GAME TECH: Hard reign a pleasure to experience

WE’VE all dreamed of living like royalty, but not like this. In Reigns, there are no courtesies and humble servants. Instead, there are witches, possessed dogs, political uncertainty and even the devil himself to contend with. You’ll live like a king — it’s just that your life won’t last very long.

Reigns is like Tinder for monarchs. It’s a card game in which you swipe right for ‘yes’ and left for ‘no’ when faced with a request from your many subjects. The choices you make impact four pillars of your kingdom: Religion, The People, The Military and The Treasury. The pillars are represented by a number between 1-100, with decisions you make raising or lowering the number. If the number for any of those pillars reaches either zero or 100, it’s game over, because you can’t let any of them become too weak or too strong.

For example, the military general might plead: ‘My king, the southern kingdoms are moving closer to the border — we should attack first.’ Saying yes will lower your military reserve and probably reduce the happiness of the people, too. Saying ‘no’ might keep the people content, but leave you open to an attack later down the line.