Lords of Waterdeep

“Milord, someone has reduced the population to cubes.”

"Cubes, you say?"

"Indeed Milord. All people of note. Adventurers, as it were."

"Cubes?"

"Cubes, Milord."

"Well, what now?"

"Actually, Milord, they still seem able to carry out their various missions and quests, even in cubic form."

"Sorcery!"

"Indeed, Milord. They still mill about and await your orders."

"You mean unstoppable quest to obtain more victory points than the other Lords? Excellent then. I will need some rogues. Thieves, if you will, though I find that phrase distasteful. Yes, one of my early mission choices requires rogues, which in turn will help me obtain further rogues down the line. Where are my agents?"

"They've become meeples, Milord."

"Meeples?"

"Don't ask. Just let it be known that they are capable of executing tasks as workers placed at various locales through the city to do things like hiring adventurers and choosing more quests and Intrigue cards which are fancy names for events that let you cheat."

"So we can still send agents?"

"As long as no one else has sent agents to already do the same job."

"So if I need these rogues?"

"No problem, as long as no other Lord has claimed them first."

"Ah, which means also we can choose the order to send our agents to make life more difficult for those other dastardly Lords."

"Yes, Milord."

"Good, good, summon me some rogues."

"Two black cubes, Milord."

"What?"

"Just ask for two black cubes."

"Rogues."

"Really. Just black cubes."

"Alright then, fetch me two black cubes. When I have 7, I can complete this mission."

"And I assume we'll need some purples to plan ahead."

"What's that?"

"Wizards, Milord. For the next quest you'll want to complete. And we may want to alter the turn order to ensure that we'll be getting the rogues we need next turn."

"Yes, and perhaps we can get a new quest to further our roguish pursuits..."

"But wait, Milord."

"What now?"

"Another lord has burdened us with a Mandatory Quest."

"Confound it, man, what the hell is that?"

"We are forced to get 5 whites before we can continue. Some Lords hate the Mandatory Quests, but I find them rather delightful. When forcing others to execute them of course. It adds a wee bit of a nasty edge to the proceedings, and daresay, I rather like that. 5 whites."

"Wights? From the barrow?"

"Not Wights, Sir. Whites. Clerics. White cubes."

"Cubes again. Well, I do supposed they fit more efficiently when questing in narrow dungeon corridors."

"Whites are pretty slow to get. I do see a building is available that generates more whites. Perhaps we should build that this time around to use later."

"Indeed. Send an agent. Build the building so in the future we can gain more white clerics. Can anyone else use it or is it just my building?"

"Actually, they can, but they pay you a fee."

"Now that's interesting. So I can create new actions, use them myself, or someone else uses them and still I benefit?"

"Absolutely Milord. But thinking the other way, that also means if you use another Lord's building, you may end up giving them a benefit you do not want them to have, such as more adventurers or gold."

"I do like gold."

"Yes, Milord."

"And there's so many things to spend gold on. And even Victory Points at the end."

"Absolutely, Lord. Once enough seasons have passed, indeed. Speaking of which, all agents have returned from their tasks and a new cycle of placing them has begun. Locations are freed to use, and a few new buildings have been issued."

"Well, I have to say, even though this map is fairly drab and kind of confusing at first, this is suddenly becoming exciting. This time, let's try to get the whites, a few blacks, an orange and that quest over there."

"You're getting the hang of it sir. Now - prioritize. What's the most important step to make sure no one else gets it."

"Bother. That is a difficult decision. I see that Lord across from me also hoarding black rogues. I think we best take that first. Send an agent to gain more rogues, and make sure you place them with a proper "Screw you" attitude to that Lord over there."

"Consider it done sir."

"I do have to say, I'm getting quite used to these cubic folk. Easy to hold and count."

And so it continued through the next hour. Meeples claimed cubes. Cubes cashed in quests. Quests gained victory and abilities. Time grew short. New quests came into play. Too many options, too few turns. Points tallied each turn, and yet the secret mission points remained cloaked in the shadows.

There were quests "Capture The Great Wombly", "Free The Gridget" - it didn't matter all that much, and did melt away to "Three Orange and a White for 5VP" and "Two Purple And 5 Black to get an additional black every time you gain a black" - but it really didn't matter. As the pretty names and pictures faded to be replaced by engines of cubes and placement, it was far too engrossing to notice.

"Challenging, exhausting, fast and interesting, this has been."

"Aye Milord. And if you thought today was fun, you should really try the expansion."

"Expansion, you say?"

TLDR: Choose actions to complete D&D quests