Quick Takes: 
1-4 players 
60-90 minutes 
Ages 12+ 
Level 3 (advanced, looking for a challenge)
Can't decide on your favorite game mechanic? Why not pick a game that combines a lot of them? Viscounts of the West Kingdom is the third game in designer Shem Phillips' West Kingdom series (following previous entrants Architects of the West Kingdom and Paladins of the West Kingdom). Viscounts has a unique game play experience which combines elements of deck-building, worker placement, and movement around a multi-level circular board, with a lot of interesting and tough decisions to make each turn. There's also a virtue/corruption meter as an overlay, which leads to interesting effects throughout the game.
The aim of Viscounts of the West Kingdom is to be the player with the most victory points at the end of the game. There are a lot of paths to victory in this game, with points gained by constructing buildings, writing manuscripts, placing workers throughout the castle, and acquiring deeds/debts for new land. Each turn, the player viscounts travel around the circular kingdom board, looking to increase their influence among the various areas of society. The game ends once the players run out of either debt card or deed cards to draw, signaling the end-state of the Kingdom as one of prosperity or poverty. Because there isn't a set amount of rounds for this game, your mileage may vary in terms of play time.
Hate tallying up the score at the end? Apparently, you're not alone since Garphill Games developed their own scoring app (available for Apple and Android).
- Strategy - this game gets you thinking
- 2-Player - works great for 2 players (not all games do!)
- Kickstarter cred - this game raised over $1.3M from fans on Kickstarter eager to help Shem Phillips round out the West Kingdom trilogy