I freaking loved Imperial Miners. So did Tony. We both found it to be a great, quick playing, engine-building card game. Unlike Tony, I did not mind that it was multiplayer solitaire. In fact, while I enjoyed Imperial Settlers and Imperial Settlers: Empires of the North, I did not like the attacking you could do to other players. I was very excited I could play Imperial Miners and not worry about your mine collapsing due to your opponent’s nefarious plans.
Unsurprisingly, Portal has published an expansion for Imperial Miners. Titled Imperial Miners – Aztecs vs. Weirdlings, the expansion adds the two titular factions to the mix. Is that enough content to warrant a purchase? I’ll let you decide, but it is a conditional yes for me.
Expansion Overview:
This small expansion includes two new factions: the Aztecs and the Weirdlings. Aztec effects are more potent based on the cards in your hand or on the cards you discard. The Weirdlings are a little more complex. Each card effect is split into two—one based on if it is Day, and one if it is Night. The new Day/Night cycle is tracked by a surprisingly hefty poker chip. Whenever a card with a Day/Night symbol is resolved, you flip the chip to its opposite side.
To integrate the two new factions, you must remove two of the older factions, except for Egypt. The removed factions are considered Lost Factions. Per the Publisher (ick – stupid work email habits creeping into my reviews), Egypt cannot be selected as a Lost Faction because they have the most cards, and advancing on the Progress tracks is mostly driven by this faction. Note that you can also play with only one of the new factions by removing only one of the older factions (more on this later). To assist with randomizing which factions to play with, seven cards representing every faction, except Egypt, are included in the expansion. Simply draw two cards.
Finally, the expansion includes an updated Shepards card to replace the one from the base game.
Game Experience with the Expansion:
What made me want to belt out “Hi Ho, Hi Ho”
The two factions are the shining, and basically only, stars of the expansion. I really enjoyed both the Aztecs and the Weirdlings. Before playing the expansion, I was concerned about the Weirdlings and how the Day/Night cycle would be tracked or impact the game. I absolutely LOVE this new mechanism! It adds a timing aspect, like the Collapses from the base game. Some of the cards are better at Night, while others are better during the Day. Trying to time when to resolve the cards to maximize your effects is what makes the Weirdlings entertaining. For example, if one of your cards is better during the Day, if you resolve it when it is Day, it will flip the poker chip to Night. In the following your turn, you can play your Night card, taking advantage of your amazing tactics!
The Aztecs reward you based on what cards you have available. For example, Free Meal, a Tier III card, allows you to Collapse it to discard cards from your hand for a gem each, while Pyramid Builders, a Tier II card, lets you advance one space on the Progress track for each card with a different cost in your hand. This faction gives you a reason to hold many cards in your hand, something that was not as important in the base game, especially after you had one of each faction in your mine. The Aztecs are an excellent addition to Imperial Miners!
The expansion continues the excellent production values from the base game. The cards use the same art style that I love from the Imperial series. If you are a fan of Halloween, the Weirdlings art will be right up your alley. Multiple cards referencing Thriller, Vampires, and Werewolves, among others, are on every Weirdling card. I was VERY surprised by the heft of the Day/Night cycle poker chips. Portal could have simply used 5 cardboard tokens. I am glad that they decided not to. Finally, the inclusion of the seven reminder cards and the updated Shepard card are icing on the cake.
What made me want to bite the apple and go to sleep
Not EVERYTHING is rosy with the expansion. Removing the two expansions is a pain. First, it requires you to remove every card that includes the symbol of either of the Lost Factions. Once, you have done that, you are ready to go… until the next game, when you must repeat the same thing if you select one or two different factions. In addition, if you are terrible at shuffling or randomizing, the two Lost Factions are all grouped together at the end of the game.
We created a solution that keeps the cards randomized and does not require any pregame organization. We simply discard any card that has a Lost Faction symbol and draw another during the game. While this does add a little bit of extra time as you redraw cards, it lets you get right to the game and not have to review every card at the start of the game.
My only other regret is that the expansion was not more ambitious. I love Imperial Miners. I want more! I really appreciate the two new factions, but that is all the expansion adds. There are no new events. There are no new Progress Boards. At a minimum, Portal could have included a second copy of the original Progress Boards so that I can use Technology AND Military in the same game. I know I could buy another base game, or simply photocopy my current boards, but I would have preferred if they could have included them in this expansion or, hopefully, a future expansion.
Final Thoughts:
The two new factions are great! If there was a better way to integrate the expansion components, this would be a no-brainer, 100% buy recommendation. I do not mind the solution we use; however, if you feel that having to pull the cards out before each game is not worth it, or that our solution is dumb, then I would not recommend you buy the expansion. But if it does not sound like a big deal, go out and buy this expansion. Now. It is worth it!
Hits:
• Two new Factions
• Production Values
Misses:
• Integration into the base game
• Not very ambitious
