Fief

Fief is a game of strategic conquest and diplomacy that simulates a military, economic, and political fight between several lords in the Middle Ages – with players being those lords and representing noble families that want to have the most powerful kingdom in the land.

Fief is played in a fictional kingdom in the Middle Ages, with the villages connected by roads and each village belonging to both a fief and a bishopric. Each player starts with a lord, a castle and some troops in one of the villages.

At the end of each round, check to see whether one or more players have won, with shared wins being possible through alliances created by marriage. Winning solo is tough, so players need to negotiate, make deals and form alliances. To do this, players use their three embassy pawns; by spending a pawn, a player can have a three-minute-long private conversation with one or more other players to make whatever deals they wish. You have only three pawns, so plan well for these talks!

Players draw cards each round: character cards that can bring new lords into play and event cards such as good harvests, good weather and taxes. They pay the costs to play cards, with some cards being playable at any time to upset current events with a surprise assassination or underground invasion. Players then receive income, with which they can buy troops and buildings, and move lords and troops among villages, with troops never being able to travel without a lord. If troops from more than one player end up in the same village, they battle until one side is eliminated or forced to flee.