An overview of Royals board games

Have you ever wanted to influence the fate of Europe by the force of change in the shadows? Now is your chance! At Royals, you will be able to create strategies with all your cunning that can influence even the most powerful ruling royal families.

royals

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Index

A brief overview of the Royals

Royals is a strategy and board game to control an area for 2 to 5 players in which players take on the role of head of a noble family vying to control 17th century Europe by exercising its greatest influence. Players must try to earn as many winning points as possible over three time periods.

Players will use cards to influence other nobles. The nobles are scattered across four countries, each with its own ambitions to win winning points. In each stage, the more territory the player controls, the more winning points you will win.

At the end of the three phases, add up all the winning points. The player with the most royal influence is the winner!

Unpacking the royal family

This is always one of the most exciting parts of getting a new board game - whether you are a newbie or a board game veteran. The Royals box on the outside sums up the theme very well, a bunch of people looking rich and strong.

When you open the box, you will see a board and rules at the top. The feel and quality of both the rules and the game board are completely standard - they are not thin and weak at all. The square cubes used to add up the winning points are made of wood and are painted in the most royally similar colors — purple and black. Tokens of various sizes only need to be extruded from the molds, and in doing so we can appreciate the effort invested in the artwork.

The following components are included:

Rules
Square game board
Token pop-ups
Wooden cubes
Playing cards

How to play Royals

Setup

Setup is pretty easy. The player only has to choose the color. There may be a dispute over each player’s favorite color, but once the colors are selected, the players will then collect all the dice of the same color.

The submitted tokens are easy to identify and should be placed on the board where they are marked. There are two types of cards: Country and Intrigue. Country cards are color-coded to match one of the four countries, and are used to recruit nobles in cities.

Intrigue cards can also be used to influence nobles, but are not limited to this role. Online maps are self-explanatory about how they are played.

playing

Even playing is pretty simple. The player's turn consists of three steps: (3) pick up the card, (1) use the card, and (2) complete the turn. When drawing a card, the player has two options: 3 country cards or a combination of 2 country cards and 3 intrigue cards. The player can pick up cards from the pile face down or the discard pile.

When using a card, the player can play as many cards as he would like. In playing cards , you can request a nobleman according to the requirements for the country card. Intrigue cards are then used to take control of the nobles of other players.

To complete the plant, you need to make sure you do not exceed the card limit for each type. Players may have a maximum of 12 country cards and 4 intrigue cards at the end of their turn. If you exceed the limit, you can then choose which cards you want to discard.

The goal is to score the most points after each of the three phases. The three-step system used is very similar to most other card-based board games, allowing most players to get to know the game quickly.

Advantages disadvantages

Advantages:

Easy to learn, good transition game
A solid addition to any collection of games

There are quite a few good things to be said about the Royals. If you have newer players in the group, they will have no problem enjoying the game.

And because it’s such a fun game, it’s definitely worth adding to your collection - it fits very well next to the Driving Ticket Series in particular. So take your crown and scepter and be influential!

Weaknesses:

Strategic elements can be a bit complicated for younger children
Players are slightly overused in board game circles

Royals is definitely not the hardest game to start playing, far from it. However, making decisions in a game requires a certain level of understanding in order to enjoy it.

What else can I say about the theme of the game? It is not unique and has been used by quite a few other games.

Conclusion: a verdict?

My general opinion of a royal / noble-themed board game is not the most original. So much has been used, veteran players might seem outdated, but luckily the theme doesn’t hinder great mechanics and gameplay.

It's easy to play, but fun. The decisions you make in any of the three phases have a big impact on the outcome of the game, which means you really have to have a tricky strategy to win.

This game will definitely fit well for players looking for tough board games. It’s not super technical, so hardcore social players may not like it. However, it is perfect for casual games and can include all types of players. This is a game that would definitely be worth having a board game board on your side for just such an occasion.

royals