Renegade Game Studios Renegade Game Studio | Architects of the West Kingdom | Board Game | Ages 12+ | 1 to 5 Players | 60 to 80 Minutes Playing Time

Product Information

You have to discard 1x Building card (from your hand) and then pay the allocated resources (not the ones on the card itself). So few Euro games offer this level of direct player interaction and scuppering of plans, it’s a breath of fresh air. Plus, they can just better their lives at the end of the game and get out of the negative points and maybe even into the positives. As someone that usually can't get into worker placement games, I enjoyed this one a lot, and that should say a lot by itself.

One of the spaces on the board is a town centre action and it lets players capture groups of workers. Well, to craft both new options, you need to stack a worker on top of a worker that is already in the guildhall, as well as pay 5 Silver for the adornment. In basic play all of the character mats are exactly the same, but each also has an alternate side with a unique ability to shake things up. There is a small draft of building cards, and each player will end up with 3 Building cards to start the game. You have to discard 1x Building card (from your ha

Note that in that final round, players can still take the Guildhall action even though all the spaces are filled. That by itself is a fascinating mechanism that effectively decouples your instincts from your best interests. What Phillips is doing is developing a coherent, consistent aesthetic direction that ties across a range of titles. Wanting to keep your noble status, you set to work gathering resources and money, endeavouring to build the most impressive buildings and landmarks in the Kingdom.

The trademark iconography that carries through to all of the games in the series is easy to interpret, and immediately familiar to anyone who’s played any of the other games. This deluxe Collector's Box is designed to fit Architects of the West Kingdom, Works of Wonder, and all additional content, such as promos, metal coins, and sleeved cards. Renegade has done a good job with this one, and this one has me looking forward to the next directional game from them after this and Raiders of the North Sea series.It is nice to have another color option (orange), but I do not play this game with more than four players. They’re like stately old manor houses: Impeccably designed, perfectly kept, and a bit dry and stuffy.

If there are only two players, they tend to mostly ignore each other or hound each other so closely that nobody can accomplish much. However, what you’ll most often find is everyone nibbles around the table – taking small bites rather than large gulps, because that’s how you avoid the attention of your opponents. You see, for those shady individuals who don’t abide by the law there are also advantages to be had – sure, they lose points at the end of the game, but they don’t have to pay taxes. When you first place a worker with the Princess, you can contribute one resource in exchange for an Influence reward and more if you contribute gold or marble. It’s not all plain sailing though, as the other architects (your rival players) are out to do the same.

The first thing that pops with this game is the wonderful, vibrant and slightly quirky artwork of The Mico. I feel that having four players strikes a good balance between player interaction and the ability to actually stay on the board. As with almost every space on the board, the more workers they have assigned there the more effective the action becomes. The artwork is a bit too angular and caricature-like for me – the people look a little weird – but I have found that I’m in the minority here. A review copy of Architects of the West Kingdom was provided by Asmodee Nordics in exchange for a fair and honest review.