Consorts of the Emperor

The Qing Dynasty is at the peak of its power, but inside the Forbidden City a silent battle is raging on. A battle for the heart of the Emperor.

One year has passed since the tragic death of the Empress, and it is time to fill the position again. The five Consorts of the Emperor are seeing their chance; only one thing is needed: The favor of the Emperor…

In the beginning of the game every player gets a secret identity, one of the five Consorts, draws 9 Gift Cards and drafts 5 Action Cards.

To win the favor of the Emperor, you need to make sure that your Consort is giving the best gift to the Emperor. The 5 Consort cards get shuffled and placed on the table. After that, every player can, in order, prepare an Action Card by playing it openly on the playing field. Once every player, who wanted, played an Action Card, the players take turns and place one of their Gift Cards secretly into the drawing stack in a position of their choice.

After the last player of the turn has put in their Gift Card, the Gift Cards are revealed by drawing one card after the other from the drawing stack, placing each under one Consort. Now is the time to use the effects of the prepared Action Cards, and after that the Consort(s) with the highest-valued Gift win the favor of the Emperor, while the one(s) with the lowest lose it.

The game is over if one Consort reaches 9 Favor, after 9 rounds, or if there is only one player surviving. The favor of the Emperor is not only the way to power and influence; it is the only thing keeping a Consort alive. Without favor, the Consort—and the controlling player—are out.