Read about the game on BoardGameGeek
After a particularly thorough round of assassinations in the capitol, the Monarch and the entire royal family are dead. You are one of several despotic aristocrats in the tiny village of Lionsgate. You’ve heard some troubling rumors that the person next in line for the throne is a commoner from your village. This could prove problematic, since you’ve never been much of a friend of commoners. You lose sleep at night imagining your comeuppance.
There’s a chance, however slight, that if you could curry favor with the lower class, you might manage to keep your position. And your head. You lack the time or interest to offer any actual friendship, but a few savvy bribes might have the right effect.
Village Royalty is a sort-of-auction microgame with a deduction mechanic for 2-5 players. Players take turns adding a card to the table, then choosing a card to bribe with one more coin than already on the card. They may then take that card’s action.
Cards belong to guilds, and at the end of each round, players gain points in each guild based on the cards in front of them.
One card has been removed. This is the Monarch. Guessing the Monarch’s Guild is important, because at the end of the game, points in the Monarch’s Guild are multiplied by 3.