Overview

Beer Empire is a competitive board game for 2-4 players published by Board&Dice in 2016. Players design beer recipes, gather and manage resources, and expand their breweries in a race to build the most successful beer empire. The game combines worker placement, resource management, and engine building as players develop recipes, brew beer, and sell it for profit. Successfully funded on Kickstarter, the game captures the craft brewery theme with strategic depth.

Components

• Game board representing the beer market and brewery areas
• Player brewery boards
• Resource tokens (hops, malt, yeast, water, specialty ingredients)
• Recipe cards
• Worker/action markers
• Money tokens
• Brewery expansion tiles
• Score track

Setup

Each player receives a brewery board and starting resources. Place the main game board in the center. Shuffle recipe cards and lay out a market display. Distribute starting money. Place resource tokens in the supply. Determine the first player.

Turn Structure

Each round consists of:

1. Worker Placement Phase: Players take turns placing workers on action spaces.
2. Action Resolution Phase: Resolve all placed worker actions.
3. Brewing Phase: Players who have complete recipes and ingredients brew beer.
4. Sales Phase: Sell brewed beer for profit.
5. Cleanup Phase: Reset the board, refill markets, advance the round marker.

Actions

• Gather Resources: Place workers to collect hops, malt, yeast, water, and specialty ingredients needed for recipes.
• Acquire Recipes: Obtain new beer recipe cards that specify required ingredients and provide varying point values.
• Brew Beer: Combine the correct ingredients according to a recipe to produce beer. Each recipe requires specific types and quantities.
• Sell Beer: Sell completed beer for money and victory points. Market conditions may affect sale prices.
• Expand Brewery: Invest in brewery upgrades that provide ongoing bonuses (larger storage, better equipment, increased production capacity).
• Marketing: Invest in marketing to increase the value of your beer sales.

Scoring / Victory Conditions

The game ends after a predetermined number of rounds. Players score victory points from beer sold, brewery expansions, completed recipes, and end-game bonuses. The player with the most victory points wins.

Special Rules & Edge Cases

• Recipe Complexity: More complex recipes (requiring rare ingredients) score higher points but are harder to complete.
• Market Fluctuation: Beer prices may fluctuate based on market conditions, rewarding players who time their sales well.
• Brewery Capacity: Players have limited storage and production capacity, requiring strategic expansion decisions.
• Ingredient Scarcity: Key ingredients may become scarce, creating competition for resources.
• Special Ingredients: Rare specialty ingredients unlock premium recipes with the highest point values.

Player Reference

Action	Effect
Gather Resources	Collect brewing ingredients
Acquire Recipe	Get new beer recipe
Brew	Combine ingredients per recipe
Sell	Convert beer to money/points
Expand	Upgrade brewery capabilities