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Hidden Empires is a game for 2 to 6 players where each player assumes the role of an ant colony.  You will guide your colony as it attempts to grow and thrive in a hostile environment while competing for resources with neighboring colonies.  Your colony will employ unique survival strategies based on those of real world ant species.  To win the game, you must give your species the best chance of survival by producing more reproductive ants than your opponents.   Hidden Empires is not available in print.  However, all of the files you need to make your own hardcopy are available here.  You will need to create an 11" x 17" map, a deck of 60 cards, a Nest sheet and Summary sheet for each player, 48 ant counters for each player, and 96 more shared counters.  You will also need 10 small, 6-sided dice per player.   Follow this link to download all of the components in a single PDF (3.25 MB).  Or go to the Components section below to download one file at a time.   You are free to make copies of Hidden Empires for yourself and your friends.  However, Interformic Games retains its copyright to Hidden Empires.

Index Description Stats Components Acrobat Reader Rules & Sheets Map Counters Counter Instructions... Cards Русский Mailing List

Stats Construction Time:  2-4 hours Number of Players:  2-6 Complexity:  Medium Playing Time:  2-4 hours Age Group:  13+ Skill vs Luck:  67% skill Your input is welcome.  If you think these numbers should be adjusted, send an email to   Thanks!

Components   Rules A Summary sheet and Nest sheet for each player Deck of 60 cards 11" x 17" map 48 ant counters for each player 96 shared counters 10 small, 6-sided dice for each player

Acrobat Reader All files are in Portable Document Format (PDF.)  You can read and print these files using Adobe's Acrobat Reader.  If you do not have Acrobat Reader, follow this link to download a free copy from Adobe's web site...

Rules & Sheets   Print the rules file on standard paper using a black ink printer. Print a Nest Sheet for each player on heavy card stock using a black ink printer. Print a Summary Sheet for each player on both sides of standard paper or card stock using a black ink printer.   Files Rules Nest Sheet Summary Sheet

Map Hidden Empires is played on an 11" x 17" color map.  The map comes in 2 8.5" x 11" halves.  To create the map, you will need to: Print each map sheet on a full sheet label using a color printer. Use a paper trimmer to trim one edge of each sheet so they fit together. Attach each sheet to an 8.5" x 11" or larger sheet of heavy card stock or chip board. Laminate both sheets with clear, self-adhesive laminating sheets Use book tape to attach the sheets so they fold together. File Map

Counters   Hidden Empires includes 48 ant counters for each player plus 36 Discovery, 24 Plus, 24 Minus, 6 Nest Site, and 6 Trail counters that are shared.  To make these counters, you will need to: Print the ant counters file with a black ink or color printer. Print the shared counters file with a black ink printer. Mount the printed sheets onto chip board or EVA foam sheets. Cut the counters with scissors or a pen knife. Follow this link for detailed counter building instructions...   Files   Black & White Ants Color Ants Shared Counters

Cards You will need to create 60 cards. Print the cards file on off-white card stock using a black ink printer. Cut the cards using scissors or a paper trimmer. File Cards

Русский   Lex Rem has created a Russian language translation of Hidden Empires complete with rules, cards, and counters.  Thanks Lex!   Follow this link to Lex's website and look for Скрытые Империи...

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