Regency

The King of Wessmark is dead. Poisoned at supper, they whisper. Until the council crowns an heir, the realm is yours to keep.

You don’t rule by the sword. You rule by naming: who goes, who speaks, who tastes the wine.

How it plays

• Every matter of state goes to one of three courtiers. Their nature decides how it turns out: Force, Wit or Heart.
• The four great houses (Harrow, Marlowe, Elderwood and Penrose) watch every choice. Each respects a different nature, and each backs its own claimant to the throne.
• Somewhere at court is the poisoner. Each regency draws a different culprit. Investigate, follow the clues, and accuse the right person, or the wrong one.
• Five years, four seasons, about 40 matters: bandits on the king’s road, a plague in the lower town, a ghost in the west tower, a witch who turned the reeve into a newt, a duel over an insult about someone’s mother and a hamster.
• At the end, the Council of Succession. Crown a claimant the houses accept, or watch the realm split.
• Great matters are sewn into your regency’s own tapestry, which you can keep as an image when it’s over.

A full regency takes about 20 minutes. Every run draws new people, a new poisoner and new loyalties.

Made from medieval manuscripts
The portraits are cut from the Codex Manesse (c. 1300) and the scenes from the Bayeux Tapestry, both in the public domain. The heraldry, page and table are drawn by script. The music and sound are CC0.

Early prototype. Feedback is very welcome in the comments.

Controls: mouse. Keys 1–4 pick a courtier, Space or Enter confirms, Esc opens the settings.

Credits

• Pictures: the Bayeux Tapestry, the Codex Manesse, and the Luttrell and Gorleston Psalters (public domain, via Wikimedia Commons).
• Music: RandomMind and Umplix (OpenGameArt, CC0).
• Sound: Kenney, BigSoundBank and OpenGameArt contributors (CC0).
• Fonts: Uncial Antiqua, MedievalSharp and EB Garamond (SIL Open Font License).
• No AI-generated art or sound.