In Clockwork Empire, players take the role of robots brought back to life many years after the demise of humans, with only the goal of increasing their numbers.

Players use dice to move and gain influence over the different spaces on the circular track, in order to gain resources, draw worker cards, build workers, take control of high-value Deus cards, and gain VP. The game ends when one player reaches 50 VP, and after a final accounting of VP for workers and Deus cards, the player with the most VP wins.