Overview

Empires: Age of Discovery (originally Age of Empires III) is a worker-placement game where players lead European colonial powers competing for dominance in the New World. Over 8 turns spanning three ages, players place colonists and specialists into event boxes to discover new regions, colonize territories, acquire trade goods, build merchant fleets, purchase capital buildings, and wage warfare. The player with the most victory points at the end of Age III wins.

Components

• 1 game board (New World map with 9 regions, event boxes, turn order track)
• 30 colonists per player color (5 colors: red/England, blue/France, yellow/Spain, green/Portugal, orange/Holland)
• Specialists per color: 5 Captains, 5 Merchants, 10 Missionaries, 10 Soldiers
• 10 Merchant Ship miniatures (1 as turn marker, 1 for colonist dock marker, 8 for trade)
• Capital Building tiles (Age I, II, and III)
• Trade Good counters (gold, silver, cattle, cocoa, fish, sugar, fur, coffee, tobacco, rice, indigo)
• 16 Discovery counters
• 16 Discovery deck cards
• Money (silver $1 coins, gold $10 coins)
• Discovery counters showing dangers and rewards

Setup

1. Each player chooses a color, takes pieces, and receives $10 starting capital.
2. Place discovery counters face-down in each region (except Caribbean).
3. Place one trade good face-up in each region (matching the region’s resource).
4. Separate capital buildings by age; place 5 Age I buildings face-up.
5. Place 4 random trade goods face-up beside the Trade Goods event box.
6. Place 1 Merchant Ship in the Merchant Shipping box.
7. Mark colonist dock: available spaces = (2 x number of players) - 1.
8. Randomly determine starting turn order; later players get bonus money ($1/$2/$3/$4 extra).

Turn Structure

The game has 8 turns: Age I (turns 1-3), Age II (turns 4-6), Age III (turns 7-8).

Each turn:

1. Colonist/Specialist Placement: In turn order, players place one colonist or specialist at a time into event boxes until all are placed.
2. Resolution: Resolve each event box top to bottom (Initiative, Colonist Dock, Trade Goods, Merchant Shipping, Capital Building, Discovery, Specialist, Warfare).
3. Income: Collect income from Trade Good/Merchant Ship sets.
4. Capital Building Benefits: Collect recurring benefits from owned capital buildings.
5. Refresh: Replenish capital buildings to 5, refresh trade goods (4 new), refresh Merchant Ship if empty.
6. Take Starting Colonists: Each player takes 5 free colonists plus any bonus from buildings/specialists.
7. New Turn Order: Based on Initiative box placement.
8. Advance Turn Marker.

Actions

Event Boxes (resolved in order)

Initiative: Players who placed here earn income ($1 for slot 1, $2 for slot 2, etc.). Determines next turn’s order. Max 1 colonist per player.

Colonist Dock: Colonists/specialists ship to discovered New World regions. First player to have 3 colonists in a region claims that region’s trade good. Limited spaces based on player count.

Trade Goods: Players with colonists here choose from 4 available trade goods (slot 1 picks first).

Merchant Shipping: Player with highest total value of colonists/specialists wins the Merchant Ship. Captains and Merchants count as 2 each. Ties broken by turn order.

Capital Building: Players purchase available capital buildings by paying their cost. Buildings provide one-time or recurring benefits (extra colonists, specialists, gold, victory points).

Discovery: Players send colonists/specialists on expeditions to undiscovered regions. Reveal the discovery counter for danger/reward. Soldiers earn money from expeditions. Captains count as 2 for discovery attempts.

Specialist: Players claim one specialist type (Captain, Merchant, Missionary, Soldier). 5 available per turn. Pay $5 to train an additional specialist of any kind.

Warfare: Players with soldiers in colonies can eliminate opponents’ colonists/specialists in the same colony.

Specialists

• Captain: Counts as 2 in Merchant Shipping and Discovery.
• Merchant: Counts as 2 in Merchant Shipping. Generates $5 one-time income upon arrival in New World.
• Missionary: Generates 1 additional colonist in the colony upon arrival.
• Soldier: Earns money from discovery expeditions. Can eliminate opposing colonists in warfare.

Scoring / Victory Conditions

Income (each turn)

Trade Goods paired with Merchant Ships form sets generating income. Each set earns money based on the number and variety of goods matched with ships.

End-Game Scoring (after turn 8)

Victory points come from:

• Regions: Player with the most colonists in each region scores VP (specific amounts per region). Second place also scores.
• Trade Goods: Bonus VP for most trade goods.
• Capital Buildings: Many provide VP directly.
• Merchant Ships: VP for merchant fleet.
• Money: Remaining money converts to VP.

The player with the most victory points wins.

Special Rules & Edge Cases

• All resources are public knowledge and cannot be traded between players.
• Capital buildings purchased in early ages continue to provide benefits in later ages.
• At age transitions, unpurchased capital buildings are removed and replaced with the next age’s buildings.
• Colonists in the Discovery box are NOT removed after resolution (unlike other boxes).
• The Caribbean is available for colonization from the start (no discovery counter).
• After all regions are discovered, the Discovery deck provides further expedition opportunities.
• Soldiers participating in discoveries are removed from the board afterward (not staying in colonies).
• Only one colonist per player may be placed in the Initiative box.
• X and Y spaces on the Colonist Dock are reserved for owners of specific capital buildings.

Player Reference

Ages: I (turns 1-3), II (turns 4-6), III (turns 7-8)

Turn: Place colonists/specialists > Resolve event boxes > Income > Capital benefits > Refresh > New colonists > Turn order > Advance marker

Starting resources: 5 colonists, $10 (+ bonus for later turn positions)

Specialists: Captain (2x in shipping/discovery), Merchant (2x shipping, $5 on arrival), Missionary (+1 colonist on arrival), Soldier (discovery income, warfare)

Win condition: Most victory points after turn 8