Twilight Imperium: Prophecy of Kings Expansion

IMPORTANT: This game is an expansion to the base Twilight Imperium 4th Edition Board Game. It is not a stand-alone game and the base game is required to use this product. If you are a fan of the original 4th Edition Twilight Imperium Board Game, this is a must have expansion that adds lots of fun new game components and helps to rebalance the factions in the base game with updated materials. The quality of the materials is excellent, consistent with the base game, and I think the new elements and mechanics are a lot of fun, adding new flexibility and options to the game. Down sides: the box size is large compared to other board games but smaller than the base game. The added components also take up more table space making this game even more massive, which is challenging physically when setting up. Also, the addition of the new components and rules adds more difficulty to an already complicated game. I would not recommend a full 8 player game as more players means much longer game rounds, turning an already long normal game (~9hours) into an excruciating 14+ hour marathon. In my opinion, this game works best as a 4-6 player game. Some key elements that Prophecy of Kings adds: - 2 new player colors (pink and orange) - New ground unit (Mechs) that make ground combat more interesting) - Addition of agents/commanders/heroes that help to balance the existing factions by granting additional powers - Fun and interesting new alien races/factions that utilize the rule updates. (The Titans of Ul, the Naaz-Roka and the Vuil’Rath Cabal are personal favorites) - New rules/maps/flexibility to expand player count up to 8/game - Addition of planet exploration (added perks for exploring space and planets) - Addition of Relics (powerful and lockable items/abilities) - Addition of Legendary planets (better value planets that grant 1/round perks) - New planets All in all, a great addition to a fun game that I would highly recommend.

I bought the base game in September 2021, and the expansion the following month. I didn't incorporate the expansion into my games at first; then I included parts of it (such as the additional technology cards). Finally, I went all-in and played with all features of the expansion. (And yes, I know the expansion was designed as an all-in package, rather than a modular one.) So, I estimate I played 4-5 games with nothing but base game rules, another 3-4 games with parts of the expansion added, and then at least a dozen games since then with all features of the expansion added (through mid-January 2022). I write the above so that you can gauge to what extent I am familiar with the base game and the expansion. The expansion is a great addition to a fabulous game. I'm very happy with my purchase. The expansion adds a component largely missing from the base game: the eXploration component of 4X gaming (i.e., eXplore, eXpand, eXploit, eXterminate). But that's not all. The addition of relic fragments and relics adds a "treasure hunting" component. The ability to enhance the production or influence (or both) of a planet via the exploration component is a great add-on. The new "Alliance" promissory note adds another welcome feature to diplomacy. (This note allows you to share a designated ability with another player.) Then you have the new "Leaders" component. This component takes each faction, which already is distinct, to another level by giving you three unique leaders (an agent – once-per-turn ability that even can be given to another player; a commander – a passive, always-on ability that must be unlocked by meeting a certain condition; and a hero – a powerful, once-per-game ability that also must be unlocked). And there is a new playing piece, the mech – a new ground force that can sustain damage and usually hits on a 6 or better. I'm sure I missed something above, but all of the above add-ons really improve on and expand what is already a wonderful game. I've played the expansion with 2, 3, and 4 players so far (the 2-player version is a variant) – mostly with 2 players against my wife. Until playing the game of Eclipse (another favorite) and Twilight Imperium, my wife really didn't like games with a combat component. (Scythe was probably the furthest she had gone, and that game's combat element is not particularly bold compared to other games.) But she quickly became a pro after I eased her into it and showed her effective moves to make at various points in the game. I also helped her be OK with losing, which happened at first for her – but not for long! (She's very goal and objective-oriented, which is a good personality trait for an objective-based game like this one.) Now we're playing it every weekend, sometimes even twice if I lose the first one. (And she is actually winning over 75% of the time!) I realize that this game is designed for and best at six or more players, but the fact that my wife and I can have a blast even at 2 players says a lot about the design and enjoyability of this game. (By the way, our last game took 3.5 hours, so a positive element of a 2-player game is that it takes the least amount of time of all player counts available.) If you want a great random map generator for games with 2 or more players, you can find them online. On the negative side, I will say that it can be hard to keep track of all of your abilities and actions available to you, especially with the expansion. We regularly forget to use our agent during a game round, or to take advantage of an action card when a particular timing window opens. There is a lot to keep track of in this game, even before the expansion came out. But we get better about that downside every game, being more "present" and mindful of what's in our hand and what's out on the table. Speaking of tables, we use a 4.5' x 4.5' table, and I would encourage you to find the biggest table you can (even put two tables together), because you'll need the space even more so than with the base game. We also use a 3' x 3' game mat I bought on Amazon, which has hexes printed on the mat and even shows where home systems go for 3, 4, 5, and 6-player games. (There is a larger mat available for 7 and 8-player games, but I doubt we're ever going to have a game with that many players.) If you're already invested in the base game, adding the expansion is not going to add a lot of complexity. The rules for the new components are all of two pages long. There are more things to keep track of, but you're already used to that with the base game. Having more to keep track of is challenging, but you can get better at it over time, as my wife and I are doing. But if you don't like the base game for some reason, I don't think adding the expansion is going to change your opinion much. In conclusion, I strongly recommend the expansion if you particularly like the base game. The additions are a nice touch and take a great game to another level. (And I'm still working on lowering my wife's win percentage!)

Bought for my husband’s birthday. He loves the game and loves the expansion. It’s is a very in depth game with many moving parts. Takes a lot of focus and time with about a 12 hr game play. Very good quality. Not suitable for your kids. I would say at least 12+.

Twilight Imperium is perhaps the greatest board game of its scope and style, and one of my favorite games. An amazing variety of player factions are available, each with their own special abilities and unique additions to the "tech tree" of the game. Each race brings something unique to the table, allowing dramatically different strategies without requiring you to re-learn the game every time you pick up a new player race. Play of the game revolves around actions. Players have tokens which they allocate and spend in order to field large fleets, respond to other players' actions, and take actions of their own. They also take turns drafting special Strategy cards which determine turn order and allow them to perform special actions (like researching technology or replenishing their tokens.) There is a lot of complexity to the game, but most of that complexity lies in the interactions between rules, not the rules themselves. In other words, there are a lot of moving pieces, but they don't all move at once, and the ways they move are deceptively simple - mastery of the game lies in working with your goals, and engaging in diplomacy. Reading your fellow players and negotiating with them is key to success. The only significant drawback to the game is that it can take a long time to complete, particularly when your players are still learning. The game is worth it, but if you're not sure that you and your friends want to spend an entire evening playing the game, trying a shorter game like Scythe would probably be a good idea.

Esta expansion es muy divertida Los productos vienen con buena calidad y las mejoras de calidad ofrecidas en el gameplay me agradaron bastante

Se state guardando questo prodotto é perché avete Twilight imperium e non sapete se l'espansione é necessaria La risposta é semplice, si, assolutamente PoK aggiunge l'esplorazione dei pianeti, nuove truppe, nuove fazioni e nuove tile per la mappa, contenuti assolutamente necessari per completare questo gioco maestoso Il prezzo e sicura alto ma se avete già comprato il gioco base non credo i soldi siano un problema 🤣

Super, everything went fine, my recommendations!!!

If you enjoy TI4...then why wouldn't you buy this? Each of the new races is fun to play. The new planets and mechanics are definitely worth adding to your game. TI4 is one of those games that just rewards your investment, when you have the chance to play it, so it just makes sense to have all the things for it.

Great quality and decent packaging. Arrived in time