Archon: Glory & Machination

The land of Cardis has been ruled for many years by King Rhodrig. Cardis is a rich and powerful kingdom controlling all neighboring provinces, which provide valuable resources. All this wealth attracts warlords and raiding parties who more than often launch attacks against the kingdom. So far Cardis has stood against such attacks but with heavy casualties. Thanks to the support of wealthy Archons, the kingdom gets rebuilt so that Science and Arts can flourish once again. At the same time new soldiers are recruited and the army prepares for the inevitable moment when the kingdom will need to be defended once again. In Archon, players are powerful Archons who support Cardis in order to win King's favor. The Archons use their influence on figures of authority, taking as many as they can on their side in a constant struggle amongst themselves to see who can best manipulate their subordinates to do their bidding. Each game consists of three rounds (years). For each of these rounds, the King issues different demands that players must fulfill. Each round includes 3-4 turns during which players use a card-driven worker placement mechanism to perform various actions that will allow them to gather resources and income, recruit soldiers for the royal guard, rebuild the city, and use the palace buildings to acquire scoring cards (Science, Arts, Royal Guard). After three rounds, the game ends and the player with the most victory points wins.