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The city of Amul was one of the largest centers of international trade in ancient times and an important transit point on the Great Silk Road. The prosperity of this splendid city of merchants peaked after Arabian conquest in the 10th century and it was destroyed by the Mongols in 1220.
Amul, originally announced as Silk Road, is a card game of bustling bazaars for up to eight aspiring merchants. In Amul, each player is a striving merchant, competing for wealth and success. The creative card drafting mechanism caters to swift and simultaneous gameplay, keeping all players constantly engaged.
Draft cards from the market to collect goods and valuables, hire guards, assemble caravans, and make contracts with traders. Manage your hand effectively as only certain cards can be played to the table for scoring, while others must be in your hand for optimal end game scoring.
Amul features fast and engaging gameplay, as well as beautiful artwork.
—description from the publisher
- Rich layering of mechanics and high interaction for a thinky, multi-layered experience
- Strong theme integration with meta-game (annulet) and lore cards that flavor play
- Excellent two-player experience and scalable with more players via variants
- Flexible setup with tail cards that add variety and spice without bloating core rules
- Solid solo mode options with adjustable difficulty
- Complex rules surface may be intimidating to new players
- Taunt/attack interactions can lead to frustration if not managed tactfully
- Prototype state means components and production details can change before final release
- royal intrigue, factional powers, meta-game within a game, and a dynamic economy of stones and fate/annulet cards.
- Kingdom of the King’s Crown universe; a tavern-and-court setting where players draft, build tableaux, and chase annulet set collections within a 3x3 grid.
- Array
- Castle Combo
- Triple Triad
- Queen's Blood
- Gwent
- Witcher series
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- This is a preview of Amulet from Airy Idol Games. Yes, the same thing that brought us The All King's Crown.
- It's not the All King's Crown 2, but it's very much linked to that. It's linked to that game.
- This is a game inside the game.
- I think it's a thinky meaty card game that is incredible at two players.
- There are a lot of layers. Not just the core mechanics, but the lore and tail cards that spice things up.
References (from this video)
- Tactical depth with multiple scoring avenues
- Strong action-puzzle feel and slot management
- Covers both long- and short-term goals
- Can be dense for newer players
- A large card pool may overwhelm at first play
- Zoo development and conservation with a card-driven action system.
- Market-driven zoo management and animal conservation efforts.
- Tactical action selection with evolving card slots and strategic planning.
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Card-driven action selection — Choose one of five action cards each turn to drive your plan.
- End-game via dual scoring tracks — Two scoring tracks interact; crossing thresholds ends the game.
- Slot-based action strength — Actions increase in strength as you upgrade card slots; tension to time stronger actions.
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- My number 70 game is a two-player game only about two villages competing over beer and bread.
- This is the only solo game I have on my list.