Synopsis:
Reigns: Her Majesty is a strategy card-based game that takes place in a fictional Renaissance-like society. The player directs the action of a rotating (reincarnating) set of queens, deciding on choices (through swipe actions) based on advice from various advisors. While the game is a sequel, it is standalone and (arguably) better than the original, and authored by feminist game journalist Leigh Alexander.
Who Should Play:
Reigns: Her Majesty is probably not a good first game for a novice gaming circle, but it is a good game for people who have played a few other games. The swiping mechanic is easy to pick up, but the game itself can be a bit confusing with little direction if you don’t follow a game walkthrough. It is good for discussion.
Made by: Producer: Devolver Digital; Developer: Nerial
Available on: Android, iOS, Linux, Mac OS, Microsoft, Nintendo Switch
Price: $2.99
Play time: 3-10 hours (average 5)
Questions about Reigns: Her Majesty:
- How does regular death in the game (the fact that part of play was your character dying over and over) affect your feelings while playing?
- How many of the choices you made in this game were based on what you would do in reality versus pragmatism of doing what you think would work best?
- When you did make pragmatic choices, did that make you feel differently about leadership and governance in the real world? How so?
- Was this game too complicated?
- Did you feel compelled to complete the game? For those of you who finished, was that completion worthwhile?
- There are other versions of the game that are not queen-centric. How do you think you might have responded differently to those games?
- The game has a sort of wry sense of humor. How did this affect your feelings and play?
- Did you enjoy the binary (yes/no) type mechanics? Was there something pleasurable in its similarity to non-game (swiping) apps?
General Gaming Circle Questions:
- What did and didn’t you like about the game?
- How much time did you spend playing? Did you play all at once or break up your time?
- Did you play during other activities, or dedicate time solely to playing?
- Did the game feel like a waste of time? A good use of time? Explain.
Links & Walkthroughs:
• App Unwrapper (Walkthrough)
• Touch Arcade (Walkthrough)
