Politics is the art of the possible.
War is politics by other means.
Peace and war. War and peace.
Take the role of the leaders of European major power in the times of Napoleonic Wars. Try to negotiate the most favourable peace, but remember sometimes war might be the only way, leading to it.
Players form partnerships or alliances, which then compete for assets: political influence. Those could be gain through diplomacy, (spending diplomatic actions) or war (spending military actions). Players move their playing pieces to vie for influence on the board representing 19th Century Europe. Influence can also be gained by completing diplomatic or military missions, shown on cards.
The alliances are not very stable, so each turn may see other set of players cooperating.
The winner is the player, who can fulfill set of ambitions of the Empire he or she is representing.