Power & Prestige is a game for 2-6 players about competing powers in central Europe in the 18th century. Each player as the leader of such a power has to strike a balance between military expenditures, investments into the economy and accumulating prestige.

Most importantly, the player with the most prestige will be able to choose his allies! Being in the more powerful alliance is usually the key to victory. Thus players are faced with the dilemma of either increasing their power or their prestige.

The game is for 2-6 players, ages 14 and up. Playing time is 3-9 hours (you can choose shorter or longer game).


Overview

The objective of the game is to score as many points as possible. There are two main ways to do this. One is to have a lot of prestige. The other is to have a lot of provinces and buildings.

Player’s belong to one of two large alliances which are at war with each other. So a large military force is usually needed, either to attack or to defend.

There are three different types of troops units in the game: infantry, cavalry and artillery. Each has unique abilities and can counteract one of the other two types, so that you will usually need a balance of all three types.

The game is played a number of “years”. In each year there are four rounds (“seasons”) during which the alliances take turns moving their troops and fighting battles. At the end of the year player’s do their economic activity. This includes collecting taxes, trading goods, constructing buildings and raising new troops. At the very end of the year the alliances may change!

early prototype

prototype closeup (troop figurines)

prototype map

Components

  • 12 army box counters in 6 colors (2 each)
  • 2 battle boards (basic & advanced game)
  • 2 dice
  • 21 great artists cards
  • 24 “Bank Loan” tiles (advanced game)
  • 24 residence extension tiles (4 sets of 6)
  • 246 white chips (“troop underlays” in the amounts: 61x “0”, 40x “1”, 20x “2”, 8x “5”, 4x “10”)
  • 35 orange octagonal pieces (fortresses)
  • 3 “90+” markers
  • 4 orange discs (markers for time & weather track)
  • 4 building guides
  • 4 tables handouts (with VP table on back)
  • 40 cubes each in 6 colors (control markers)
  • 6 wooden person figures in 6 colors (generals, advanced game)
  • 6 player pads
  • 6 discs in 6 colors (prestige markers)
  • 6 houses (residences) in 6 colors
  • 6 “room for additional great artist” markers
  • alliance pad
  • battlefield marker
  • bi-cornered hat marker (starting player marker)
  • building markers
  • calculation sheets (economic & VP)
  • external ally tiles (1 triangular, 2 pentagonal)
  • figurines in 6 colored sets (infantry, cavalry, artillery)
  • gold coins & green gems
  • map
  • rules
  • unrest markers
  • time & weather track
  • game end marker and diplomatic convention marker (for games shorter than seven game years)

Rules

You can download the rules and some of the central components of the game here:

Power & Prestige rules

Power & Prestige great artists