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Description
Viscounts of the West Kingdom is set at a time when the King’s reign began to decline, circa 980 AD. Choosing peace over prosperity, our once strong King began offering our enemies gold and land to lay down their axes. But peace is a tenuous affair. As poverty spread, many people lost faith in his ability to lead and sought independence from the crown. Since finding favour in his courts, our future has also become uncertain. As viscounts, we must be wise and decisive. Loyalty is to be upheld, but gaining favour among the people must be our priority, should there be a sudden shift in power.
The aim of Viscounts of the West Kingdom is to be the player with the most victory points (VP) at game's end. Points are gained by constructing buildings, writing manuscripts, working in the castle and acquiring deeds for new land. Players begin with a handful of townsfolk, but should quickly seek out more suitable talents to advance their endeavours. Each turn they will be travelling around the kingdom, looking to increase their influence among the various areas of society. The game ends once the Kingdom reaches poverty or prosperity - or potentially both!
—description from the publisher
Year Published
2020
Transcript Analysis
Browse transcript mentions, sentiments, pros/cons, mechanics, topics, quotes, and references.
Total mentions: 3
This page: 3
Sentiment:
pos 1 ·
mix 2 ·
neu 0 ·
neg 0
Showing 1–3 of 3
Video wqg6Mi0dUmQ
Unknown Channel game_review at 0:09 sentiment: mixed
video_pk 7853 · mention_pk 23176
Click to watch at 0:09 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
mixed
Pros
- Fascinating game that feels fresh and original
- Seamless integration of multiple mechanics into a cohesive whole
- High replayability due to multiple paths to victory and unique starting characters
- Deep deck-building with meaningful decisions and long-term planning
- Permanent building upgrades add tangibility and strategy over time
- Vibrant theme tightly coupled with gameplay mechanics
Cons
- Steep learning curve and tricky to teach because all parts are highly interconnected
- Can feel overwhelming for new players and may require a dedicated teaching session
- Without focus, players may experience frustration trying to do too much in a single game
- Interaction density can slow play and require careful management in heavier sessions
Thematic elements
- Political maneuvering, civic development, and personal advancement within a fragile kingdom
- Medieval West Kingdom during a period of instability and decline; rulers navigate debt, crime, and shifting loyalties to grow influence
- Emergent, player-driven outcomes shaped by deck-building, worker placement, and building upgrades
Comparison games
- Great Western Trail
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Action economy and card order — Choose which of the three cards to play each turn; cards shift to the right and new ones are drawn to the left, determining available actions and their strength
- Building upgrades and permanence — Construct buildings that grant permanent upgrades and boost various rewards; placement adjacency matters for extra rewards
- deck-building — Start with a basic deck and customize over time; cards drive actions and bonuses, with a shifting left-to-right play order and special icons
- Manuscripts and manuscript-related actions — Acquire manuscripts at inner locations using cross and ink wells; manuscripts contribute to scoring and strategy
- Morality track and collision dynamics — Morality tokens shift when certain actions collide; end-of-turn positions determine rewards for all players
- Trade and outside locations — Trade resources at outside locations using money and specific resources; spending silver can supplement trades
- Wild and special icons — Criminal icon acts as a wild, while lightning, ongoing, and discard-related icons provide varying immediate or ongoing benefits
- worker placement and resource management — Place workers in castle spaces to gain resources and bonuses; bumping other workers and paying costs shapes board state and rewards
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- Viscounts is a fascinating game that feels fresh and original
- I've personally never played something that combines all these different mechanics quite so seamlessly
- there are many ways to get points such as controlling the center of the castle and the crazy mess that goes on there
- the path to victory is very different each time
- your main decision each turn is which one of these three cards do I play?
- however, this game is tricky to teach as every part of the game play is interconnected
- not having a focus will lead to a frustrating play experience
- like this idea but love collecting Cows, consider Great Western Trail
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video i5uCwSmMWwA
Dice Tower general_discussion at 5:21 sentiment: mixed
video_pk 5647 · mention_pk 16784
Click to watch at 5:21 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
mixed
Pros
- Solid mechanics, good interaction
Cons
- Not everyone loves the West Kingdom family
Thematic elements
- Worker placement/euro engine-building
- Medieval governance/feudal rule
- Strong thematic feel
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- worker placement — Tasks with workers to gain resources and score points.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- Shark Park, a memory kind of game.
- they're essentially just more complex versions of the last.
- it feels like it's a bigger game that was streamlined and streamline is often very good, but this one I felt almost a little streamlined too much.
- This one's almost there. And I know a lot of people love the Talisera.
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video 1BFj_tPQ07Y
Game Played Live game_playthrough at 4:08 sentiment: positive
video_pk 3978 · mention_pk 11600
Click to watch at 4:08 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Complex strategic gameplay
- Multiple paths to victory
- Interesting resource and deck management
- Unique mechanics involving virtue and corruption
Cons
- Steep learning curve
- Complex rule interactions
- Long playtime
Thematic elements
- Political intrigue and kingdom management
- Medieval kingdom
- Players are viscounts competing for power and influence
Comparison games
- Architects of the West Kingdom
- Paladins of the West Kingdom
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Deck building — Players acquire and manage a deck of cards representing different actions and characters
- Resource management — Collecting and spending various resources like silver, gold, and stone
- worker placement — Players place workers in the castle and different board locations
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- Who knows - the Clovis family motto
- Sometimes you gotta kill a habit you can't control the kingdom without killing a few rabbits
- The active presence of criminality
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Transcript Navigation
Showing 1–3 of 3