Ortus Regni

Our world went through a variety of interesting periods over the course of history, especially when it comes to how the human civilization evolved. People changed a lot in the last few centuries, mostly because technology allowed us to move past certain annoyances that kept us back as a civilization. Hence, our era is quite prosperous if one was to compare it to the middle ages or anything beyond that.

Ortus Regni is a strategy game featuring collectible cards and decks in which your goal is to eliminate the other players using combat, politics, or anything in between. Unlike most CCGs out there, this one features slightly more complicated gameplay mechanics, although it shouldn’t take you very long to get the hang of them, especially if you start with the comprehensive tutorial.

In essence, the game is inspired by the Anglo-Saxon period of English history, which means that most elements are borrowed from that culture, including concepts like vassals, knights, earls and various other things. The Earls are the main characters, since they are the ones deciding how their land is shared and utilized. On the other hand, rules were meant to be broken back then.

Although combat is certainly possible and somewhat encouraged, you can also win the game by following a more political route, such as using intrigues to rob the enemies of their land. The cards you draw sometimes dictate your strategy, on the other hand, especially since it’s not that easy to commit to a single plan. On top of it all, you also have to take the chaotic vikings into consideration, because they can cause some trouble as well.

As you might have guessed, a multiplayer mode is included with the game, which allows you to spar with other people over the Internet. The matches can be rather long, although it all depends on how quickly players take decisions. The graphics are not bad either, even if there’s not much to look at, but it must be mentioned that the cards sort of lack descriptions, and that can be a tad annoying in the beginning.

When it’s all said and done, Ortus Regni requires a short accommodation period, but it has the complexity needed to keep you engaged over long periods of time. The theme is unique, and it’s great to see something other than elves and orcs for a change.