# Age of Empires III: The Age of Discovery

Age of Empires III: The Age of Discovery is a board game for 2–5 players. It plays in 90–120 minutes and is meant for ages 10 and up. Ludoya players call it best with 4. It is rated 7.3 out of 10 by 32 Ludoya reviewers.

- **Players:** 2–5 (best with 4)
- **Playing time:** 90–120 minutes
- **Minimum age:** 10+
- **Complexity:** 3.1 out of 5
- **Year published:** 2007
- **Categories:** Civilization, Exploration, Video Game Theme, Renaissance
- **Mechanics:** Worker Placement, Turn Order: Claim Action, Worker Placement, Different Worker Types, Set Collection, Area Majority / Influence
- **Ludoya rating:** 7.3 out of 10, from 32 reviews
- **Owned by:** 30 Ludoya players
- **Plays logged on Ludoya:** 77
- **Unique players:** 99

**Designers:** Glenn Drover

**Artists:** Jacoby O'Connor, James Provenzale, Paul Niemeyer

**Publishers:** Tropical Games

## Expansions

- [Empires: Builder Expansion](https://www.ludoya.com/games/empires-builder-expansion)
- [Glenn Drover's Empires: Age of Discovery – Plague Promo](https://www.ludoya.com/games/glenn-drovers-empires-age-of-discovery-plague-promo)

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## Rules questions

### Can I save colonists or specialists for the next round if I don't place them all?

No — colonists and specialists must be placed during the placement phase and may not be saved for the next round; play continues placing them until none remain (see page 5).

### How do Captains and Merchants count in Merchant Shipping and Discovery — are they worth more than one colonist?

Captains count as two colonists in the Merchant Shipping and Discovery boxes, and Merchants count as two in Merchant Shipping (Merchants also generate $5 if placed via the Colonist Dock when they arrive in a colony); see page 7 for specialist effects and page 8 for Merchant Shipping details.

### If I send soldiers on a discovery for plunder, do those soldiers stay in the colony afterward?

No — soldiers sent on a successful discovery generate their plunder payment but are then removed from the board and returned to the player's supply; they do not remain in the colony (see page 7 and page 8).

### Do colonists in the Discovery box get cleared at the end of the turn like other event boxes?

No — colonists and specialists remain in the Discovery box until they are sent on an expedition; unlike other event boxes, they are not removed at the end of the turn unless launched on a discovery (see page 5 and page 8).

### How do trade goods and Merchant Ships generate income and how are they scored at the end of the game?

Each turn trade goods and Merchant Ships form sets that generate income (e.g., any three different goods = $1, three of the same = $3, four of the same = $6) with Merchant Ships as one-time wildcards; at game end players score victory points equal to the amount of gold those goods/ships would generate on turn 8 (see page 9).

### How does Warfare work — how many units does a soldier eliminate and are casualties simultaneous?

Each soldier eliminates one enemy unit (owner of the soldier chooses which enemy unit) and all casualties are determined simultaneously and then removed; a declared full-scale war costs $10 and spawns battles in every colony where both sides have units including at least one soldier (see page 9).

## Links

- [This page](https://www.ludoya.com/games/age-of-empires-iii-the-age-of-discovery)
- [Age of Empires III: The Age of Discovery in the Ludoya app](https://app.ludoya.com/g/age-of-empires-iii-the-age-of-discovery)
- [BoardGameGeek entry](https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/22545)

_Data from Ludoya, updated 2026-09-19. Ratings, ownership and play counts are Ludoya's own._