Twilight Imperium
Entry updated 9 October 2012. Tagged: Game.
Board Game (1997). Fantasy Flight Games (FFG). Designed by Christian Petersen.
Twilight Imperium is a complex game of galactic conquest, scientific development, economic management, colonization and trade, played on a two-dimensional map with miniature models. The setting is a somewhat generic Space Opera in which a Galactic Empire ruled by a benevolent but arrogant race has collapsed, plunging the galaxy into a dark age. After a long interregnum various species, including humanity, have begun to expand into space with the intention of reestablishing the old Empire under their own control; each player adopts the role of one of these races. The gameplay has some similarities to that of Stellar Conquest (1974), but Twilight Imperium is a much less predictable game, with many random events. The first edition, released in 1997, has four expansions, which add various new races, abilities, miniatures and optional modes of play: Twilight Imperium: Borderlands (1997 FFG) designed by Christian Petersen, Peter Mork; Twilight Imperium: Distant Suns (1998 FFG) designed by Christian Petersen; Twilight Imperium: Twilight Armada (1998 FFG) designed by Christian Petersen and Twilight Imperium: The Outer Rim (1998 FFG) designed by Christian Petersen. A revised second edition, also designed by Petersen, was published in 2000. This version of the game has one expansion: Twilight Imperium: Hope's End (2001 FFG) designed by Christian Petersen, which includes new races and various additional rules presented in earlier supplements, updated for the second iteration of the rules. The third edition, Twilight Imperium (2005 FFG) designed by Christian Petersen, was redesigned to emphasize player involvement by interleaving the actions taken by the participants rather than rotating through the group one turn at a time. These changes, which were inspired by the innovations in Board Game design made by German games such as Starfarers of Catan (1999), result in a notably well crafted game which encourages fast, entertaining play. The 2005 iteration includes many of the optional rules and species presented in supplements to the 1997 and 2000 versions; Twilight Imperium: Shattered Empire (2006 FFG) designed by Christian Petersen, Corey Konieczka and Twilight Imperium: Shards of the Throne (2011 FFG) designed by Tom Garden, Mark Molnar, Scott Schomburgis are expansions which add further races and technologies not included in the core rules.
Related works: Twilight Imperium: Armada (2001 FFG) designed by Christian Petersen, Darrell Hardy uses the same background for a space combat Wargame with strategic and tactical aspects. Flat disks are used to represent units such as planets and starships; the disks themselves are collectible in the manner of a Collectible Miniatures Game. Twilight Imperium: Armada: Stellar Matter (2001 FFG) designed by Christian Petersen, Darrell Hardy and Twilight Imperium: Armada: Incursion (2004 FFG) designed by Christian Petersen, Darrell Hardy are expansions. Rex: Final Days of an Empire (2012 FFG) designed by Bill Eberle, John Goodenough, Jack Kittredge, Corey Konieczka, Peter Olotka, Christian T Petersen is a Board Game in which players compete for control of the old empire's continent spanning capital city before its fall. Twilight Imperium: The Role Playing Game (1999 FFG) designed by Todd Nilsen, Jason Williams, Darrell Hardy is a RPG which concentrates on political manoeuvrings amongst members of the various races attempting to win control of the galaxy. Unfortunately, the Twilight Imperium milieu is insufficiently distinctive to make a good backdrop for role playing, and it is difficult to justify the inclusion of player characters from different species in the same group, since all the races are generally in a state of overt or covert war with the others. [NT]
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