Imperial Fever is a game of Great Power competition in the period 1880-1914. However, the term “Great Power” is difficult to define and open to discussion. The four players in the game take on the roles of the United Kingdom, France, the Central Empires (which for game purposes comprise Germany and Austria-Hungary), and the Emergent Powers (which include the United States and Japan). However, there are other powers, both in Europe and outside Europe, that were very active or important in this period. Russia, Italy and most certainly China come to mind. On the other hand, other powers such as Spain, Portugal, or the Netherlands, had been major imperial actors until very recently and were still active in the international stage. Even Leopold II, the king of a small and recent country like Belgium, secured an important if notorious role in the colonial race starting in the 1880s.

The role of all these international actors is not neglected in Imperial Fever, even if they do not appear as player factions. The aim of this article is to explain and analyse how Imperial Fever incorporates their actions and influence.

Where is Russia?

When first approaching Imperial Fever, many people ask why Russia is not one of the Main Powers, and that is certainly a pertinent question. The answer lies in the agency of the players and the balance between their powers.

When I first started working on a simulation of the period 1880-1914, I decided I wanted to design a game for no more than four players that could also be played by three players without an automatized faction. The game should also be playable in under four hours, in a single, if long, gaming session. Pax Britannica, which simulates the same period, can accommodate up to seven players at the cost of being a very long game and a very difficult one to bring to the table today. Besides, the asymmetry in Pax Britannica also extends to the agency of players, with some being heavily involved all over the map and others actually having very little to do.

Once I decided Imperial Fever would be a game for four players, I had to choose which Powers these four players would represent. The United Kingdom, France and the Central Empires are clear choices in the dispute for world hegemony in this era. I just needed to choose the fourth playing power, and this was a much tougher call. I decided to base this choice first on the agency of this fourth player: all players should feel equally invested in the game and enter competition with equal chances to win, despite the inherent asymmetry of the design.

Russia, although very active in its own land borders (the Balkans, India and China/Korea), was effectively cut off from access to temperate waters after the Crimean War. This was painfully demonstrated by Admiral Rozhéstvenski’s ill-fated expedition during the Russo-Japanese War. This naval isolation effectively prevents a Russian player from bidding for colonial and naval hegemony, two essential elements in the period and in the game. If the game was to be historically accurate at all, Russia could not have access to colonies and could not dispute control of Naval Zones, except perhaps the Pacific, but then only very late in the game and predicated on winning the Russo-Japanese war. There are games that allow Russia to establish African colonies and vie for control in the Pacific, but this is historically implausible in a game starting in 1880-1885.

On the other hand, the United States and Japan, two newcomers to the struggle for world hegemon during the 19^th century, each do not have enough to do on their own to match the agency of the three great European Powers, but they do have access to the open oceans and a stake in colonial expansion in the Pacific.

One possible choice was to make one of Russia, the United States or Japan a Major Power with little agency, balancing its Victory Points at the end of the game, like Pax Britannica does, but I soon dismissed this option because this fourth player would certainly have to contend with boredom and impotence. The other option was to group two of these powers under the control of a single player, and this is what I went for, because it would put the agency of the fourth player on an equal footing with the other three.

The conflicts between Russia and Japan over control of Korea and Northern China make it unfeasible for the same player to control both of them. The only option, then, was to group the United States with either Japan or Russia. The fact that both Japan and the United States share newcomer status on the grand international stage makes them ideal candidates to be grouped together, especially if you take into account the close relations between the two countries throughout the 19th century and the absence of conflicts between them at this time, beyond a vague claim to Hawaii by Japan. In addition, the aggressive nature of Japan in this period makes it more interesting as a playable Power. These are the reasons why I decided to group Japan and the United States under what I thought was a coherent label: the Emergent Powers. This is historically appropriate, but also fits the narrative of the game. The period between 1880 and 1914 is the pinnacle of European power, but it also marks the beginning of its decline and eventual demise, which would culminate less than 50 years later. Including non-European powers supported this narrative and also allowed a less Euro-centric perspective on history, which I think is important.

This does not mean that Russia is absent from the game. The influence of Russia must be included in any game recreating this period, and it can be felt in the diplomatic sphere, in the military race, through the Minor Powers roll, in the Russo-Japanese war, and in several event cards, as we shall see.

What About China?

In the time period covered by Imperial Fever, China was coveted by colonial powers, which saw the country as backward and corrupt, ignoring or simply disregarding the rich history and traditions of the Middle Kingdom. Obviously China was too big for any single country to dominate it, but colonial powers attempted to carve up the country, leading to conflicts like the Boxer war, which is present in the game as an Event.

China in represented in the game by a special Key Area box. Players can spend Empire points to place Resource cubes in China, without limit, representing their various trade and military missions to China. There are also two War boxes in the China box, one for the Sino-French war and the other for the Sino-Japanese war. The cubes in War boxes are never exhausted and they count for calculating majorities in the China Key Area. At some random points during the game, concessions will be granted by the Chinese government and players will get Prestige or Resource bonuses depending on their relative influence in China, represented by the number of their cubes in the China box. When concessions are granted, all Resource cubes in China are exhausted (except for those in war boxes). Additionally, Prestige will be granted to the player with most cubes in China in each of the three New Era phases and VP will be awarded to the player with most cubes in the China box at the end of the game. Being the preeminent Power in China can give a player those few extra points they need to win the game.

Minor Powers Roll

The main mechanic to reflect the influence of non-playing powers in the game is through the Minor Power Roll, a step that must be completed during the End Phase of every turn. One player must roll 2d6 and check the result in the table shown here.

Results 3, 7 and 12 affect China. 7 is the most likely result and it triggers a concession, as explained in the previous section. Results 3 and 12 are less likely and they eliminate cubes from the China box. Cubes in War boxes are never affected by the Minor Powers Roll, representing more permanent gains in China.

Results 4, 5 and 6 represent the interests and actions of Russia. When one of these results is rolled, players must roll one additional D6. One cube is exhausted in the indicated Key Area as a result of Russian interference there. The Balkans is a Key Area for the Central Empires, India is a Key Area for the UK, and Korea is a Key Area for Japan. When Russia intervenes, the Key Area where the Russia pawn currently is cannot be affected, so if the result matching that Area is rolled, the die roll must be repeated until one of the other two Key Areas is affected. The Russia pawn must then be moved to the affected Key Area. This is intended to alleviate the randomness of this roll, which might affect the same Power repeatedly, thus altering play balance. The intervention of Russia in Key Areas will give the UK, the Central Powers, and the Emergent Powers enough headaches to ensure that the influence of Russia in this period is not overlooked. Our playtesters can attest to that!

Finally, results 8, 9, 10, and 11 represent colonial expansion by other European countries, such as Italy, Belgium, Holland, Spain, or Portugal, which had interests in some Colonies during this period. The cards for these colonies and their spaces on the board include the Minor Power’s flag. When a player opens a Colony with a Minor Power flag, they must place a yellow Minor Power cube on its space on the board, next to their own cube, which represents the presence of the Minor Power in that Area. When Colonial expansion is rolled, one open Colony with a Minor Power cube is established by that Minor Power. As a result, any Major Power cubes on the Colony are immediately exhausted and the Colony card is removed from the game. This may be quite painful if a player had opened the Colony but had not yet had the chance to establish it. If there are no Minor Power cubes on Colony spaces on the board, a Colony with a Minor Power flag from the Card Offer is instead moved to the Open Colonies space on the board and a Minor Power cube is placed on its space in the map. This represents the Minor Power claiming a stake in the Colony before any of the Major Powers are able to.

Minor Wars

There are six wars in Imperial Fever, but none of them sets any of the Major Powers against each other. The understanding of the game is that any conflict between two of the European Major Powers would have escalated into a world war, as it historically did. Therefore, wars involve Major Powers fighting against Minor Powers. There are two conflicts in China, the Sino-French war and the Sino-Japanese war, Russia is involved in the Russo-Japanese war, and Spain is affected by the Spanish-American war. The UK also may also fight the Anglo-Afghan war on the borders of China and the Central Empires may get embroiled in the Balkans through the Austro-Serbian war. The latter immediately reduces the value of Peace in Europe, which in turn may trigger the First World War, as it historically did.

While the three European powers only have one war each, the Emergent Powers have three different wars to wage. The reason for this is that, as latecomers to the Colonial race, The United States and Japan set their eyes on territories either already possessed or coveted by other, mainly European Powers, such as Russia or Spain.

Minor Power Diplomacy

Another sphere where Minor Powers play an important role is Diplomacy. Diplomacy allows France and the Central Empires to bring other Powers into their alliances: the Entente, headed by France, and the Triple Alliance, led by Germany and Austria-Hungary (the Central Empires). The UK and Russia may become members of the Entente, whereas Italy and Turkey may join the Triple alliance. Russia, Italy and Turkey are all Minor Powers.

When a Power joins an Alliance, its fleet counts for the Fleet value of that Alliance in Naval Zones. The addition of the Turkish and Italian fleets to the Triple Alliance changes the power balance in the Mediterranean, giving an incentive for the UK to join the Entente and have the French fleet on their side.

Diplomacy does not only affect naval power. One of the End-game Agendas available to the players grants VP to the Alliance with the biggest combined Army. The addition of the huge Russian army to the Entente may counterbalance the inherent military superiority of the Central Powers.

Minor Power Events

At the end of every turn an Event card must be revealed. These events usually throw a wrench into the plans of a player or even several players, who need to address some urgent crisis or problem. Many of these Events are connected with Minor Powers, and some affect the value of Peace in Europe or the Bellicism value of a Main Power, which reflects international tensions:

Other Event cards affect Key Areas, forcing countries to invest Resources in them by exhausting cubes there or threatening to do so. The Boxer Rebellion actually encourages the Main Powers to quickly divert Resources to China and use the excuse of crushing the rebellion to grab a Concession there.

Finally, there is an Event that recreates Italy’s defection from the Triple Alliance, so the Central Powers need to be ready for that. Italy may be brought into the Triple Alliance again, but it will cost actions, Resources and precious time, with the end of the game probably being very near.

In Imperial Fever, the term “Minor Power” is almost a misnomer. Very powerful or influential countries, such as Russia, China, or Italy are classified as minor powers for game purposes. Minor Powers interfere with the establishment of Colonies, can dispute control of Key Areas, are the main object of Diplomacy and alter the military and naval balance of the Alliances in the game. The actions of Minor Powers are unpredictable and as such contribute to the replayability of the game, since the way they influence play varies from one game to the next.

Imperial Fever is a game of competition, not confrontation. The next article will analyse the reasons for this statement and the consequences for the game system.

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