Emperor! is a eurogame-style game that takes place in 11th century Constantinople, and is centred around the battle for the imperial throne. Emperor! has a unique two-phase feature. In phase one players move around a map of the city collecting money, military units and characters to build up their faction. Game play is card-based, with simultaneous turns, so bluff and negotiation are important. Then, in phase two, the board flips over to a simple, diagrammatic battlefield. The players cash in their cards and sets to buy more military units. These are deployed face-down on the battle map. Players then select tactical cards (outflank, charge! etc) for their army and combat is resolved. Emperor! is card-based with no dice. It takes 30-90 minutes to play.