Whims: A Game of Royal Butt-Kissing

Gameplay revolves around a central play area called “The Kingdom.” At any given time, the kingdom may be filled with rich natural resources ripe for the taking; however, vicious, marauding monsters also roam the kingdom, bringing even more chaos to the tumultuous landscape.

Catch the Eye of the King!

Much to the benefit of the many lords and ladies vying for the throne, a contact within the castle keeps them apprised of the king’s current state-of-mind. This is represented by the yellow “whims” cards. There’s always a whim in play, ensuring that the lords and ladies have a definite goal to accomplish, but King Rolphius, the Jester-King, the Fickle, the Whimsical, is aptly named. The king’s whims change constantly, and the courtiers must be ready to adjust their goals and tactics at a moment’s notice.

While some of the king’s whims are fulfilled by the use of shrewd planning and cunning gameplay, others rely on a distinctly different set of skills...

Gather Your Allies!

Because taking over lands and combating monsters can be dirty, dangerous work, the lords and ladies of the kingdom rely upon their houses’ faithful followers to do their bidding. These “units,” as we call them, are sent forth to bring glory and attention to their lord or lady. Each turn, the lords and ladies draw cards from the player deck in hopes of recruiting the right kind of unit for the job at hand. Since a unit can only interact with other cards of the same color, the lords and ladies must exhibit much cunning when ordering their units about.

Since the turmoil in the kingdom has caused the lords and ladies to become a bit more territorial, it has also become important for the courtiers to carefully guard their lands. That’s why all lords and ladies are wise to assign some of their bold units as guards. You wouldn’t want anyone making off with that nice little piece of forest, would you?

Units, at least those with the mettle to do so, can also venture forth to do battle with the menagerie of prowling monsters that roam the kingdom...

In Whims, units are used for multiple purposes. As the kingdom is explored and new lands appear, enterprising units can claim territory for their lord or lady. If things in the kingdom begin to feel a bit too chummy (or a particular lord or lady feels particularly churlish), units can also be used to attack enemy guards and capture the lands of opposing courtiers.

Send Forth the Hordes!

In Whims, monsters defeated by plucky units are captured and become part of the lord or lady’s “horde.” Each type of monster has a special knack for mischief, and throughout the course of the game, the lords and ladies will send their hordes forth to cause mayhem to inconvenience and hamper their opponents. Much different from standard units, the monsters in a lord or lady’s horde add a new layer of strategy and chaos to the game.

Simple, Engaging Gameplay

We feel that you should spend more time playing a game than referring to a rulebook, so Whims gameplay revolves around simple, intuitive mechanics.

Each turn, a player plays up to two cards from a hand of four. These cards, usually units like peasants, soldiers, and knights, offer several interesting gameplay choices. As mentioned above, players can use their units to capture land from the kingdom, battle monsters, assault enemy units, or capture unguarded land from opponents. Interactions between cards are simply resolved by comparing colors (there are four of them) and numbers.

The game also includes some special units whose abilities affect the game in other ways, adding depth and surprise to the game.

Additionally, during a player’s turn, he or she can choose to discard a monster or monsters from his or her horde to activate their abilities.

Certain cards, like the Shield, can be played out-of-turn. These cards allow cunning (or mean-spirited) players to throw surprise wrenches into their opponents’ plans.

—description from the publisher