Imperial Settlers: Empires of the North

I recently picked up Imperial Settlers: Empires of the North and have been having a blast with it! It's a standalone card game set in the same universe as the original Imperial Settlers, but with a focus on the far north. You can choose to play as one of three factions: Scotsmen, Inuits, or Vikings, each with its own unique deck of cards. This gives the game a ton of replayability, as you can play with different factions and experience different playstyles.

The game itself is a bit of an engine builder, similar to games like Res Arcana. You play cards from your hand, which usually stay on the board, and you can tap (exhaust) them to activate an ability once per turn. This can lead to some really satisfying combos! What I love is that there are 6 different pre-constructed decks in the base game, so you don't need to worry about building your own decks or figuring out card synergy.

It's not a super complicated game, but it is best for intermediate gamers. There are a lot of symbols and subtle rules that take some getting used to, but once you figure them out, the experience is really rewarding. I've had a lot of fun learning the game and experimenting with different strategies. While the rules can take a bit to learn, the game is quite fluid and the gameplay is engaging. Plus, I think the art on the cards is just fantastic. It's definitely one of my favorite games from 2019.

Overall, I highly recommend Imperial Settlers: Empires of the North. It's a great game for fans of engine builders and card games, and the variety of factions and playstyles makes it a game you can play again and again without getting bored.