Gugong

Gugong is a strategy game set in China in 1570, during the reign of the Longqing Emperor of the Ming Dynasty. You lead a powerful Chinese family seeking influence by exchanging gifts with officials in the Forbidden City. Because the gift you offer must be worth more than the one you receive, each exchange requires you to weigh which action to take.

Influence and intrigue

You travel around China, sail down the Grand Canal, purchase precious jade and help construct the Great Wall. You can also secure advantages through decrees and influence events through intrigue, as you work toward an audience with the emperor.

The game takes place over four rounds, each representing a day. Each day has three phases:

• Morning: prepare for the coming day.
• Day: take actions by exchanging gift cards with officials at the seven card locations on the game board.
• Night: check whether cards in your discard pile match the Destiny Dice.

At the end of the fourth day, you receive additional victory points for the Great Wall’s completion, level 3 Decrees, your arrival order at the Palace and your jade collection. The family with the most victory points wins.

Solo play

In this app version of the board game, you play against Meng, a solo automata with three difficulty levels. The app includes a short tutorial covering the basic concepts and a complete set of written rules.