reigns game sourced
Reigns
A swipe-based card game in which the player, as a succession of medieval monarchs, accepts or rejects advisers' requests that push church, people, army, and treasury meters, and each reign ends when any meter empties or fills.
parts
5 mechanics, as Reigns does themcore · 2
Dilemma cards
Advisers present cards that the player swipes left or right; each choice moves one or more of four meters (church, people, army, treasury), and the reign ends when any meter becomes completely full or completely empty.
Dynasty succession
When a king's reign ends, play continues with a new king; unlocked cards and some effects carry across reigns, and the in-game years keep advancing.
supporting · 3
Milestone unlocks
Completing tasks unlocks new cards.
Permadeath
Triggered event chains
Story cards chain across reigns, such as the Devil's visits in the years 666, 1332, and 1998.
core loop
draw an adviser's card -> swipe left or right -> church, people, army, and treasury meters shift -> a meter hits empty or full -> the king dies -> the next reign begins with unlocked cards
design notes
Reigns reduces governance to four bounded meters in which both extremes are fatal, so every choice is a balancing act rather than a maximization. The swipe interface, modeled on Tinder, keeps each decision binary and fast. It is a boundary case included for the dilemma-card mechanic and its use of death as progress between reigns.