Do you remember the first time you watched Harry Potter, and thought “These movies could be vastly improved if Professor McGonagall would just f*ck*ng force the d*mn kids into conscription so they could blow the f*ck out of every classroom with fireballs in the name of Dumbledore’s retirement party. F*ck that sh*t would be hot.” No? Just me? Well the bad news is Harry Potter could never slap that hard. The good news is that Argent the Consortium sure f*ck*ng does.
This game, thematically, is Harry Potter in an anime setting. So, to connect with the anime fans out there, I Googled “popular wizard school anime” and IMMEDDIATELY became confused and feral. The laptop did not survive. I guess that means I have to try and sell you on this game the old fashion way – by using the English language. And if your English is as bad as mine, don’t worry; I also don’t know what the f*ck a consortium is.
Gameplay
Argent the Consortium is a delayed worker placement game. The key term in that description is ‘delayed.’ The most common action taken is placing a worker, but most of the locations do not resolve until the round ends, meaning another player could steal your spot using spells, powers, etc. before you get the reward. The workers in Argent each have a special power and one type REMOVES another player’s worker and replaces it (These are the red workers).
Thematically, you are trying to become the school’s next headmaster by receiving the most votes (Victory Points). During set-up, twelve random goals are chosen, but are kept face down and hidden (Such as most mana, most gold, most spells, etc). At the game’s end, a player will receive ONE vote for EACH condition they achieve (For a max of 12 points). There are actions, items, etc. that will allow you to peak at these goals – This is called ‘gaining a mark’.
The worker locations (framed inside the rooms of a wizard school) allow you to gain/improve your spells, gain mana/gold, gain workers, items, and so much more. Anything you can collect in this game could be one of the end game goals (There 18 different things that can be voted on). And so, you are working as hard as you can to gain the needed resources/items, as well as learn WHAT is being voted on.
The BIG catch is that delayed worker placement mechanism. There are many spells and powers that let you move enemy workers around, damage them, copy their location, etc. It is a worker placement game in which you battle for the worker locations. You may go first and claim an important spot, but that does not mean you will hold it. You have to fight to keep what you have claimed.
1ST CLAW - Climbing Out of the Pit
In the beginning of Argent the Consortium, you have very few resources, you fear losing the worker spots you’ve claimed, and you don’t know how to win. Such a great start, aye? Kinda reminds me of another game I’ve reviewed – Spirit Island. These games take no prisoners and throw everything plus the kitchen sink right at your balls. But that’s why we play them – for the challenge presented to us.
Though the lack of knowing how to win is a real f*ck*ng problem to tackle, you will quickly become distracted by the shops of spells, items, and supporters offering some VERY violent ways to deal with enemy workers. Gaining marks may seem like an obvious great move, but that particular desire sure as sh*t does not strike you as hard as the NEED TO GET STUFF. It’s like you’re climbing out of a pit, but are unsure of what awaits you on each side. This is the 1st claw. Collect the shinnies while slowly learning which shinnies are, indeed, valuable to the judges.
Of course, as you collect items, supporters, spells, etc, the natural fear of being blown up by an incoming freshman will slosh around in your brain. It is a worthy fear to have, but only certain spots get bombed during the 1st claw. These are locations that are valuable no matter what the 12 random goals are – locations that give you marks, as well as something called IP (Influence Points). Because Argent is a bombastically complicated game, I skipped over IP in the gameplay section, but I’ll cover it here. IP is the tie-breaker on EVERY goal at the end, so raising that throughout the game is a super duper smart move. And getting to certain levels on the IP track will unlock the most potent worker placement spots.
During the 1st claw, players beat the ever-living sh*t out of each other for these two rewards in particular. Once the proverbial dust settles and players know enough about what is needed to win, the 2nd claw will inevitably latch on.
2ND CLAW - Gloves Come Off
By the time the 2nd claw strikes, your fears will have calmed. Turns out, no one wanted to spend mana and resources to slap your b*tch ass around. You may have been kicked or blown to pieces once or twice, but the truth is collecting in the beginning behooves you. Why would you ever SPEND those resources to strike someone when getting more for free is a better move?
Well f*ck all that peacefulness during the 2nd claw – the gloves are off. By now, each d*ck at the table has seen 2, or 3, or 4 of the 12 goals. So make no mistake – these wanks you call friends will kick your teeth in to steal whatever spots they have learned are worth VP. Fireballs, red workers, items, and a dozen f*ck*ng kitchen sinks will be thrown at anyone in their way. Which adds a twist in this phase. Since players secretly look at a mark of their choice, each player knows a different collection of goals than others – which adds a deduction element to the gameplay.
If a player groans when you place a worker in a particular spot, or becomes so unhinged that they eviscerate your most recently placed worker … it could be that your worker is on a location that only they know collects something that is one of the 12 goals. Though getting donkey kicked never feels great, their recklessness might have just given you another resource to shoot for.
There is also another unique quality of Agent that shines during this phase. Normally, in engine builders, you pursue cards and powers that combo with your current engine. But since the votes are going towards certain resources/items, you collect them without thinking of how they interact. This means the engine building is actually quite difficult to work out to maximum effect. But no one is fooled by this problem. We are gamers – and building an engine by smashing weird sh*t together is what we were born to do.
THE BITE - Enhanced Chaos
By the last two rounds of Argent, everyone’s sh*tty engine is as good as it will get and the goals one player knows are different from what another player knows. You have learned all you will and you have guessed what goals others are gunning for. There is little room for error, but there is even littler room for hesitating. It is time to place workers without worry … and strike back at anyone who removes them.
The chaos does not lessen. The 12 secret goals do not change, and so players will still end lives to get what they need. Players are also now TOTALLY guessing at what they don’t know and will strike like a cat leaping for the attack without concern for their safety. The bite of Argent is as violent as any war game, while inviting the same overbearing calculations of the heaviest Euro. But this ain’t a war game. And it only looks like a Euro. It is a battle over the school for 12 VP.
I compare the end of this game to Dune: Imperium. The battling for worker locations in the finale can feel like the last round in Dune where most workers are used to win the last combat card. The implied winning player could change several times during that final bravado.
But this is not Dune. This is not Dominant Species. This is not a happy anime with fanservice nor are there any big dumb kaiju running amok. It is a game about out of control spellcasters, gaining more and more power as paranoia and vengeance erupt in the halls of a school. It is enhanced chaos as players throw it all out for 12 points. The bite often leaves me standing as other player’s actions affect what goal I pursue on my turn. It is an interactive, battle-heavy worker-placement epic like nothing else.