Initial commit with a README file

Giving a brief introduction to the game of Empires and why we are
motivated to design a client-server API for a party game that normally
requires almost no equipment. (Hint: It's about making this work when
not all players can be physically present in the same space.)

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+This repository describes a client-server API useful for playing the
+traditional party game of Empires (sometimes called Families).
+
+This game involves each player secretly choosing a character. The
+complete list of characters is read aloud at the beginning of the
+game, without revealing which player chose each character. Players
+must try to remember all the character names, and gameplay consists of
+guessing the character that another player submitted. After a correct
+guess, the guessed player is "captured" and becomes part of the
+"empire" of the guessing player. At the end of the game, there will be
+one winner who is the head of an empire consisting of all players in
+the game.
+
+See the api.text for a decription of the REST API.
+
+Motivation
+==========
+As a party game, Empires requires very little equipment, (just slips
+of paper for each player to write their character name on). And for an
+in-person party, it's probably best to just use that traditional
+method (without needing any technology to implement this API).
+
+However, if a group is not meeting in person, but instead using
+something like a video-conference tool to get together, the
+traditional approach of slips of paper may not be available. So an
+implementation of the API describes here allows for players to submit
+their own character names, and then for clients to obtain the complete
+list of charater names without knowing which players submitted which
+names.
+
+The API also allows for keeping track of which players have "captured"
+other players to form larger empires and querying the current empire
+relationshiips.
+
+Notably, this API has no mechanism for submitting guesses of a
+player's character nor determining whether a guess is correct. The
+assumption here is that the game is still played face to face,
+(whether in person or via video conference or some other
+technology). So guesses should still be communicated and resolved that
+way. The API simplifies the tracking of empires so that players can
+easily know who is still active, (whereas, in the in-person party
+game, empires are made obvious by people physically moving to sit with
+their empire).