Reign: The Card Game First Impressions

Reign is a negotiation game.

This is a quick video overview.

Its strategic and diplomatic game-play is both easy to learn and hard to master. Players take the role of a lord or lady vying after the kingdom of Kazath after a tragic “accident” left Kazath’s previous ruler without an heir and without a head.

The key to victory is holding the Onyx Crown, the symbol of rulership. Gain the Onyx Crown or help someone else take it and you earn legitimacy, gain 9 legitimacy points and hold the Onyx Crown to be named the new rightful ruler of Kazath.

Reign: The Card Game Review

This is a brief overview of the rules then I give my thoughts on the game.

0:16 – Overview
0:27 – Game Play
7:49 – Summary

TL:DR Players will bid on houses using cards to control them, then use cards to defend them while surviving betrayals while trying to control the Onyx Crown.

Update July 2018

There are similar games to this. At least games with a similar feel. How about Dead Last? That is much easier to play too.

There are plenty of games where you need to help other people in order to win yourself. That’s what this game is about: Negotiation and doing what’s best for you 🙂

So negotiation games are fun, assuming everyone is on the same page. You have to be mean, maybe lie a bit, break promises and agree to still be friends after the game 🙂

The good thing about Reign is quite often you want other players to have that all-powerful Onyx crown. Then you don’t, then you want it, then you never want to let it go…

Bidding to do this is a fun way to do it too.

Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t and a year later I haven’t really thought much about this game, if at all.

Not a good sign!

This has a lot to do with the fact that I really don’t like negotiation as I don’t like trying t bully someone and I don’t like being told what to do (In a non-coop board game, not in life obviously). I just feel quite uncomfortable playing this kind of game.

Jesta ThaRogue

Note: The copy I played was a review copy generously provided by Garage Games Australia, big thanks to them for this game.