprisingly, the British start with advantage here. It can be strengthened by one of their early ministers. This should not be underestimated – Naval squadrons are a very mobile device, allowing for a quick takeover of the region or a prestige space (Europe). The question is always how will the French respond to that initial situation.

Advantage tiles

Both sides start with 1 Advantage tile (see errata for playbook, which was stipulating only Wheat for British). A curious thing – of course, planned by designers – both tiles are in America! And can be immediately used by both sides in first turn. That makes that region a really important place, especially in face of third theatre of the initial War.

Ministers

While a separate article can be written about ministers – preferably going through all three eras – I would like to at least briefly touch on them. At least a short analysis is needed to have a full picture of possibilities:

French – four out of five have something to do with Europe. That clear bias in the initial phase of the game shows relative strength of France on the Old Continent. Used in conjunction with the Wars (see below) can produce a devastating mix.

British – more versatile candidates here but I also see them as much more unequal. The investment in new squadrons (Edmond Halley) is always a good choice, increased Debt Limit (Bank of England) long term provides a great boost. East India Company can accumulate points so needed by the British to survive initial turns. Other than that, not so much immediate use, but I am still learning so this is not a definitive statement 

In essence, you may say that ministers will be used by France to strengthen her assault on Europe while the British need to choose ones allowing them to survive that onslaught and make long-term investments to win.

Initiative

The French start the game with initiative. This gives them possibility to choose who will go first in the turn. And this is not an easy choice. In my initial games – just like most of the players – I deemed being the second and thus last in turn as very important. But after playing more I realized that this is not always the case – you might need specific Investment Tile to invoke an event or there can be scarcity of Major Diplomacy Tiles (to un-flag) or Major Military Tiles (to remove the squadron). Whatever the initiative decision of the player leading France will be, that is for sure a huge advantage for him/her.

Initial Conflict – War of Spanish Succession

• Theaters of War – three are in Europe, one in North America
• Bonus War Tiles – France leads here 1-0
• Bonus Strength – 11 European countries contribute here, probably the most Europe focused War of all.

What can be said here? If the British neglect that aspect (see my first game) this is simply a road to disaster and a quick French victory. Things look grim for the “Empire on which the sun never sets” analyzing the set-up, and all precautions must be made to avert disaster.

Graphical comparison

Having all of the above details at hand you may start to draw conclusions but I will leave that for another article. Still, it has to be remembered that a lot of strategies will be dictated by variable set-up elements:

• Award Tile VPs amount
• What three Trade Goods are in demand
• What events each side got
• What Investment Tiles are available

I love how the game is designed and set-up and also, how unique each game start can be. That will for sure contribute to the title replayability and my interest in it.

Summary

When I was writing above, a strange feeling of familiarity was growing in me. I am not sure if this was designers’ purpose, but as with the USSR in Twilight Struggle, so does France in Imperial Struggle seem invincible in the beginning. The US / British goal is to survive the initial onslaught, not allow for too much enemy lead in points and then recover in subsequent eras. And to be honest – I love such asymmetry!

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If you would like to read this article as it initially appeared on The Boardgames Chronicle’s blog, you can do that here. Enjoy!