Learn Zhanguo: The First Empire
Learn the game in 5 short steps. Everything links to the full rules.
Unify the empire
In five rounds, help Qin Shi Huang unify the empire and score the most points. Build a plan around regions, Governors, the Great Wall, the Mausoleum or the elixir route. The Teach page shows the full game in one read; set up with the checklist.
Build a regional tableau
Each player board has five regions. Every turn, either tuck a card into one region or play it to Court. Tucked cards grow your Writing, Currency or Laws contribution and leave an ability visible for later. Regions hold up to three cards; the second and third card increase Unrest. Keep it below the hard limit of 3. Read Gameplay and browse the card faces.
Use officials and workers
Court cards let you choose any legal action. Generals let you hire workers, Architects let you build Palaces, and Alchemists advance the elixir plan. Recruit those officials before the action you need. After a Court action, eligible tableau abilities depend on the Court card’s number; otherwise move an official or pass. See the Court action reference.
Compete for Unification rewards
Small tokens are worth one and Palace tokens are worth two. At the end of each round, compare their total values in Writing, Currency and Laws separately. The highest eligible player may spend every token of that colour to take the complete reward, or pass so the next player can try. Reset turn order, unlock Terracotta Soldiers and clear excess tokens after all three comparisons. Follow the round rules.
Turn the board into points
Palaces score when built. At the end, compare Governor majorities, multiply Alchemist cards by ship progress, score Mausoleum lines and Wall conditions, then score soldiers left at the entrance. In solo, Li Si uses a nine-card action deck and one of four scoring setups; the Solo page covers it. Review the final scoring order before you start.