Mandate of Heaven, a Game of Chinese History 120 BC - 1954 AD

As summer came on the heel of spring, a new regime was bound to replace the old one, whenever the right time arrived. Before an old regime was replaced, there were unmistakable signs indicating its coming end, such as flood, drought, famine, and epidemics, the same as twilight signified the rising sun and falling leaves marked the coming of winter. When natural calamities repeatedly occurred, it was clear that the old regime had lost the Mandate of Heaven. Then the reigning monarch, facing the inevitable, should elect the wisest and most virtuous man to replace him, so as to make the change of dynasties a peaceful transformation. Failure to do so would provoke revolt which, in this case, was clearly justified. In the end the old regime would be overthrown and replaced by a new dynasty, which in turn had to pass through the same process.

Dun J. Li, the Ageless Chinese

Mandate of Heaven is a game for four players, which should take 4-8 hours to play. It depicts the political and military history of China from the Han Dynasty to the People’s Republic of China. Each player controls eight empires which earn victory points by holding the Mandate of Heaven, controlling the Forbidden City, occupying areas, building spheres of influence and destroying enemy armies. Each empire has counters representing its leaders, armies, artillery and spheres of influence. Empires add counters through invasions and the natural increase of population, move them on the map and resolve combat using dice. At the end of the game the player with the most victory points wins.