There are two expansions for Architects of the West Kingdom. I’m reviewing each right this moment. There isn’t a time to waste with a witty opening.

Enlargement Overviews:

Age of Artisans (2020) – the 1^st enlargement provides the next:

• Elements for a 6^th participant
• 6 Artisan meeples, one for every participant
• 24 craft playing cards
• 12 apprentice playing cards
• 12 constructing playing cards
• Revised Guildhall overlay
• Rating Pad

Works of Marvel (2022) – the two^nd enlargement provides the next:

• 1 Princess and 1 Profiteer meeple, Affect Board, 6 Affect Trackers (one per participant) and seven contribution/consequence playing cards
• 5 Marvel constructing tokens and their relevant playing cards
• 12 apprentice playing cards
• 12 constructing playing cards
• 12 reward playing cards
• Solo variant together with:
  • 3 double sided AI participant boards
  • 24 scheme playing cards

Sport Expertise with the Expansions:

Age of Artisans

The Artisan is my favourite new component of this enlargement. It provides an extra layer to the employee placement choice. It counts as TWO staff when positioned, in addition to avoiding one advantage loss, if relevant. Sure, which means you will get a Gold in your first flip! The flipside is that it’s an apparent goal for seize. Do you spend a flip capturing your Artisan again or depart it on the board figuring out your opponent might do the identical? Do you are concerned about capturing your opponent’s Artisan, forgoing producing assets? The cat and mouse this single meeple provides to the sport enormously elevated my enjoyment of Architects of the West Kingdom.

The brand new craft playing cards have the second largest impression to the sport. Every card can be utilized both as an adornment (add extra factors and an instantaneous one-time profit to a constructing) or a software (add an influence to an apprentice and an finish sport scoring bonus primarily based on the variety of instruments crafted). Instruments can add some attention-grabbing skills to energy up your apprentice, corresponding to permitting an apprentice to depend as having all three abilities wanted to assemble a constructing. Sounds nice? Nicely, to craft each new choices, you should stack a employee on high of a employee that’s already within the guildhall, in addition to pay 5 Silver for the adornment. This may take away a number of staff out of your employee pool if you happen to lean closely into crafting. Is it value it? It may be, relying in your technique and what playing cards can be found in the course of the sport.

The final two additions I preferred have been much less impactful however nonetheless appreciated. The brand new Guildhall overlay consists of the icons for crafting however, extra importantly, has added an icon that discards the 2 far-left apprentices on the Most important Board. This will increase the turnover within the apprentice pool, opening up choices. The opposite addition is only a quality-of-life enchancment—a scorepad! It ought to be obligatory for publishers to incorporate rating pads in video games with multitudes of scoring alternatives and no scoring observe. Whereas lacking from the bottom sport, I’m glad it was added on this enlargement.

Lastly, this enlargement included new constructing and apprentice playing cards, each of which may merely be mixed with the bottom sport’s playing cards. It additionally included parts for a sixth participant. It’s good to have one other coloration possibility (orange), however I don’t play this sport with greater than 4 gamers.

Works of Marvel

The most important (and most complicated) addition to the sport is the Princess and the Profiteer. These two meeples are positioned at a location, decided by the succinct names Contribution/Consequence card, initially of the sport. These two meeples create three new sorts of bonuses/penalties:

• Putting staff at their location supplies an instantaneous bonus (affect on the Profiteer or a one-time contribution alternative on the Princess—extra on each of those in a bit)
• Capturing at their location leads to affect (Profiteer) or a lack of a advantage (Princess)
• At a Black Market Reset, each participant with a employee on the Profiteer’s location receives a penalty primarily based the Contribution/Consequence card and all their staff are moved to the Jail, whereas the participant with probably the most staff on the Princess’s location will get a bonus. Lastly, after these penalties/bonuses are awarded, each meeples are moved to a brand new location

The brand new Affect board is included within the enlargement. This board tracks affect, holds the Contribution/Consequence playing cards, has the iconography for the above bonuses and penalties, in addition to house for 2 extra apprentices (10 are actually out there for rent in the course of the sport). Two Affect will be spent to forestall one advantage loss or scale back a price by two Silver, whereas 4 Affect can scale back a price by one gold or marble. Why not spend all of your Affect earlier than the tip of the sport? Nicely, when going from 4-5 and 8-9 on the observe, you get a free constructing card, so it’s possible you’ll need to hover round these elements on the observe to repeatedly earn that bonus. Oh, and also you get 4 gold for having probably the most Affect on the finish of the sport. So, there’s that.

Attempting to find out the very best place in your staff in addition to when to seize staff is now extra difficult. Do you need to go to the Profiteer to pocket the fast Affect, after which seize them again earlier than the Black Market Reset to earn MORE Affect? Do you need to seize your staff again from the Princess’s house, despite the fact that you’ll lose one Advantage? Or do you permit them there to hopefully have probably the most staff and earn her bonus?

One other addition are 5 Marvel buildings that may be constructed. Every Marvel will be constructed by spending Affect, Silver, and one of many 5 assets related to the Marvel (clay, wooden, stone, gold, and marble) you might be constructing. Bear in mind I discussed Contributions earlier? Whenever you first place a employee with the Princess, you’ll be able to contribute one useful resource in trade for an Affect reward and extra if you happen to contribute gold or marble. As soon as each useful resource has been contributed, or a Black Market Relaxation happens, all assets on the cardboard are positioned on the suitable Marvel, lowering its price. Constructing Wonders turns into a sport of rooster. Do you anticipate the contribution card so as to add its useful resource, or do you play the upper worth now to insure you construct it?

As soon as constructed, in addition to rewarding two Advantage and important factors, a Marvel is positioned on the board at one of many allowed areas. When the proprietor locations a employee on the Marvel’s location, that employee both counts as two staff or they achieve one Affect, the proprietor’s alternative. As you’ll be able to see, Wonders will be engaging, however costly, to construct. They add one other layer of technique to Architects of the West Kingdom.

Last Ideas:

I actually preferred each expansions. In the event you can, I’d advocate selecting up each, particularly if you happen to already like Architects of the West Kingdom. They each make an incredible sport even higher.

That being stated, if you happen to solely need one enlargement, I like to recommend Age of Artisans. It provides nice further decisions to the sport whereas being extraordinarily straightforward to combine. Works of Marvel provides further layers of complexity which will flip individuals off. I loved the extra choices offered by the Affect observe; nevertheless, it adjustments how employee placement areas will be utilized as a result of Profiteer and Princess. It merely isn’t as elegant an addition to the sport when in comparison with Age of Artisans.

Age of Artisans

Hits:
• Artisan provides an incredible twist on staff
• Crafting provides further choices for buildings and apprentices
• Straightforward to combine

Misses:
• Unsure a 6^th participant was wanted

Works of Marvel

Hits:
• New Profiteer and Princess/Affect mechanisms open up new choices
• Wonders present excessive scoring constructing alternatives

Misses:
• Not as straightforward to combine
• Solo content material is extraneous if you don’t play solo