Users Guide

About Empire Deluxe

This section discusses the rules for playing Empire Deluxe. There are three levels of play. We suggest you start with a basic game. Once you have mastered the playing and rules of the basic version of Empire Deluxe, you may move on to master the standard and advanced versions. The rules used in the three versions of Empire Deluxe have many similar points but are not all identical. You should pay close attention to the differences in each section.

BASIC GAME

The Map

The map used in Empire Deluxe is much as a chessboard is the board on which you play chess. The basic "board" measures 50 x 50 squares and has a random assortment of different terrain types on it.

Land - Various terrain types represent land; clear, forest, mountain, river and rough. In the basic game, all these terrain types are the same. Only land units may enter -- move onto -- land squares.

Water - Water divides the various sections of land into islands and continents. Only sea units may enter water squares.

Cities - Cities are the most important terrain squares. Without cities, the player would be unable to produce new units and repair damaged ones.

The color of a city varies with the ownership. Cities owned by the player are the same color as the player's units. White cities are neutral.

Edge - Around the edge of the map is a border. This represents the edge of the playing board and no units may move on or beyond the edge.

The Units

The basic version of Empire Deluxe uses five different units.

Army

Armies are the basic land unit of Empire Deluxe. This is only unit capable of capturing cities. They are also the only units capable of moving on land. Armies may also cross water with the assistance of Transports.

Transport

Transports are the vital link between different bodies of land. They may carry up to six Armies on them. Transports are faster than Armies but can only enter water or friendly city squares. They fight poorly.

Destroyer

Destroyers are the fastest naval unit in the basic game, and can only enter water and friendly city squares

Cruiser

Cruisers can only enter water or friendly city squares, and can perform shore bombardment.

Battleship

Battleships can only enter water and friendly city squares, and can perform shore bombardment.

Turns

You play Empire Deluxe in a sequence of turns. At the beginning of a turn the player receives all the units produced that turn. The player may change production, give orders to all units, and may look at various reports and information. When finished, the turn will end and the next player begins. There is no limit to the number of turns a particular game of Empire Deluxe will last. Play continues until someone wins.

Movement

All units in Empire Deluxe can only move a maximum number of squares each turn. Movement is from square to adjacent square and can be to the left or right, up or down, or to any adjacent diagonal square.

The maximum numbers of squares each unit can move in the basic game is listed in the following table:

Some units are not able to enter certain types of squares. Land units may only move into land or city squares. Sea units may only move into water or friendly city squares. No unit can enter an edge square. No unit may enter a square occupied by another friendly unit, even if it is to get to a square that is on the other side of that unit. There are two exceptions to this:

Friendly Cities - There is no limit to the number of units that may enter a friendly city square.

Transports - Six Armies may enter the same square as a transport. This is how you load a transport.

Sighting

In the basic game of Empire Deluxe there is no limit to what each player may look at. All players are able to see the entire map, as well as all the units of all the players and which players own which cities.

Combat

Combat is a very important part of Empire Deluxe. Initiating combat is quiet simple. If you wish to attack an enemy unit or city, move the unit you wish to do the attacking into the same square as the unit you wish to attack. The results are determined randomly using a calculation of odds. Combat will always result in one, and only one, of the units involved being destroyed and removed from the game.

If an attacking unit that wins has not moved its maximum move that turn, it may still continue to move, including moving into another unit to attack it, until it has reached its maximum Move. Even if the attacking unit is not able to move into the defender's square, the attack still counts as moving one square for determining the maximum number of squares that unit can move that turn.

If a Transport is damaged, some Armies on it may be destroyed. If the Transport is destroyed so are all the Armies that were on it. Armies on a Transport cannot be individually targeted.

Capturing Cities

Capturing cities works much like attacking an enemy unit. If the Army attacking the city loses the combat, it is destroyed. If the Army wins, however, the city is not destroyed, but is captured. The attacking Army is assumed to be the city's new garrison and can no longer be used. Any units in a city that is captured are lost.

Shore Bombardment

Land units may initiate combat by moving into sea units in Empire Deluxe. Sea units, however, may not normally attack land units. The sole exception to this is shore bombardment. Only two types of sea units may perform shore bombardment; Cruisers and Battleships.

Effects Of Damage

Each time a unit wins a combat, it may suffer damage. The maximum amount of damage each unit can take in the basic game is listed in the following table:

A unit that has taken a total accumulated amount of damage equal to or greater than half the maximum amount of damage it can take, is "Crippled." A unit that is Crippled, has the maximum number of squares it can move reduced to 1.

Repairing Damaged Units

Damage can be removed by repairing a unit. Each full turn that a damaged unit spends in a friendly city removes 1 from the accumulated damage total. A unit need not repair all the accumulated damage on it if the controlling player wishes, and may move out of the repairing city at any time before or after all the repairs are completed.

Production

Cities, in Empire Deluxe, are the production centers. Each city is capable of producing one unit, and only one unit, at a time. Producing units takes time and some units take longer than others.

The numbers of turns it takes to produce each unit in the basic version of Empire Deluxe is listed in the following table:

The type of units a city may produce is restricted by that city's location. A city that does not have a water square next to it on any of it's 8 sides, including the corners, cannot produce sea units.

Winning and Losing

The winner is the last player left in the game.

There are two ways a player can be eliminated.

First, a player may resign at any time he/she chooses to do so.

The second, and more likely way, is for a player to be knocked out. A player is automatically knocked out of a game when, at the end of their turn, they control no cities on the map and have no land units. If a player is knocked out of the game that player is then removed from the turn sequence.

STANDARD GAME

All the rules that applied in the basic version of Empire Deluxe still apply in the standard version, but with a few additions:

The Map

There are three major differences in the map in the standard version of Empire Deluxe.

The first is that the map dimensions are no longer limited to always being 50 x 50 squares. At game setup the player may set the map specifications.

The second difference is that, if the player so chooses; the standard game may be played on a wrap around map. This wrap can be horizontal, vertical, or both.

The last major difference is the existence of unexplored terrain.

Unexplored Terrain - Unexplored terrain appears as solid black squares. Exploring a square is done by moving next to it.

All other terrain types used in the standard game of Empire Deluxe are identical to those used in the basic game.

The Units

Perhaps the biggest difference between the basic and standard version of Empire Deluxe is the introduction of three new unit types. These are Fighters, Submarines and Carriers. The other five unit types used in the basic game are also used in the standard game and perform identically to those rules.

Following is a brief description of each of these new unit types:

Fighter

Fighters are the only air units used in the standard version of Empire Deluxe. Many new rules apply to them, especially in the movement section. They have limited fuel and are restricted to how far they may go at one time. Fighters may enter water squares, land squares, friendly city squares; and may even fly through, but not stop on, squares occupied by friendly units. Fighters perform in combat identically to Armies.

Submarine

The main power of a Submarine is its ability to be invisible. Only certain types of units can see Submarines. For more information on this, see the section on Sighting. Submarines may not shore bombard Armies and they are the only sea unit that cannot be attacked by Armies.

Carrier

Aircraft Carriers are Transports for Fighters. Unless otherwise mentioned, the same rules that apply to Armies and Transports, apply to Fighters and Carriers. Carriers may hold up to eight fighters on them. Carriers cannot shore bombard.

Movement

The same rules that applied to movement of land and sea units in the basic game still apply to those units in the standard game. With the introduction of air units, certain new rules now exist.

Fighters may enter any water, land or friendly city square. They may move into any square containing another friendly unit to pass through it, but may not end their movement in the same square. Unlike other varieties of units, air units spend all their movement points every turn. Even if ordered not to move they still are treated as if they have moved their full move.

Perhaps most importantly, air units have a limit number of squares they may go before they must land to refuel. This limited number of squares is referred to as "Range". Fighters have a Range of 20 squares. Since fighters have a Move of 5, this means they may travel for four turns before refueling. Refueling is accomplished by entering the same square as a friendly city or Carrier. A fighter that enters the same square as a friendly city or Carrier, automatically ends its turn, lands and refuels. A fighter that moves 20 squares without refueling, crashes and is destroyed.

The Moves for each unit in the standard version of Empire Deluxe are listed in the following table:

Sighting

Another big change between the standard and basic versions of Empire Deluxe is the introduction of sighting rules. The player has already been introduced to the fact that he may not see the entire map now. The player will also not be able to see all the enemy's units or cities on the map either. Basically, sighting works very simply, units and cities may only see things that are in squares next to them and the player may only see things on the map that his units and cities see. Since terrain does not change, the player may always look at that portion of the map that they have already seen before, i.e., the explored portion of the map.

Special sighting rules apply to Submarines. Submarines cannot be seen by some units and cannot see other units, even if they are next to each other. The icon for an enemy Submarine will only appear on the map if it is next to a friendly Destroyer, Submarine or Cruiser, or if it is involved in combat with a friendly unit. It will only remain on the map as long as those conditions exist. Enemy land and air units do not appear on the map if the only unit next to them is a friendly Submarine.

Combat

The combat rules and mechanics of the standard version of Empire Deluxe are identical to those of the basic version with the following special exceptions and additions:

- Submarines and land units may not attack each other.

- Sea units may not attack air units that are on land squares.

- Land units may not attack air units that are on water squares.

- The number of Fighters a Carrier may hold is decreased, on a one for one basis, by the amount of accumulated damage that the Carrier suffers from. Fighters loaded on the Carrier, in excess of its new hold capacity, are destroyed.

The maximum amount of damage each unit can take in the standard version of Empire Deluxe is listed in the following table:

Production

Production rules in the standard version of Empire Deluxe are the same as those of the basic version, with one addition.

Cities that continue to produce the same type of unit now gain a production benefit with production time reduced by 1/6th. This bonus only lasts as long as the city continues to produce that unit consecutively.

The numbers of turns it takes to produce each unit in the standard version of Empire Deluxe are listed in the following table:

ADVANCED GAME

The advanced version of Empire Deluxe adds additional complexity to the game and should not be attempted until the standard and basic versions have been mastered. The basic rules that applied in the standard version of the game still apply here, unless otherwise stated.

The Map

The major change between the maps used in the standard version of Empire Deluxe and the advanced version is that there are now differences between the various types of land terrain. All the rules that applied to land squares before, still apply, plus some special rules. Each type of land square and its effects are described below.

Clear - Clear squares behave identically to the regular land terrain described in the basic and standard rules.

Rough - Armor units have their move reduced to one upon entering rough squares.

River - Although river squares have water passing through them, they are still land squares and sea units may not enter them. Armor units have their Move reduced to 1 upon entering river squares. Infantry and Armor units (see below) fight better against Armor units when they are defending in a river square.

Forest - Armor has its Move reduced to 1 when entering forest squares. Land units that are defending themselves from attack while in forest squares fight better.

Mountains - Armor units may not enter mountain squares, although they may attack units in them. Land units defending in mountain squares fight better.

The Units

The advanced version of Empire Deluxe adds four new units to the game; two land units, Infantry (which replace Armies) and Armor, and two air units, Advance Fighters (which replace Fighters) and Bombers. Advanced Empire Deluxe also introduces a new type of unit, the Airbase, which is not created as other units are. With the exception of Armies and Fighters, all other units that are used in the basic and standard game, are used in the advanced.

Following is a brief description of each of these new unit types:

Infantry

Infantry units perform identically to Armies from the basic game. One new advantage of Infantry is its ability to turn itself into an Airbase unit.

Armor

Armor units are more powerful versions of Infantry. Armor moves twice as fast as Infantry except when moving in rough, river and forest squares. Armor units may not enter mountain squares. Armor units take up twice as much space as an Infantry when loaded on a Transport.

Fighter

Fighters in the advanced game appear and function very similarly to Fighters in the standard game. They move faster than standard Fighters but have a shorter range. Fighters may disrupt city production (see below).

Bomber

Bombers are slower than Fighters but have a longer range. They fight well normally, but fight weakly when in combat against Fighters. Bombers may not land on Carriers. Bombers may disrupt city production and damage city production efficiency (see below).

Airbase

Airbases are not produced, as are other units, but are instead made by transforming an Infantry /Armor unit. Once a unit has been transformed into an Airbase, it can never change back. Airbases cannot move or attack. Airbases perform similarly to land locked Carriers, although they may carry Bombers while Carriers cannot. Just like a city, an Airbase has no limit to the number of air units it may hold.

Movement

All previous movement rules that applied in the basic and standard game still apply.

The new land squares apply some restrictions to Armor units. As stated in the map section of the advanced rules, Armor has its Move reduced to 1 whenever it enters rough, river or forest squares. It may not enter mountain squares. Armor takes up twice as much space as Infantry when loaded on a Transport.

Bomber units may not load onto Carriers but may load onto Airbases. Air units may use Airbases, as well as, cities and Carriers to refuel at. The Range and Move for Fighters are different from that of the standard game.

The Move and Range for units in the advanced game are listed in the following table:

Sighting

In the standard game, all units could only sight other units and unexplored terrain at a range of 1 square, i.e., they could only see things that were next to them. Some units may now see at a distance of 2 squares. All air units, cities and Airbases can see all units and unexplored terrain that is within 2 squares. All units that can see air units, can see them if they are anywhere within 2 squares.

Combat

While combat, in the advanced version of Empire Deluxe, remains basically the same, many new factors figure into each battle.

The following new rules apply to combat in the advanced game:

- A land unit that is located in a forest, mountain or river square fights better if it is defending against a land attack.

- A land unit that is located in a forest or mountain square fights better if it is defending against a sea or air attack.

- When an Armor unit captures a city, an Infantry unit will immediately appear in that newly captured city. The newly created unit will not have any remaining movement that turn, nor will it have any effect on the production of that city.

- A Bomber in combat against a Fighter fights poorly.

- Any unit that is Crippled attacks poorly.

- All sea units, except Carriers, that attack air units, experience increased penalties in combat.

- If an Airbase is destroyed, all air units currently loaded on that Airbase are destroyed with it.

The maximum amount of damage each unit can take in the advanced game of Empire Deluxe is listed in the following table:

City Capture

The act of attacking a neutral city with land units and losing wears the neutral city down. As a result, each succeeding attack has a better chance of victory.

Bombing

Besides the above rules, the advanced version of Empire Deluxe introduces "bombing." Only Fighters and Bombers may perform bombing attacks, and only enemy cities may have bombing attacks performed against them. Bombing attacks occur when a Fighter or Bomber attacks a city. If the city wins the battle, the Fighter or Bomber is destroyed. If the fighter or Bomber wins the battle, it expends one square of movement and remains where it is and one of two things, randomly determined, will happen to the city:

-The city’s production will be disrupted, losing all accumulated turns towards the production of the unit it is currently trying to produce and the city will have to start production of that unit all over from scratch.

-A randomly determined unit located in that city will be destroyed.

In addition, if the attacking unit is a Bomber, the production efficiency of a city (see below) will be reduced by 10% of its total value (rounding down).

Production

The advanced game rules for production introduce several new facets to Empire Deluxe.

Unit Specialization

Some cities in the advanced game may have specialization in one particular type of unit. A city that is specialized for a particular unit type, produces the unit in 20% less time than it normally would. It will take that city 10% more time to produce any other type of unit.

Production Efficiency

Each city in the advanced game has a Production Efficiency. A city with a 100% Production Efficiency produces units in the normal times listed for them to be produced. A city with a Production Efficiency lower than 100% is less efficient and takes more time to produce a unit. A city with a Production Efficiency greater than 100% is more efficient and will take less time to produce a unit. Production Efficiencies are reduced by one-tenth of their value each time the city is successfully attacked by a Bomber.

Production Efficiency for a city can be improved by selecting "No Production" as the production option. Every turn a city spends in "No Production" mode, increases the production efficiency based on its current efficiency as specified below:

Unit Support/Resource Drain

Each player has a "drain" value which can effect the production of all of the player’s cities. The value affected is called the Base Production Efficiency. It can be changed in all game types with a handicap setting, or it can be changed in the Advanced Game due to the over production of units.

The advanced version of Empire Deluxe limits the number of units a player may have on the board before his production of new units is effected. This number is determined by the number of cities the player currently owns. As the ratio of friendly units to cities increases, the amount of time it takes to produce a new unit, also increases. This effect influences the Base Production Efficiency when the ratio of units to cities roughly exceeds 2 to 1.

The Base Production Efficiency is calculated at the beginning of each turn, before units are produced for that turn. Therefore, it is possible to be in a situation where one has more units than possible to support a maximum Base Production Efficiency, but still experience no negative impact to the Base Production Efficiency. However, he will experience the adverse effects the next turn when the Base Production Efficiency is recalculated if the size of his force is not reduced, or city count increased.

The effects of Continuous Production, Unit Specialization, Production Efficiency and Unit Support all figure into the amount of time it takes to produce a new unit and are cumulative.

Drain is calculated at the beginning of the turn, before new units are produced.

The base number of turns it takes to produce each unit in the advanced version of Empire Deluxe is listed in the following table: