Viscounts of the West Kingdom is live (Vying for power)
Update: Viscounts of the West Kingdom has launched on Kickstarter, and the campaign will run for 16 days. You can pledge for just the game (also offered in other languages) or add The West Kingdom Tomesaga and metal coins, or go all-in and get the whole West Kingdom bundle.
Our preview post below was published on March 2.
Viscounts of the West Kingdom is the final part of the West Kingdom trilogy by designers Shem Phillips and SJ Macdonald (the other two games being Architects of the West Kingdom, and Paladins of the West Kingdom). Viscounts will launch on Kickstarter on March 3, and backers will also get the chance to add The West Kingdom Tomesaga and the Age of Artisans expansion to Architects of the West Kingdom to their pledge. The Tomesaga makes every game in the trilogy playable in campaign mode, either competitively or cooperatively.
In the solo mode of Viscounts, you compete against an AI opponent. The Kingdom is in disarray, and Viscounts seek to gain the favour of the people, should there be a change in the current state of affairs. In the course of the game, you will be gaining either debts or deeds cards through Corruption and Virtue. The game ends when the Kingdom is either plunged in poverty or thriving with prosperity.
On each turn, you will be managing the Townsfolk cards that are lined on your player board. At the start of the turn, you place one person from your hand on your board. If it is a criminal, you gain corruption. These cards move conveyor belt-style to the right, and the one that is removed is placed in the discard pile.
The next step is to move your Viscount on the central board and take one out of four possible actions: trade, construct a building, place workers or transcribe a manuscript. You may also recruit the Townsfolk card that is adjacent to your Viscount on the main board, and then check if you have to resolve a collision, in case your virtue and corruption markers end up in the same spot.
On the AI's turn, you will draw one card from its deck and follow the actions it shows. The rules are nearly identical to those of the multiplayer game. Each player board has AI settings on the reverse which gives some variety to the AI, as each one has a different focus (eg. constructing buildings or placing workers).