General game information

World Without End is a traditional European-style strategy board game, built thematically around events that took place in the fictional town of Kingsbridge, from 1337 to 1361, almost 200 years after the construction of the imposing cathedral known as The pillars of the earth. Players take on the role of merchants, farmers, and builders fighting for wealth and prestige while leading pious and loyal lives. The object of the game is to get the most victory points. These are mainly obtained by participating in various construction projects and caring for the Kingsbridge residents affected by the plague, known as the Black Death. However, life in Kingsbridge is not easy. Players have to continually fight to get enough food, show loyalty to the church and the crown, pay taxes, and deal with sudden misadventures that occur randomly during the start of the game.

The most important component of this game is a huge, excellent quality four panel board, representing Kingsbridge and the surrounding lands. On the game board there are several locations such as:

• production spaces: the quarry (stone production), the forest (wood production) and the fields (grain production)
• various construction sites where players can contribute stone or wood and earn victory points
• the town of Kingsbridge with its houses and market. Some of the families fall ill during the plague and can be healed, granting HP and various bonuses. In the market, players can exchange wool and cloth for money.

The game takes place in 4 chapters (time periods), each of which consists of 6 rounds. Each chapter represents a span of time of a few years, during which players participate in various construction projects, thus gaining precious victory points while also having to deal with various unexpected events. At the end of each chapter, all players have certain obligations. Failure to comply with them costs additional victory points and penalties that occur at the beginning of the next chapter. In each round, the same sequence of actions occurs:

1. The active player (the one with the active player token) reveals an Event card. Events can be immediate or have a lasting effect until the end of the chapter.
2. After resolving an immediate event, the event card orients itself to a special city council space at the top edge of the game board. The active player chooses an orientation that fits his current goals, since it affects two elements of the game: the personal income of each player and a special bonus only for the active player.
3. Players receive their personal income according to the orientation of the card.
4. The active player receives his special bonus as he has the favor of the Prior / Prioress, King / Queen, Guildmaster, Merchnats, Earl of Shiring, Bishop or Outlaws.
5. Starting with the active player, each player plays an action card. All players have the same set of 12 action cards. These actions include: selling wool or cloth in the market, exchanging wool for cloth (which is more valuable), building a house that offers a bonus when it is rented, renting up to 2 houses, obtaining a grain, obtaining a resource (wood or stone ). ), get the piety of the cathedral, take care of the sick, participate in a construction project contributing wood or stone, or repeat the action chosen in the previous round. In this phase, players choose one card to play and discard another. In this way, during the entire chapter, they will play 6 actions and discard the rest.

At the end of the chapter, players have the following mandatory obligations: show that they live a virtuous and godly life by paying 2 mercy, show that they have enough food to support themselves by paying 2 grains, and pay a tax. To determine the amount of tax, the active player rolls a die. By failing to fulfill one or more of the above duties, players lose victory points and suffer additional penalties that occur at the beginning of the next chapter, such as losing their income in the first round of the next chapter or playing one less action card. It is possible to avoid the additional penalty by paying 1 Loyalty.

At the beginning of the third chapter, the plague hits the village and certain plague tokens are placed, face down, on each house in Kingsbridge. In each round, a family in one of the houses can become sick and cured, using the appropriate action card to give victory points plus other bonuses to the players who choose this action. To care for the sick, players must have sufficient medical knowledge.

Now let’s go over our common scoring categories:

Components

All components of the game are very beautiful and of high quality. The game board is visually stunning, with the town of Kingsbridge and the surrounding lands beautifully drawn, making players feel like 14th century England.

The resources (wood, stone, grain, wool, cloth) are made of wood, of appropriate color. They also have shapes that resemble their actual shape, especially grain and fabric. That’s a rare thing in a standard edition of a game. The houses are also made of wood and are shaped like houses, in each player’s color. All other components: piety and loyalty markers, cap markers, money and medical knowledge are made from thick cardboard with attention to detail and also shaped appropriately. The action and event cards are made of heavy paper and deserve a special mention. They have an elaborate design and their background has the visual feel of the paper used in the Middle Ages that is also applied to the screens of the players. All in all, the components will satisfy even the most demanding gamer. Congratulations to Michael Menzel, responsible for the game’s illustrations and graphics. 9/10

How to play

World Without End has rich and deep gameplay that will challenge strategy game lovers. Luck plays a role in the game, but not in a way that can spoil a player’s strategy (at least not entirely). After all, life is full of surprises and things can’t always go according to plan. I think this is the concept that the designers had in mind when they decided to incorporate the Event cards into the game. Some of them are really frustrating and can ruin your plans, but consider them challenging your mental abilities. In addition, they improve the replayability factor. There are eleven event cards for each chapter and in each game you randomly choose which of them will be included. In this way, each game is different from the others. The game is about maintaining an often fragile balance between supplying food, money and mercy, which are the duties that all players have at the end of the chapter. And among all of them, fight for the collection of resources and earn victory points by participating in construction projects. One design element that some people may object to is the way personal income is determined – our opponents. It could be considered as another element of luck, but I think it makes the game more interesting and unpredictable. Never during any of my games did I feel that my fate was in the hands of random events or luck. Each player takes their turn to target an Event card, which is a good chance to get what they need plus the added bonus of favor. Also, by manipulating action cards and houses, it appears that you can be in control of your strategy. That’s easier in 2-player games than 4-player because in 2-player games you will control your revenue 50% of the time, while in 4-player games, only 25% of the time. As for player interaction, there is not much to this game. Opponents’ resources are hidden behind special screens, so you have to pay attention to what other players get and need. The only way you can interfere with their plans is by orienting an event card so that they don’t get something they need. However, in most cases you will be consumed with your own problems and will orient the card so that you get what you want. In fact, you really don’t have the time or need to bother with what other players are doing, you have enough problems of your own. There are so many things to do in this game, that you cannot get bored easily. I’m always ready to play a game of World Without End on any board game night. 8/10

Learning curve

Although the game is not very complex and there really is not much to do in each round, it takes a little time to get used to all the components of the game and the strategic elements of the game. World Without End is fairly easy to learn but difficult to master. What will be particularly puzzling at first is what your priorities should be. There is so much to do that decisions about the orientation of the event cards and the play of their actions will be difficult. After playing your first game, you will probably get the big picture and start to do much better and appreciate its depth. 7/10

Theme

World Without End is a themed game. This element is strongly supported by the text printed in italics on the event cards, which describes a particular event in the book, and by the formidable game board that brings the world of the book to life. All the mechanics are also linked to the theme, from the sale of wool in the market, to the healing of sick people and the sudden occurrence of events that influence the life of the town. If you’ve read the book, you’ll appreciate the game more, but even if you haven’t and are looking for a Eurogame game with a strong theme, this game is definitely for you. 9/10

Replayability

The depth and versatility of the game ensure that you won’t easily lose interest in it. Random event cards, as well as the way personal income is determined, ensure that no two games are the same. Personally, I am more than willing to play World Without End at any time. 7/10

Fun:

It is not funny, in a way that you will laugh while you play, nor will it provoke humorous comments from players. But I find it fun to challenge the mind to overcome obstacles and manipulate the mechanics of the game in the most ingenious way to win. However, whining about misfortunes due to event cards can be fun, don’t you think? 7/10

Pros:

• Beautiful components
• Challenging gameplay
• Good topic
• Just as good with any number of players

Cons:

• Some may be upset about the luck factor or the way income is determined.

Under our new scoring system, scoring categories have different weights. The components have a weight of 15%, playability 40%, learning curve 5%, theme 5%, repeatability 25%, fun 10%. Based on this system and the previous score in each category, the overall weighted score for the game is:

Overall: 7.8