Board game "Suzerainty"

"Otherwise, no. There are no points, just your actions and the consequences of those actions."

Just like there are no honour points. None whatsoever.

"That's terrifying."

"That's just the way it is." The lieutenant doesn't seem to find much value in dwelling on the subject...

"Now, I believe it's your turn..."

"What's the... Moralintern?"

"That's a subject for another time. All you need to know is that they're a powerful transnational organization, of which the Coalition and by extension the RCM are but one small piece."

"That's reassuring."

"Who came up with such a concept?"

"Game designers, I imagine."

"Oh, that makes sense."

The lieutenant nods. "Now, I believe it's your turn..."

"Kim, can I do my first turn over? I think I messed up."

"Come on, detective, don't be a spoil sport. You'll have plenty of chances to earn your own points."

What is that patronizing tone? Someone needs to put the lieutenant in his place.

Let them rest anyway.

There's no concept of rest in Suzerainty. Workers have to work. You produce a handful of archaeological treasures and a smattering of other resources.

Just do whatever Kim did.

You move a few of your workers to the Ile Marat section of the board and several others to Supramundi and Saramiriza. Soon you have several units of archaeological treasure and cocaine.

"An aggressive opening, detective," the lieutenant says, appearing to relish the challenge.

In response, the lieutenant spends two of his sugar and one of his apricot tokens to complete his contract card. He is rewarded with four coins and a round wooden token that he places in the centre of the board...

Try to fulfil a contract.

You draw a contract card offering a number of coins in exchange for archaeological treasures...

You place all of your workers on the Ile Marat territory. On your next turn you produce six units of archaeological treasure and fulfil the contract for a handful of coins.

"Not bad, detective."

But not good enough, the lieutenant seems to be saying.

As he completes his own contract card, the lieutenant is rewarded with four coins and a round wooden token that he places in the centre of the board...

[Put the game away.]

Examine the components.

You open up a number of pouches containing wooden tokens. There are also several punchboards with other cardboard components that will need to be punched out before you can play.

Put the components away.

It's a shame there's no one for you to play with.

Check out the wooden tokens.

In addition to the worker and building tokens used by each player, there are also several piles of colourful resource tokens, each representing one of the game's four principal resources...

From the Empire of Safre: orange apricot tokens. From Ile Marat (the ancestral name of Iilmaraa): gray marble block tokens. From the Semenine Islands: white sacks of sugar tokens. And from Supramundi and Saramiriza: magenta tokens for unprocessed cocaine leaves.

"Oh, those are nice." The lieutenant picks up a sugar token and admires it.

Punch out the cardboard pieces, one by one.

Each cardboard token makes a satisfying chhhk as you pop it out. Soon a neat pile of cardboard coins and counters has accumulated before you.

"What, you're not going to offer to let me punch any of them out?"

Convince Kim to play with you.

What is detective work if not an elaborate game? You need logical inference, attention to detail, the ability to analyse your opponents' motives...

"Come on, it might help us think of more creative solutions to the case."

"Hmmm, I do feel like my thinking has become somewhat rigid. Maybe a little diversion to keep the mind limber is just what's in order..."

See? He's doing the hard work himself. All he needed was a little nudge...

"Alright, you've convinced me. How do we play?"

"Hmm, we should probably read the rules, huh?"

"When I thrash you I want to make sure it's by the book."

The lieutenant flips through the manual more quickly than you're able to keep up with. Then you each take your bags of tokens and counters and unfold the board between you...

In the centre is the crown of Revachol. Radiating outward are her colourful vassals, each one supplying some raw material desired by the suzerain...

Apricots from Safre, archaeological treasures from Ile Marat, sugar from the Semenine Islands, and magenta cocaine from Supramundi and Saramiriza...

There's also a neat little log to keep track of your progress, in case you need to put the game away and return to it later...

"I read the rules already, I'll show you..."

You explain the basic set up procedures to the lieutenant, who seems to be a quick study. You each take your bags of tokens and counters and unfold the board between you...

"I don't know, let's wing it."

"I see you bring the same unorthodox technique to playing board games as you do to detective work..."

At this point, plain badgering may be your best bet.

"Come on, Kim, puh-leeeeeze."

The lieutenant sighs so hard for a moment it seems like he may asphyxiate...

"Alright, detective, you win. How do we play this game?"

Have you tried... goading him?