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Description
The time has come for the selection of a new Chancellor at Argent University of Magic, and you are among the likely candidates for the job. Gather your apprentices, ready your spellbook, and build your influence, while secretly discovering and competing over the votes of a limited Consortium of influential board members. Only the one who is able to fulfill the most criteria will claim the title of most influential mage in the World of Indines!
Argent: The Consortium is a cutthroat worker-placement/engine-building game of manipulation and secrecy in which the criteria for victory are secret and the capabilities of your opponents are constantly changing. You'll need to outwit the other candidates, use your spells at the right moment, and choose the correct apprentices to manage your plan.
Argent: The Consortium is a European-style game that minimizes luck and focuses on player interaction and strong core mechanisms that allow new strategies to emerge each time you play.
The designer keeps an updated Official Errata/Typo/FAQ thread on BGG.
Year Published
2015
Featured Videos
Transcript Analysis
Browse transcript mentions, sentiments, pros/cons, mechanics, topics, quotes, and references.
Total mentions: 3
This page: 3
Sentiment:
pos 3 ·
mix 0 ·
neu 0 ·
neg 0
Showing 1–3 of 3
Video oBhWS-do-uQ
Tabletop Turtle top_5_list at 0:07 sentiment: positive
video_pk 13373 · mention_pk 39222
Click to watch at 0:07 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Beautiful mess of a game with tons of content and variety
- Every game feels completely unique
- Fun to teach due to new spells constantly breaking the game
- Secret end-game judge criteria allow for hidden strategy
- Players can peek at scoring criteria throughout the game
- Creates new strategic opportunities to deduce opponent goals
Cons
- Memory-intensive with many different scoring goals
- Hectic and chaotic gameplay
- Can be a bit mean
Thematic elements
- anime magic school
- Harry Potter-like setting
- academic competition
- spell research
- influence building
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
Mechanics unknown.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- Kim is a little new to gaming... I've been in the business for maybe a couple decades... he's ancient he was around before the first board game was ever created
- The reason for that is if you check forums a lot of people will talk about how they don't like the semi-cooperative nature of the game
- I wish he was wrong but okay in my justification if you're playing a board game it's a physical tactile thing
- I have a lot of friends where English is not their first language... with this kind of game being abstract there are no there's no cards to read there's no complicated rule
- Argent is one of the most beautiful mess of the games imaginable
- If you've never seen this game before it is the cutest thing ever ever
- It's been my favorite game forever... I wouldn't bust this down if my family came over
- Every time I feel like playing a board game it feels like there's a part of me that's just like okay I should play Arc Nova again
- I really like when theme matches the mechanics
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video TLYm_ZKhJ00
Rolls in the Family game_review at 0:10 sentiment: positive
video_pk 13408 · mention_pk 148154
Click to watch at 0:10 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Deep, emergent strategy from a relatively simple core rule set.
- Rich partnership dynamics and meaningful interaction between teammates.
- Elegant rules that unlock a lot of strategic depth with repeated play.
- Excellent value for money (two decks included, affordable price).
- Strong potential for dramatic comebacks and tense endgames.
Cons
- Steep learning curve; new players can feel overwhelmed by the numerous nuances.
- Best experienced with exactly four players; less ideal for other counts.
- Scoring and timing can be confusing, leading to pacing unpredictability.
- Requires multiple sessions to truly internalize optimal strategies.
- Minimal theme may not appeal to players who prefer narrative-driven games.
Thematic elements
- Partnership-based climbing/trick-taking with a suite of special cards
- Traditional deck of cards with a stylized Asian aesthetic; no strong narrative theme beyond card play
- Strategy-first, with emphasis on partnership coordination and tactical decision-making
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Betting and bluffing — A player can call tiu (betting 100 points to go out first) before playing; this raises stakes and reshapes round dynamics.
- Bombs — Powerful plays (four of a kind or straight flush) that can be played to beat any led type and may be played out of turn; only beaten by larger bombs.
- Ladder climbing — Powerful plays (four of a kind or straight flush) that can be played to beat any led type and may be played out of turn; only beaten by larger bombs.
- Multi-use cards — Majang determines the round start and can force a wish card; Dragon is the highest single; Phoenix can be a wildcard or boost a single in multi-card sets; Dog must be led but passes the lead to the partner.
- Passing pre-round — Before each hand, players pass one card to each other to indirectly communicate with their partner and shape round strategy.
- Scoring and rounds — Each hand has 100 points; teams can chase a double victory by going out first, with special calls like tiu altering totals.
- Set-based trick-taking — Players lead a set of cards; others must beat with a higher set of the same type or pass; the last and highest set wins and leads the next set.
- Special cards — Majang determines the round start and can force a wish card; Dragon is the highest single; Phoenix can be a wildcard or boost a single in multi-card sets; Dog must be led but passes the lead to the partner.
- Team-vs-team structure — Four-player, partnership-focused play where staying in sync with your ally is central to success and comes with unique decision points.
- Teams — Four-player, partnership-focused play where staying in sync with your ally is central to success and comes with unique decision points.
- Tiu betting — A player can call tiu (betting 100 points to go out first) before playing; this raises stakes and reshapes round dynamics.
- Trick-taking — Players lead a set of cards; others must beat with a higher set of the same type or pass; the last and highest set wins and leads the next set.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- There is a lot of strategy in how to break up your own hand as well as how you dictate which set types the other players can play.
- The partnership aspect creates a lot of interesting decisions where you're trying to deduce the position of your partner and how to best support them.
- Passing cards before the round is your one opportunity to communicate directly with your partner.
- TIU is very interactive; not only is everyone playing cards onto a common climbing pile, but there are also a lot of strategic considerations in the dynamics of the partnership play.
- It's amazing how we still are dealt hands that feel fresh and different after so many plays.
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video INsdqolc6ko
general_discussion at 1:16 sentiment: positive
video_pk 12592 · mention_pk 115835
Click to watch at 1:16 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- strong, immersive theme that matches mechanics
- historic attention to interaction and information dynamics
- cool victory-condition design with exploration and discovery
Cons
- heavy and complex, long playtime
- high setup and maintenance due to components
Thematic elements
- academic politics, magical leadership, and spell-casting rivalry
- A Hogwarts-like magical university in a fantasy city
- highly thematic, romantic, interactive with fluid victory criteria
Comparison games
- Guards of Atlantis
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- color-coded mage interactions — mages of different colors grant unique abilities and sorcerous interactions
- item, spell, and supporter integration — collect and use items, supporters, and spells to influence actions and scoring
- variable end-game objectives / voting — a council votes to determine the leader based on multiple criteria revealed during play
- worker placement — place specialists on locations to gain bonuses and trigger actions
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- it's one of the most romantic games out there
- it's a cool twist on the whole victory point thing
- it's highly thematic and incredibly interactive
- it's a solid worker placement game that feels streamlined
- it's not a long game per se but with enough players it can stretch to two hours
- it's language independent
- this is a really nice streamlined euro with crunch
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
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Showing 1–3 of 3