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Alright, time for some disclosures. This game has given me a lot of joy over the years. It introduced me to Garphill Games as a company and opened up my board gaming world of their historical trilogies. I have gone pretty deep into these games, backing a lot of the most recent releases, looking at the expansions and Collectors edition boxes to keep it all in, with the colourful Folded Space inserts to boot. To say I'm a fan is an understatement. Yeah, I love this game. But if you’re undecided on Architects of the West Kingdom, let me give you a rundown.
The Game
Architects of the West Kingdom is a worker placement game with a bit of a twist. You see, most of the spots you can place your workers onto are open, so you and your opponents can share these. The exceptions are in the Black Market and Guildhall, but we won't worry about that too much. Each time you place a worker to a spot, you can gain the benefit which increases by the number of workers you have there. Which is handy, given that you start with 20 workers.
Throughout the game, you can gather resources, cards, build buildings, hire Townsfolk, arrest your opponent's workers to hinder their engine and then lock them up for money. Of course, your opponents can do the same, which makes it an interesting push and pull between attacking them and making your engine efficient yet not attractive to being attacked.
Once the Guildhall has been filled, by players permanently banishing their workers to build buildings or the Cathedral, the game comes to an end after a final round. Total up your points and the game is over. Most points wins.
Final Thoughts
It will surprise no one to hear that this is a huge hit for me. I love this game completely; it is one of my favourites. I’ve always enjoyed worker placement games, but this took it to the next level with the worker investment. It feels very thematic, and the mechanisms make sense as you build out the kingdom. Of course, you’ll get more clay from the mine if you add more people. If you dig deep enough, you might find gold!
You can go the black market, sure, but if you do, it will lower your reputation. If you lower your reputation, they won't let you build at the cathedral. Conversely, if you get too high a reputation, you can’t be seen cavorting around with the criminal underworld, so you avoid the black market like the plague. Also, if you find yourself in prison when the black-market resets, if you have the most workers there, you’ll be gaining debt. Pay off the debt? Well, that’ll boost your reputation again. It all makes sense!
I really love this as an introduction to the West Kingdom series. It sets the groundwork for the world you’re in, and gives you a fast-paced game, with a lot of variety and strategy. There’s a pair of expansions which give you even more to explore, along with the Tomesaga which lets you play the West Kingdom Trilogy as either co-operative games, or as a single campaign. I do think the game is best at a higher player count, 3 or 4, really, but the solo mode is fantastic and if you want, you can use it to simulate a really mean 3rd player in a two-player game. If you’ve been looking for a light to mid-weight game which will lead you to a whole series of games, I can highly recommend Architects of the West Kingdom.
