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[More_Badass]

$2.99 (iPad, iPhone, Android, Steam)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O2HnvpXqII4

Sit on the throne as a benevolent (or malevolent) medieval monarch of the modern age and swipe your royal fingers either left or right to impose your will upon the kingdom. Survive the seemingly never-ending gauntlet of requests from your advisors, peasants, allies, and enemies while maintaining balance between the influential factions of your kingdom. But beware; each decision you make might have implications and unfortunate consequences down the road that could put your reign and family’s dynasty at risk!

An Unpredictable Kingdom: Each year of your reign brings another important – seemingly random – request from your unpredictable kingdom as you strive for balance between the church, the people, the army, and the treasury. Prudent decisions and careful planning make for a long reign but unforeseen motivations, surprise events, and poor luck can take down even the most entrenched monarch.
Dynasty Expansion: Extend your reign as long as possible, forge alliances, make enemies, and find new ways to die as your dynasty marches along through the ages. Some events will span on centuries, with an intrigue involving burning witches, scientific enlightenment, wicked politics and, maybe, the Devil himself.
Royal Challenges: Achieve specific goals set before you at the start of your reign to cement your legacy and unlock new cards and content within the kingdom.
Eclectic Presentation: An inspiring score from Disasterpeace compliment elegant gameplay and a bold art direction for a sublime experience as you rule over your people.

Pocket Tactics - 4/5

Rapidly, it becomes clear that there's a lot more complexity to that card engine than it first appears. Some decisions can have knock on effects, for example. If you marry a princess, she might bear you a child of either gender. If she does, you'll have to decide whether to accept your offspring or reject them in favour of producing an heir...
Eventually you also uncover cards that add new gameplay elements. This is where Reigns shines, showcasing many imaginative ways of making binary choices as diverse as possible. There are gambling and duelling mini-games. There are hallucinogens and diseases which will upset your understanding of the world around you. There are even dungeons to explore and spells to cast.

 

[Orakio Rob]

I'm always looking for games I can play in short bursts while I work. This might be a good fit for me, I'll check it out. Thanks, OP!

 

[More_Badass]

Reigns is pretty awesome. It's super simple to play, but there are a lot of events and the game adds new cards and events into the mix as you progress, so later playthroughs become more varied. Not only that, the developer cleverly takes the left-right card mechanic and uses it for a number of different mechanics and scenarios, from Sorcery-style dueling where you can learn new moves to use in future fights to dungeon crawling with different paths and loot to find

But the core card kingdom concept is solid too. There's enough connectivity between your choices that you do need to put thought into your choices, and crazy events and modifiers pop up that effect how you play and what choices are available

 

[Aaron D.]

This looks to have potential.

Thanks for the heads-up!

 

[gingerbeardman]

A guy I know made this, really happy for him!

 

[More_Badass]

Getting a bit better. Best reign so far is 33 years. Started a crusade, my church got too powerful, I was forced to flee into dungeons, dueled a skeleton in the depths, died bleeding in the dank dark halls

 

[Modest Mauser]

Getting a bit better. Best reign so far is 33 years. Started a crusade, my church got too powerful, I was forced to flee into dungeons, dueled a skeleton in the depths, died bleeding in the dank dark halls

You've sold me on this

 

[DagsJT]

Getting a bit better. Best reign so far is 33 years. Started a crusade, my church got too powerful, I was forced to flee into dungeons, dueled a skeleton in the depths, died bleeding in the dank dark halls

Bought.

 

[Gemeanie]

Getting a bit better. Best reign so far is 33 years. Started a crusade, my church got too powerful, I was forced to flee into dungeons, dueled a skeleton in the depths, died bleeding in the dank dark halls

Brb buying the game

 

[Sioen]

Looks nice, getting this tonight.
Thanks for the OT on this.

 

[dream]

Sounds like this might scratch that King of Dragon Pass itch for me!

 

[Daigoro]

You've sold me on this

Bought.

Brb buying the game

haha yep. that sounds cool.

 

[More_Badass]

Sounds like this might scratch that King of Dragon Pass itch for me!

I've seen that comparison a few times on other forums. Nowhere as deep or complex of course, but it captures that "saga of your choices" thrill in a condensed one-handed form. Like if you decide to start a crusade, it not only effects the game (your money increases every second, but your population constantly drops, because of the casualties), but it also doesnt end with that one reign. It continues for many reigns, so what you do as one king can influence many kings in the future

Also, I was talking with the devs, and depending on how the game does, they plan to add new cards, even a full set of queen cards

 

[killercow]

My longest reign lasted 67 years, kept the kingdom peaceful through complicated situations but ended up insane due to old age. Eventually I drove the kingdom bankrupt.

 

[Wok]

I hope we can play with keyboard arrows.

Edit: You can, and you can even play with a controller.

 

[Large Professor]

This looks interesting. And although it only costs 3€ I will probably wait for the eurogamer/RPS impressions before buying.

 

[Orakio Rob]

I was just visited by the Devil. The scene had great atmosphere for such a simple game. Before going away, he said: "The next person you say 'yes' to will die". Then the Merchant showed up asking if we should trade with our neighbors. Poor guy 0_0

Amazing game. Very fun, with some simple strategy involved and a surprisingly interesting plot.

 

[Saucycarpdog]

Getting a bit better. Best reign so far is 33 years. Started a crusade, my church got too powerful, I was forced to flee into dungeons, dueled a skeleton in the depths, died bleeding in the dank dark halls

Why is it that your impressions of a game have always sold me on it?

 

[Gaz_RB]

Bought. Looks excellent.

 

[Varg]

I saw Sterlings video this morning and was hooked. So bought this looks great.

 

[More_Badass]

I saw Sterlings video this morning and was hooked. So bought this looks great.

Link if anyone wanted to check it out:
https://youtu.be/iwkDfvTwz1M

 

[Staal]

Saw it pop-up on my twitterfeed and bought it. Devolver has a keen sense on these type of games and the tinder-style gameplay is engaging.

So far my longest reign was just 17 years. There are some interesting deaths, to say the least.

 

[More_Badass]

My review is up:

IndieGames

Reigns seems simple on the surface, but this game of kingly decrees wrings a surprising amount of weight and diverse scenarios from its easy-to-play mechanics.

And some other recent ones

Toucharcade - 5/5

A fantastic example of the way that mobile-focused design doesn't have to mean that a game has to be any less deep or engaging in a long-term way. However you decide to play Reigns, you have to play this fun, inventive, and engaging game.

Jimquisition - 8/10

Reigns is shrewd and playful, with a straightforward interface and a handful of terrific twists thrown in for good measure. Whenever things risk getting too stale, a new event or set of cards can turn up to keep one hooked, and a single playthrough won’t uncover all the secrets, as well as the ways to meet some grisly fate.

PocketGamer - 8/10

A clever subversion of strategy and casual mobile play that makes you laugh, cry, and think

Digital Downloaded - 8/10

I’m not entirely sure what I expected when I began Reigns, but I am certain that it wasn’t a humorous yet dark trek into my own psyche. In the end, I came out on the side of lightness though: I can now enjoy ruling my people at a leisurely pace. The game functions like Tinder, but you certainly don’t have to use the same reaction time as you would in a case like that. Taking your time to learn and appreciate the nuances in Reigns make it worth returning to time and time again.

GameReactor - 8/10

With its low-poly art-style and swipe-based gameplay, the card-game seems deceivingly simple. However, the unforgiving yet highly entertaining gameplay will keep you coming back for more.

 

[Sotha Sil]

Bought it yesterday and I'm having a blast. Really has a "Crusader Kings 2 ultralite" vibe, although it's even sillier. I was pleasantly surprised by the depth of several choices.

 

[Turin Turambar]

TB liked it.

 

[SpacePirate Ridley]

A friend that worked with devolver on a game (gods will be watching pixelartist and animator), gifted me yesterday.

The game is freaking great.
More about balancing the stats than really moral decissions though. Even having the stats high is bad, they need to be always in the middle.

The only problem I have is that the game is too hard if you dont get the

Spoiler

orange mushroom

in an event, that turns your stats into numbers, the circles seem totally out of wack resting or adding sometimes (ive seen circles taking away nearly 50 points, which make the game nearly impossible).

But still adictive as hell.
I dont know if its possible to ger out of the dungeon before the reign goes to thw shitter.

 

[gingerbeardman]

I'm not sure that makes much of a difference other than you being more prepared for the stat changes?

They're when your stats are shown as question marks.

 

[SpacePirate Ridley]

I'm not sure that makes much of a difference other than you being more prepared for the stat changes?

They're when your stats are shown as question marks.

The game turns a lot more strategic and in my opinion better.
Just finished the game for the first time and couldnt defeat the devil (really oblivious about what to do there). Worst part is that it resets all challenges and you need to start from the beggining, and the majority of them are pure luck to have them appear before 2000 years pass.

 

[BomberMouse]

Been playing this a lot but the last 500 years have been almost the same for me.

I googled online how to beat the game, yeah, that's super random and cumbersome sadly. Hate when games do that crap

 

[Handyandy58]

I've played about 20 rounds of this, and I am sort of getting the hang of it. I don't know how much depth is there, but the zaniness of the whole thing makes me keep coming back. Since games only take a few minutes, it's pretty fun to just pick up for a little bit on the train or play while I'm in meetings at work. Glad games like this exist.

 

[MisterCTwo]

As a fan of Devolver I just bought Reigns today having heard or read nothing about it. I just adore this game. It's so impressive to me how the simplest of graphics and interaction can result in so much depth. Pondering every swipe trying to anticipate outcomes is so engaging. So far this is definitely my favorite Android game of 2016. Great stuff!

 

[Alastor3]

This game is fantastic!

I just bought it and can't stop thinking about it.

Now I wonder what other niche games im missing out on Android.

 

[PittaGAF]

The game sold more than 600.000 copies, so new adventures and cards are coming.

I'm happy.

 

[Tribes of Trusty]

Question :

Spoiler

I did the smartass with the spirit at the beginning of the game and told it I wasn't the king.
Did I locked myself out of some content ?
Thanks

 

[Garou]

Nice game, but no iCloud-save support in iOS is a downer