Imperium: Horizons

Overview

Players guide one of 14 unique historical civilizations (Abbasids, Aksumites, Cultists, Guptas, Inuit, Japan, Magyars, Martians, Mayans, Polynesians, Sassanids, Taino, Tang, Wagadou) through history in this deck-building game. Each turn, players either Activate (play cards and use exhaust abilities), Innovate (break through for a new card), or Revolt (remove Unrest cards). Players build their decks by acquiring cards from the Market, unlocking Nation cards through deck cycling, and Developing powerful late-game cards. The game ends through Scoring (triggered by exhausting the Main deck, developing all Development cards, or resolving King of Kings) or Collapse (Unrest pile empty). Compatible with Imperium: Classics and Imperium: Legends.

Components

• 14 Civilization decks (23-29 cards each): Abbasids, Aksumites, Cultists, Guptas, Inuit, Japan, Magyars, Martians, Mayans, Polynesians, Sassanids, Taino, Tang, Wagadou
• Commons cards: 18 Civilised, 25 Uncivilised, 14 Region, 13 Tributary, 12 Unrest
• 9 Fame cards (including King of Kings)
• 14 Trade Route expansion cards
• 4 State cards, 32 Bot State cards (solo mode)
• 4 Player organisers (two-part), 1 Market board (three-part)
• 49 Replacement cards for Classics/Legends
• 2 Quick Reference cards
• 4 King of Kings tokens, 1 Solstice token
• 20 Cultist tokens, 21 Exhaustion tokens, 18 Action tokens, 6 Slot markers
• 261 Resource tokens: 48 Materials, 48 Population, 48 Progress, 36 Goods
• 1 Six-sided die (solo mode)

Setup

Player Setup

1. Choose a civilization; take all cards with matching nation color.
2. Take a Player organiser.
3. Place Power card face-up below organiser (B side for new players, A for advanced). Some civilizations have additional state-type cards placed below the Power card.
4. Place State card with the Barbarian side up below organiser.
5. Take 3 Action tokens and 5 Exhaustion tokens; place on State card (some civilizations use only 3 Exhaustion tokens).
6. Place Development cards face up above organiser.
7. Place Accession card face up above organiser (some civilizations have none).
8. Shuffle Nation cards into a face-down Nation deck placed on top of the Accession card.
9. Take 1 King of Kings token (light side up), 3 Materials, 2 Population, 1 Progress as starting resources.
10. Set aside any cards with in-play starting icon; they go into the Market setup.
11. Shuffle remaining cards into a Draw deck below the organiser.
12. Draw 5 cards for starting hand.

Commons Setup

1. Place resource tokens in the Supply.
2. Place Market board in the center.
3. Select a Commons card set (from Classics, Legends, or Horizons).
4. Sort Commons cards by banner color.
5. Remove 4-player and 3+-player cards as appropriate for player count.
6. Place Unrest cards below the Unrest icon on Market board.
7. Place King of Kings (Fame side showing) on Market board; shuffle remaining Fame cards on top. Adjust deck to correct size (2p: 6, 3p: 7, 4p: 8 cards).
8. Create Region, Uncivilised, and Civilised small decks of appropriate size.
9. Place one Tributary card face up at bottom of each small deck.
10. Shuffle remaining Civilised, Uncivilised, Region, and Tributary cards to form the Main deck.
11. Deal one card from each small deck and two from Main deck face up to form 5-card Market row.
12. Place an Unrest card under each non-Unrest Market card.
13. Add a Progress token on each Market card with a white banner.
14. Place Solstice token between last and first player.

Turn Structure

Each round, players take turns in order. After all players have taken a turn, resolve Solstice (simultaneous Solstice effects on all players’ cards). On your turn, declare one of three turn types:

Activate Turn

Take Actions (spend Action tokens) and use Exhaust abilities (spend Exhaustion tokens) in any order/combination. Most common turn type.

• Play a card: Spend 1 Action token. Play a card from hand, resolve its effects, then discard it (unless it has an in-play icon). Cards with State symbols can only be played if your State card shows the matching symbol.
• Exhaust ability: Move 1 Exhaustion token from State card onto a card with an Exhaust keyword (that doesn’t already have an Exhaustion token). Resolve the effect.

Innovate Turn

No Actions or Exhausts. Instead: discard all cards from hand, then Break through for one card. Move to Clean-up.

Revolt Turn

No Actions or Exhausts. Instead: Return any number of Unrest cards from hand to the Unrest pile. Move to Clean-up.

Clean-Up (end of every turn)

1. Add 1 Progress token from Supply onto any Market card.
2. Remove all Exhaustion tokens from your play area, Nation deck, Development area, and Power card. Reset State card to 3 Action + 5 Exhaustion tokens.
3. Optionally discard any cards from hand.
4. Draw cards up to hand size (default 5). Never forced to discard down to hand size.

Reshuffling Your Draw Deck

When your Draw deck is empty and you need to draw, reshuffle your Discard pile. Before reshuffling, if you have an available Exhaustion token:

1. If Nation deck has cards: Place top Nation card into Discard pile; place an Exhaustion token on Nation deck. If Accession card was placed, flip your State card.
2. If Nation deck is empty but Development cards remain: You may pay a Development cost to Develop one card into your Discard pile.
3. Shuffle Discard pile to form new Draw deck, then continue drawing.

Actions

Acquiring Cards

• Acquire: Take a card from the 5-card Market row into your hand, along with any resources on it and the Unrest card underneath. Replace the Market card immediately.
• Break through: Either (a) gain a Market card without taking its Unrest (return it to pile), or (b) dig into a small deck for a card of a specific suit.
• Take/Find: Effects that directly move specific cards into your hand.

Card Types

Card Type	Icon	Behavior
In-play	Pin icon	Remains in play area after being played
Attack	Sword icon	Affects other players
Region	Green	Provides resources; can garrison cards underneath
Uncivilised	Orange	Traditional technologies
Civilised	Blue	Advanced technologies
Tributary	Purple	Peoples pledging loyalty
Fame	Gold	Victory point cards from Fame deck
Unrest	Grey	Clogs your deck; no function

Resources

Four types: Materials, Population, Progress, Goods. Primarily generated by Region cards and exhaust effects. Resources in your pool are yours; resources on cards are not available to spend.

Scoring / Victory Conditions

Scoring (normal game end)

Triggered when any of these occur:

• Main deck is empty
• A player develops their last Development card (or meets nation-specific scoring condition)
• King of Kings card is flipped face down
• A card effect states “TRIGGERS GAME END”

Complete the current round + Solstice, then play one final round + Solstice. Then score:

• Score all cards in Hand, Play area, Draw deck, Discard pile, and History
• Do NOT score un-played Nation deck or Development area cards
• Fixed VP icons score their printed value
• Conditional VP icons score if condition is met (0 otherwise)
• Variable VP icons score as specified (max 10 per card)
• Each Progress token in your Resource pool = 1 VP
• Unrest cards are not scored
• Highest VP total wins. Ties are shared.

Collapse (emergency game end)

Triggered immediately if the Unrest pile is ever empty (even mid-effect). Game ends instantly. Count Unrest in Hand, Play area, Draw deck, Discard pile, and History. Fewest Unrest wins. Ties broken by normal scoring.

Special Rules & Edge Cases

• State symbols: You can only play a card with a State symbol if your State card shows that symbol. Exhaust abilities on in-play cards can be used regardless of State symbol.
• Card resolution: Resolve each sentence individually. Everything is mandatory unless preceded by “MAY.” If no part of a card can be resolved, you cannot play it.
• Costs: Anything before “to” is a cost. You may pay a cost even if the result is uncertain. If mandatory costs cannot be paid, the card cannot be played.
• Solstice: All players resolve simultaneously after the last player’s turn each round. No Actions or Exhausts during Solstice. End of Solstice effects resolve last.
• King of Kings: Always stays at bottom of Fame deck. Only resolved when it’s the last Fame card. Flipped after first resolution; cannot be resolved by the same player twice.
• Garrison: Tuck a card under a Region in play. Garrisoned cards are generally inaccessible. History is a permanent garrison under your Power card.
• Free play: Costs no Action token and ignores State symbol restrictions.
• Resource substitution: When paying costs, certain resources can substitute for others (see keyword rules).
• “If able” draw effects never trigger a reshuffle.
• Passive abilities trigger during any turn type, including Innovate and Revolt.
• Some civilizations break standard rules (no Nation deck, no Development area, custom State cards, etc.).

Player Reference

Turn Type	What You Do
Activate	Spend Action tokens to play cards; spend Exhaustion tokens for Exhaust abilities
Innovate	Discard hand, Break through for 1 card
Revolt	Return Unrest from hand to Unrest pile

Clean-Up Step	Action
1	Add 1 Progress to any Market card
2	Reset all tokens to State card (3 Action, 5 Exhaustion)
3	Optionally discard cards from hand
4	Draw up to hand size (default 5)

Fame deck size: 2p: 6

3p: 7

4p: 8

Small deck sizes: 2p: 6

3p: 7

4p: 8 (for Region, Uncivilised, Civilised)

Game end: Scoring (Main deck empty / last Development / King of Kings / card effect) or Collapse (Unrest pile empty).