One of my favourite sitcoms of all time... "Seinfeld". ๐ One thing George Costanza always wanted was to be an architect. After work and dinner tonight, that's just what I was, as I brought Architects of the West Kingdom to the table for the first time since March 1st!?!? Whoa!
And we're ready to build for the King!
I chose Frederick to take on Constantine (standard difficulty) tonight. I also decided to use the second/bonus side of the player mat for the first time. All player mats in Architects of the West Kingdom are double sided:
-One side is the same for all players
-The other has variable setups/starting resources and a special ability for each character.
In Sir Frederick's case tonight, I did not have to pay a building card when I worked on the cathedral. Sweet! I also started with a few coins, and a resource as well (can't remember which one as I type this ... )
As with Raiders of the North Sea , the artwork by Mihajlo Dimitrievski is just fantastic! I absolutely love it. ๐ Shem's games are the most vibrant and beautiful ones to look at it!
Sir Frederick started off decently. He hired a stonecutter apprentice quite quickly which helped me out. But of course Constantine made me think several times throughout the game. Shem Phillips' solo modes in his games are right up there with Scythe in my opinion. Just so much fun!
I ended up taking game 1, 44-35. That was my highest score so far since I got the game around New Years. I honestly thought at times I was in trouble, as Constantine was being his usual self. I ended up hiring the right combo of apprentices to help me build these buildings (which also were worth some nice VPs as well).
It gave me the urge to play again, and I had some time. So ... On to game 2 to defend my title of "Architect of the West Kingdom".
The King loves me, what can I say....
In game 2 I stayed playing Constantine, but chose a different player mat to experience their special ability. I chose Ada for game 2 (sorry, no pics in game two). Her ability is she pays 1-less coin for taxes, which really comes in handy. She starts with 11 virtue, no coins and 1 gold.
In this game, I thought I was fairly in control most of the time. Although twice I got caught with making a tough choice with only 2 workers left available. In the end it was very close! I edged Constantine 34-33. ๐ฎ Phew!
Still the King's favourite. ๐
Iโve always wanted to try one of these games. I do enjoy worker-placement, as well as playing against an Ai, so it should be a no-brainer. Itโs the artwork that always turned me away. Too cartoony for my tastes, yet I admit it is all very vibrant and colorful. Iโm not that harsh of a judge, this is just my personal preference. Maybe one day Iโll give it a shot, anyway, just to try out the mechanisms.
Nice review, now I want this game even more......๐
George was also a marine biologist as we are about to discoverโฆ ๐๐