Paladins of the West Kingdom is set at a turbulent time of West Francia's story, circa 900 AD. Despite recent efforts to develop the city, outlying townships are still under threat from outsiders. Saracens scout the borders, while Vikings plunder wealth and livestock. Even the Byzantines from the east have shown their darker side. As noble men and women, players must gather workers from the city to defend against enemies, build fortifications and spread faith throughout the land. Fortunately you are not alone. In his great wisdom, the King has sent his finest knights to help aid in our efforts. So ready the horses and sharpen the swords. The Paladins are approaching.
The aim of Paladins of the West Kingdom is to be the player with the most victory points (VP) at game's end. Points are gained by building outposts and fortifications, commissioning monks and confronting outsiders. Each round, players will enlist the help of a specific Paladin and gather workers to carry out tasks. As the game progresses, players will slowly increase their faith, strength and influence. Not only will these affect their final score, but they will also determine the significance of their actions. The game is concluded at the end of the seventh round.
—description from the publisher
What is Worker placement
Paladins of the West Kingdom | Gameplay'd LIVE
- Smart tension between trackers
- Tight decision space with clear consequences
- Complex rules can be daunting for new players
- religious and civic order, governance
- Early medieval kingdom
- strategic drafting and tracker management
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- meeple drafting — Draft colored meeples to perform actions on your board.
- Track advancement — Advancing on various trackers unlocks abilities and scoring potential.
- Track-based progression — Advancing on various trackers unlocks abilities and scoring potential.
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- The action selection and so whatever action you choose when it's your turn to choose everybody else also gets to take that action just on a lesser scale.
- the two player variant of this is perfection it gives you the exact same feel of a higher player count
- it's tight there's not a lot of time to do all the things that you need to do
- it's all about the math and it's all about the area control
- this game just stole the show on the drive home
References (from this video)
- deep euro-style strategy
- interconnected card and worker systems
- great with multiple players
- heavy for new players
- two-player balance can feel tighter
- resource management and building toward powerful turns
- Medieval West Kingdom with monastic and paladin themes
- euro-style, heavily strategic with thematic flavor
- Architects of the West Kingdom
- Hadrian's Wall
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- card_development — acquire cards that boost abilities and future turns
- jail_mechanic — a unique jail system where captured workers can be retrieved later
- worker placement — place workers to gain resources and trigger actions
- worker_placement — place workers to gain resources and trigger actions
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- Clank is a great deck builder that you're going down into the caverns and you're trying to gather as much stuff and then come back up before you get killed by a dragon basically
- the story lines work really well on this but even without that part and sometimes we'll just play with just the cards that have no story
- it's a heads down euro-y experience and I love how the systems interact so tightly
- it's immediately fun and interesting and it's got this really cool mechanic where you're putting down dudes and the more dudes on a thing the more of whatever that resource trees or rocks whatever you get
- eight totally different maps that all use the same system so it all uses the same deck of cards and then kind of three different sets come out and simultaneously you have to pick which one you're going to use
References (from this video)
- Deep puzzle with meaningful planning
- Strong integration of multiple mechanisms
- Heavier, may be slow for casual players
- Paladins providing round-based abilities with unique workers
- Medieval/Knighthood fortress-building theme
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Multiplayer solitaire flavor — Players work independently yet interact via shared space and timing.
- worker placement — Choose a paladin each round to unlock unique actions.
- Worker placement with round-specific abilities — Choose a paladin each round to unlock unique actions.
- Worker variety and action specialization — Different colored workers enable varied board actions.
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- it's gorgeous
- everything about this game is gorgeous
- it's jazz chess with insects
- it's a combat game that I really like
- don't be turned off by it being too pretty
References (from this video)
- Seven Wonders
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- action interdependence — Actions support and upgrade other actions, building an interconnected system.
- worker placement — Draft workers and place to perform various actions that interconnect.
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- this is really interconnected worker placementish game.
- it's surprisingly smooth for how many moving parts there are.
- it's a game of inches where every space matters.
- there's way too many moving parts to explain here, but it is very very satisfying.
- you can definitely not just follow one thing and focus on one thing.
References (from this video)
- satisfying puzzle
- compares well to Hadrian's Wall in feel
- resource rushing and track-based action
- medieval Christian knightly order and governance
- thematic Euro
- Hadrian's Wall
- Lords of Arnak
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- round-based resource flow — rounds grant resources to fuel further actions
- Track advancement — actions strengthen as you progress along tracks
- track-based action strength — actions strengthen as you progress along tracks
- worker placement — place workers to perform actions and gain resources
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- Cascadia is my number 10, it is a fantastic puzzly tiling game
- the veil of Eternity this game is so good
- Twist on Hadrian's Wall in Paladins feels similar but fresh
- Wayfarers of the South Tigress, carvan mechanic is one of my favorite things in a game
- Castles of Burgundy is my number one game of all time
References (from this video)
- Strong action economy and upgrade system
- Rich thematic feel and strategic depth
- Can be heavy to teach and play solo
- Knighthood, guilds, and civic action
- Medieval kingdom management and religious/political control
- Strategic, conflict-driven with efficiency focus
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- multi-track action strength and upgrading — Actions have strength on three tracks; upgrades via buildings discount future actions.
- tableau-building with worker placement — Building cards augment options; some actions require multiple workers.
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- the worker placement in Nova Roma is so cool.
- Federation... it is such a fantastic game.
- Darwin's Journey is absolutely fantastic.
- Barcelona is my favorite currently from Danny Garcia.
References (from this video)
- AI behaves like a capable human player
- Kings orders and favor cards create dynamic AI decisions
- Tracker systems add strategic uncertainty beyond a single turn
- Solid solo mode integration and replayability
- Extra starting workshops accelerate AI setup and early game momentum
- Setup is time-consuming due to multiple boards and AI setup
- There is a lot to track, which can be overwhelming
- Not a quick play; not something to set up and play in minutes
- Political and religious power, governance, and martial orders in a medieval church-state
- Medieval/fantasy realm in the West Kingdom during a period of paladins and governance
- Mechanics-driven with limited explicit narrative; emphasis on strategy and planning
- Circadians First Light
- Raiders of the North Sea
- Architects of the West Kingdom
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Deck management and discards — AI and players manage decks, drawing, discarding, and using tokens like absolution.
- Endgame scoring and outsiders — Outsider cards provide victory points; AI also scores through endgame tallies.
- King's orders and King's favor cards — Cards drive action options and AI behavior; influence scoring and choice.
- Resource management — Silver, provisions, townsfolk, taxes; debt and bribery-like incentives appear via cards.
- Track-based action resolution — Green tracking system and related tracks (monks, garrison, etc.) determine available actions and AI priorities.
- worker placement — Players and AI place workers to take actions; AI uses its own worker actions.
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- The best thing about the solo mode is when you catch yourself cursing the AI player for taking something you wanted
- The AI plays like a pretty good human player focusing on the higher point scoring aspects of the game
- The tracker is another solid system
- The AI in this game is a direct evolution of those presented in circadians first light, Raiders of the North Sea and Architects of the West Kingdom
- however, it does take a while to set up with the different boards
- The paladin solo mode is not just to beat your score game
References (from this video)
- Engaging theme and tight engine-building
- Beautiful components and cohesive design
- Heavier weight may deter lighter-gamers
- Paladin orders and political influence
- West Kingdom, medieval-fantasy realm
- Euro-style engine-building with thematic focus
- Architects of the West Kingdom
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- engine-building — Develop a resource engine to fuel action efficiency.
- worker placement — Allocate workers to take selective actions with limited slots.
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- 3M ball games is a channel that isn't around shifting product we're not around making Publishers look good for the purposes of selling more toys to you
- none of what we do here is specifically brought and paid for by by any publisher
- we want to be a voice of the customer
- if you want to keep independent voices out there in the board game Space who aren't doing just marketing then you know consider supporting a channel
References (from this video)
- great forethought requirement
- excellent multi-layer decisions
- can go quick and feels punishing if you fall behind
- order, diplomacy, and expansion through worker-like actions
- fantasy-medieval city-building with faith and governance
- multi-layered, strategic engine-building with forethought
- Agricola
- Root
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- engine-building / city-building — you grow your engine by placing workers to gain resources and effects
- timing / expansion management — decide when to expand and build houses to reduce action costs and unlock scoring
- worker drafting / action selection — draft a set of workers to perform board actions and progress on the engine
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- Calico is cute and it hurts my brain
- the big thing with the coin games is the cascading decisions
- every decision feels like it is most important
- it's like playing Root and being mindful of everything going on around you
- you have to watch where Directorio and Government tracks are moving
- mind management has a lot of dialogue back and forth for sure
References (from this video)
- Scarce worker resource
- Workers primarily placed on personal board
- Limited central contested spots
- Not primarily a worker placement game
- medieval
- kingdom
- paladins
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
References (from this video)
- Planned content using a copy via a contributing player; showed openness to collaboration.
- No ownership copy; dependency on another player for tutorial content.
- Medieval fantasy governance/municipal management
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- unknown — Not described in transcript.
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- I'm not doing great
- this is my entire income right now
- I miss doing the work I miss the people that I've worked with
References (from this video)
- Multiple viable victory paths
- High interaction and tension
- Interesting color worker mechanic
- Complex planning; longer playtime
- Balancing across paths can be challenging
- defense, multi-use cards, government influence
- medieval West Kingdom with invading outsiders
- emergent social conflict with public goals and 'King's favor' dynamics
- Raiders of the North Sea
- Architects of the West Kingdom
- Stone Age
- Village
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Draft at start of round — Players draft workers to prepare actions each round.
- Multi-use cards — Outsider cards provide immediate and endgame benefits depending on choice; cards have dual uses.
- Outsiders: attack or convert; multi-use cards — Outsider cards provide immediate and endgame benefits depending on choice; cards have dual uses.
- Public goal cards / King's favors — Public goals give directional scoring and interaction; King's favors add tension.
- Shared colored workers — All players share a pool of differently colored workers to take actions.
- worker placement — All players share a pool of differently colored workers to take actions.
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- just try something fresh
- staring at stuff until the idea comes out
- you can't please everyone
- the place one pick one mechanism was very much like just a spark of an idea that worked
- you don't own the workers you share them
- it's not just building ... it's engine building with apprentices
References (from this video)
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- it's a lifestyle it's a lifestyle we've just committed
- we're all human
- stay positive don't let the travels of this country get you down
- we want everybody to be at the table contributing at that table
- this is a tall order
- we're counting down this is 20 and 21
References (from this video)
- One of the best AI opponents in gaming
- Deep rich complex engine building
- Lots of decisions and maximization
- AI feels like real player
- Significant setup time
- Not a short game
- High complexity
- Action and engine building
- Medieval kingdom
- Strategic gameplay
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- action selection — Select actions each turn
- AI Opponent — One of the best AI opponents in gaming with aggressive play
- engine building — Build engines to maximize returns
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- I've played about 300 solo games so this represents the top of all the solo games I've played
- These are entirely my opinions based on my personal play experience
- I think this is one of the cleverest solo modes on the market
- When you win a game of Robinson Crusoe there are very few things in solo board gaming more satisfying
- The closest experience in board gaming to being the captain on a bridge in a sci-fi movie where everything is going to shit
- I'm probably a solo board gaming masochist
- I just love Thunderbirds as a solo game
- It feels like Legendary Encounters was built for the Alien theme and was built as an upgrade to the original Legendary system
- Probably the best AI opponent in all of board gaming
- Few games have that genuine sense of exploration
References (from this video)
- interesting color-based worker system and board interactions
- multiple paths to victory with planning
- scoping and planning can be complex
- nobles defending a city, religious influence, political maneuvering
- West Frankia, around 900 AD
- historical fantasy with medieval twists
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- personal_board_and_shared_board — private boards interact with a shared board-triggered economy
- Player Board | Main Board — private boards interact with a shared board-triggered economy
- worker_placement_with_color_dynamics — workers come in different colors for varied actions
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- This game is all about balance and efficiencies with a good dose of theme.
- The race to get your stars out is kind of what's driving this game.
- The two main reasons why this game is on my list. First is the tech trees.
- This game offers me the perfect balance of euro mechanisms and card play combined with randomness of events.
- That patching mechanism is just so fun and engaging that patch history is my number 75 on my list.
- The production wheel. These wheels have rotating spokes that split the wheel into two sections.
- Kickback actions are one of the reasons why I love this game.
- The theme in this one is, well, to be fair, not exactly sure beyond being an empire looking to expand.
- What sets this one apart is you only draft once during the game at the very beginning.
References (from this video)
- satisfying engine-building when it works
- deep, multi-layered Euro mechanics with varied paths to victory
- significant strategic depth and replayability
- high complexity and heavy weight may deter casual players
- limited player interaction outside of core engine focus
- some rules and interactions are intricate and require careful planning
- order, defense, faith, intrigue
- Medieval west kingdom defending against invasions and unrest; paladins manage resources, order, and faith
- engine-driven euro with minimal cooperative story, emphasis on optimization
- Architects of the West Kingdom
- Raiders of the North Sea
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- action area constraints — some spots require matching colored workers or purple rogues; other actions upgrade attributes
- Area Control — some spots require matching colored workers or purple rogues; other actions upgrade attributes
- attribute track progression — attributes affect the effectiveness of actions; higher is better
- combat/outsider management — attack, fortify, garrison, absolve, convert; dealing with outsiders and outposts
- deck-building / card draft — draw three paladins from your deck at start of turn; tavern and knight cards modify the deck
- engine building — chain actions across different action spaces to improve efficiency and outputs
- engine-building — chain actions across different action spaces to improve efficiency and outputs
- Resource management — gain basic resources via hunts and trades; manage debt, suspicion, and tax mechanics
- tax / suspicion mechanic — suspicion tracks and tax stand mechanics that cause debt and restocking
- Track advancement — attributes affect the effectiveness of actions; higher is better
- worker placement — place workers on locations to gain resources, actions, and benefits
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- the best thing about this game is building an engine that works, it's so damn satisfying
- the engine building and paths to victory are many and varied
- however, asides from the central spots the player interaction is limited
- it's definitely more of a serious gamers game
References (from this video)
- medieval
- fantasy
- knights
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- everybody game your abc's start with a and end with z
- arkham horror that's a fright
- b is for battle or there's monsters to fight
- cosmic encounter that's right
- fury of dracula he turns into mist she is gone
- shown clever you'll feel so smart
- hogwarts battle defend against the dark arts
- jabberwocky you can't play it alone
- in that runner they don't make it anymore
- on mars get a galactic high score
- paladins for the kingdom
- quellenberg proportions the best
- space space if you like your sci-fi
- viticulture watch those wine grapes get smashed
- welcome to build a neighborhood
References (from this video)
- Complex interconnected mechanics
- Multiple strategic paths
- High replayability
- Interesting theme
- Steep learning curve
- Long play time
- Many interlocking rules
- Kingdom building and resource management
- Medieval Western Europe
- Players as head paladins managing a kingdom
- Architects of the West Kingdom
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- action selection — Choosing from multiple action types each turn
- Resource management — Managing silver, provisions, and other resources
- worker placement — Players assign workers to different action spaces
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- I don't even own this game and I know how to play it.
- We are all paladins managing our work.
- This game's crazy.
References (from this video)
- rich thematic feel; satisfying engine-building
- great with two players and capable at four
- tight interplay between deck and board
- heavy rule set; learning curve is steep
- teaching can be lengthy for new players
- deck-building, worker placement, engine-building
- medieval kingdom management and paladins
- grim but noble, historically flavored
- Terra Mystica
- Spirit Island
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- block and upgrade synergy — build structures to optimize scoring and chain actions
- deck-building with paladins — draft and utilize paladin cards to gain abilities
- worker placement — manage workers to perform varied actions and build your kingdom
- worker placement with multiple workers — manage workers to perform varied actions and build your kingdom
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- it's a really intense game
- this is the meanest tree game out there
- it's the best trick-taking game of all time
- the economy in this game is probably one of the most interesting parts
References (from this video)
- Good mechanisms for grabbing townsfolk
- Lots of options available
- Respected game in the community
- Theme representation is weak
- Becomes repetitive (spamming same two actions)
- Too dry and abstract for theme promises
- Takes 2-3 hours with 2-3 players
- Problematic for colorblind players
- Medieval
- Kingdom Building
- Religion
- Architects of the West Kingdom
- Raiders of the North Sea
- Viscounts of the West Kingdom
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Card Play
- Dice rolling
- Meeple collection
- worker placement
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- it delivers what it promises and it does have that true epic feel to it
- bless you you've got you've got a game that's tailor-made for you
- you can be set for life playing Magic with your group but yeah it's not for me
- this is a game where if you are playing with somebody who knows the game they are going to absolutely trounce you
- I think you'd cut 30% from this game and it wouldn't be a worse game for it
- taking myself out of the equation this is like 10 but with my own enjoyment into it it's definitely significantly lower
References (from this video)
- Overshadowed by other games
- Less popular than expected
- Medieval
- Kingdom
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- you're listening to the broken meeple show a podcast that speaks passionately about board games
- it's only a game
- I hate pretentiousness in games
- we got to be able to dislike some things you know I'm all about balance you can love something but you got to hate something as well
- I'm worried that they've gone too far
- definitely I think the most complicated game that they have put out ever I'm not joking
References (from this video)
- Builds on Architects of the West Kingdom
- Red color recalls trilogy
- Different personalities despite helmets
- Warriors with various emotions (raging, determined)
- Fantastic composition
- Stunning visual
- Central avatar helmet covers eyes
- Some disconnect from Architects
- Holy warrior
- Medieval Europe
- Religious/medieval
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- worker placement — Medieval warrior game
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- The box cover makes a promise to the customer
- Every box cover tells me what I'm going to be doing and how I'm going to be feeling
- This artist is one of the best board game artists working in the industry right now
- This is how you do it
- This cover is a mess
- Striking iconic design
- The box cover is not selling the game