The game designers Flo and Gerart de Haan and the players at the big event in Eindhoven.
On February 28th, 30 players from 7 countries gathered in Eindhoven, Netherlands, for the biggest Mega Empires event ever, organized by Colossus Games, in cooperation with Joto Boardgame Café. This huge game was the occasion for Colossus Games to present all the new components and editions of the Mega Empires base games, including the upcoming Mega Empires: The Far East – North and Mega Empires: The Far East – South sets and the main expansion that connects all editions, The Silk Road.
Coming soon on Kickstarter, Mega Empires: The Far East (North and South) are two new epic games in the Mega Empires series which explore peoples, dynasties, and historic developments from the easternmost regions of Asia, from Japan to Indonesia. Designed with low player counts (3-5) in mind, they can be combined into a larger experience for up to 10 players and are also compatible with previous Mega Empires: The West and Mega Empires: The East games: through The Silk Road expansion, the four sets can be played together in one grand game to host up to 30 players around the table – and this event was just the first of what we hope is a series of record-breaking empire-building, civ-development board game experiences!
In The Far East – North and The Far East – South, pirate ships will be included in the base game: they will block areas, preventing players from accessing them by ship, unless someone pays them a tribute by discarding a trade card on the board in that area. The pirate presence introduces an element of uncertainty that may shift the balance in an area, but it could also benefit you by hindering your opponents’ ship movement. The Pirate Ships Expansion will upgrade the cardboard version of the pirate ships already present in the Far East games, replacing them with plastic miniatures, and will add all these features to The West and The East, too.
People that appreciated the Special Buildings Expansion published for The West and The East will also be pleased with a similar Special Buildings Expansion for The Far East, which will introduce 12 new buildings such as the One Pillar Pagoda, the Bayon Temple, and the Forbidden City. The Silk Road expansion has an integrated Special Buildings board that can store all buildings, including those of The West and The East.
The game underwent a thorough testing period with the game’s community, but now its development is at last concluded and the final prototype – which included both the Far East games and the expansions The Silk Road, The Pirate Ships, and the new Special Buildings – debuted at the event. The event was public, and players and audience alike could stop by to take a look at, touch, and experience the new games. They also had the chance to meet the games’ designers, Flo de Haan and Gerart de Haan, asking them questions and having a sneak peek at the latest additions.
After playing 12 hours straight, only pausing for photos, videos, and short snack breaks, the game had a winner: Ferdinand, who played Tang in the Far East and eventually scored the most Victory Points, taking home the trophy. Gero, playing Kushan, ended up second with just 2 points less, and Violet, playing Sulawesi, placed third. Congratulations to all!
The video trailer at the top of this page presents the upcoming Kickstarter campaign and also includes scenes from the 30 players event, while below here you can find a photo report (pictures courtesy of Henk Rolleman).
Stay tuned for the Kickstarter campaign - the preview page is online, sign in to keep updated and be notified when it launches!
And if you missed this event, save the date of the next “mega” appointment: on May 23rd, at Play – The Games Festival (May 22-24, 2026, Bologna, Italy). More details and how to book a seat will be revealed in the coming weeks.
Follow Us on