ARCHEAN EMPIRES

INTRODUCTION
Area Control game for 2-6 players. 
Early Earth Primitive Microbial Life Forms Compete for Territory. 

VICTORY
The player occupying the most territories at the end of the 
Game is the gets 1 Victory Point (VP). 
The player with the most Totally Controlled Territories gets 1 VP. 
The player with the most BMT in play gets 1VP.
The player with the most VP wins. (Ties are possible) 

GAME END
The Game ends when all territories are filled up to their 
Max population levels. 

BIOMASS TOKENS
Each player has an unlimited set of Tokens of a unique color. 
These are called Biomass Tokens (BMT). 

THE MAP
Use an 8 x 8 grid map (64 spaces), square, hex, or irregular.
Each space is called a Territory. 
Each territory has a resource value from 1 to 6. 
When creating a map roll 1D6 for each space. 

TERRITORIES
At the end of a turn, there can be no more BMT in a Territory than the 
Resource level of that Territory. 
If a space has only one player occupying it, that player is said to be in 
Total control of that Territory. 

KINGDOMS
Each player belongs to a unique Microbial Kingdom. 
There are 6 Kingdoms available: 
1. Archaebacteria
2. Viroids
3. Fungi
4. Cyanobacteria
5. Protazoa
6. Eubacteria

ARCHAEBACTERIA
Primitive bacteria able to survive in very marginal, hostile environments. 
Archaebacteria start with Resistance = 3. 

VIROIDS
Sub-cellular entities that lack their own metabolism. 
Viroids start with Virulence = 3. 

FUNGI
Filamentous Eukaryotic cells with unique cell walls that reproduce by means of spores. 
The Fungi start with Infiltration = 3.

PROTAZOANS
Large eukaryotic protista cells that are fast moving aggressive hunters. 
The Protista start with Spread = 3

CYANOBACTERIA
Fast growing photosynthetic prokaryotes. 
The Cyanobacteria start with a Growth = 4. 

EUBACTERIA
Common and highly adaptable saprophytic bacteria. 
The Eubacteria get to draw 3 cards in Genetics phase and their 
Hand size is 6 cards. 

TRAITS
Each player has 5 Traits that describe his Kingdom: 
1. Growth
2. Spread
3. Infiltration
4. Virulence
5. Resistance
Each trait has a starting level that increases during play by the 
Use of Evolution cards. 

GROWTH
This is how many new BMT you get each turn. 
New BMT are placed in Territories you already occupy. 
The Growth starting level is 2. 

SPREAD
This is how many stacks of BMT you can move each turn. 
A stack is one or more BMT starting in the same territory. 
The Spread starting level is 1. 

INFILTRATION
This is how many spaces a Stack can move. 
A stack must leave at least 1 BMT in every Territory it moves through. 
The Infiltration starting level is 1. 

VIRULENCE
This gives an advantage in Overpopulation phase. 
The Virulence starting level is 1. 

RESISTANCE
This gives an advantage in Overpopulation phase. 
The Resistance starting level is 1. 

THE EVOLUTION DECK
Players share a common deck. 
Each card corresponds to one of the 5 traits. 
Cards played in Evolution phase give you a permanent increase of 1 in a trait. 
You may freely play cards in other phases, even on an opponents turn; When 
You do this, you get a +1 bonus in the indicated trait, however it only lasts 
Until the end of the turn. 

SETUP
Each player picks 1 corner space (or remote territory on the 
Map at least 3 spaces away from other players). 
Place 1 BMT on that space. 
Each player is dealt a hand of 2 cards. 
The least evolved player goes first. 

TURN SEQUENCE
Players take turns. 
Each turn has 6 phases: 
Genetics Phase
Evolution Phase
Growth Phase
Spread Phase
Overpopulation Phase
Dormancy Phase

GENETICS PHASE
Draw 2 cards from the deck and put them in your hand. 

EVOLUTION PHASE
Play (discard) one card from your hand. 
Your score in the corresponding trait increases by 1. 
Record your current trait levels using paper and pencil. 

GROWTH PHASE
Gain new BMT equal to your Growth trait. 
New BMT are placed in Territories you already occupy. 

SPREAD PHASE
You may move a number of stacks equal to your spread trait. 
A stack is one or more BMT starting in the same territory. 
You may move your stacks a number of spaces equal to your 
Infiltration Trait. Every time you move a stack, you must leave 
Behind at least 1 BMT in the space you just moved from. 

OVERPOPULATION PHASE
If a space contains more BMT in it than its Resource level, then the 
Number of BMT in excess die off. 
The player with the highest Virulence level in the space may immediately 
Remove 1 Target BMT of his choice.  (Do not do this if tied)
You cannot target a BMT that has a higher Resistance than your Virulence.  
Take all the remaining BMT from all players in the space and put them in a cup. 
Randomly remove BMT from the cup until there is no Overpopulation problem. 
The player with the highest Resistance level (skip if tied) may toss 1 removed 
BMT back into the Cup (once) and have a new one drawn to be eliminated. 
Place the remaining BMT back into the territory.  
Killed BMT (eliminated) are removed from the map. 

DORMANCY PHASE
Max hand size is 5 cards. 
Discard excess cards. 

EVOLUTION DECK CARD LIST
Card Name:		
- Growth			
- Spread			
- Infiltration		
- Virulence		
- Resistance		
There are 8 copies of each card in the deck. 





LINKS
Geologic Timeline
Stromatolites