SKU: 84009342559

Rise to Nobility

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Description

Rise to NobilityFive years after the events of Cavern Tavern, where a fragile peace was brokered between The Five Realms, the High Queen Tabita Orestes has ordered a new city to be built. The city of Caveborn will be the capital of the Five Realms, a place where all the races will learn to live together in harmony, with the main purpose being to bring them closer and prevent another war. The Queen needs to keep the alliance between the races and ensure that Caveborn

Five years after the events of Cavern Tavern, where a fragile peace was brokered between The Five Realms, the High Queen Tabita Orestes has ordered a new city to be built. The city of Caveborn will be the capital of the Five Realms, a place where all the races will learn to live together in harmony, with the main purpose being to bring them closer and prevent another war. The Queen needs to keep the alliance between the races and ensure that Caveborn is peaceful and prosperous. To that end, a Settlers Council has been formed with Berk the Town Clerk as its chairman " but Berk is getting old and needs a successor. Are you that person? Rise to Nobility is a worker (dice) placement game set in the same fantasy world as Cavern Tavern. You each own a small piece of land in the newly built city, and your job is to rise from anonymity, make your way to the title of lord, and take over the head seat at the Stone Council. You can achieve this by upgrading your land and increasing its value, satisfying the demands of the settlers' council, attracting and housing as many settlers as you can, accommodating their needs, finding them jobs, and helping them develop from apprentices to guild masters, thus insuring you have people in high places all around the city of Caveborn. BLOG

Its always a pleasant surprise when designers manage to keep tried and tested game mechanics feeling fresh and exciting. The genre has been around for nearly two decades, with early examples such as and still drawing newcomers into the world of tabletop gaming. But thanks to the seemingly endless creativity within this current golden age of gaming, this simple mechanic of placing a meeple on a map to take/block an action continues to demonstrate innovation. Today we take a look at Rise to Nobility, a game which demonstrates innovation whilst retaining a classic and familiar feel. So, Whats it About?

Rise to Nobility marks Final Frontier Games second trip into their colourful world of the Five Realms, following on from 2016s . Set five years after its predecessor, Rise to Nobility sees players take step into a world of dwarves, humans, elves, high-elves, trobits, and halflings. Following a peace treaty between the races, Queen Tabita has created the new capital of Caveborn, a white-walled city promising peace and unity. The Queen is looking for a new leader to help the city prosper and has called upon local landowners to rise to the rank of lords and compete to become the new head of the Stone Council. The game will see one to six landowners attracting settlers heading down from the nearby Cavern Tavern to their newly built properties. Once settled, these new inhabitants can become apprentices in the local businesses, or perhaps even guild masters! After 10 rounds, whoever has accrued the most victory points through housing settlers, constructing buildings, satisfying the needs of the Stone Council, and gaining nobility, will win the game! I Thought Nobility Was a Birthright?

Well, apparently not! In fact, to quote , Ëœnobility is defined by ones actions. This is certainly the case here as players take actions through the use of dice, gaining resources, influence, and eventually nobility along the way. Rise to Nobility uses a dice placement mechanic, a six-sided spin on the popular worker placement mechanic. Each round, players will roll all of their five dice before taking turns to assign a single dice to one of several spaces on the board. To take the action associated with that space, the die value must also match the values printed there. Once all dice have been placed, an upkeep phase begins before moving on to the next round. The twist in Rise to Nobility is that the total value of dice pips you can spend during a round are directly linked to your characters reputation. All players start with nine reputation, with opportunities to increase this throughout the game. Possessing only nine reputation therefore means that a player may only make use of combined dice values up to nine. This could result in you placing all of your dice in a turn if you rolled four ones and a five for example, but you could potentially roll all sixes, leaving yourself with just one usable die. This system works well, and in my opinion, is an excellent example of mechanics displaying theme. Its understandable to think that a landowner of questionable reputation would face difficulties in carrying out their plans. So, How Do I Become a Lord?

Assuming youve rolled your dice well, now is your chance to demonstrate your hospitality! Most of the spaces on the board consist of various guilds, each offering different goods. By collecting these resources you will entice faraway settlers to make your land their home. Six settler cards are always present at the top of the board, with each card detailing the minimum and maximum amounts of preferred goods that race requires to take up accommodation. Presuming you have a house available (a separate action costing five gold), the settlers will move in, granting you one victory point per resource spent, and a number of workers. Some wealthier travellers will also grant bonuses to your nobility track too. Im a big fan of this variable method of scoring points. Not only is it reasonably thematic, but the flexibility in being able to choose how many goods you wish to trade for points is interesting and notably different for this type of game. Many strategic worker placement style games stubbornly insist on precision, occasionally making the gathering of resources a stressful experience. Rise to Nobility on the other hand takes a more relaxed stance, giving players a bit more control over how and where they score points. Of course, this doesnt mean the game lacks opportunities for important decisions. Players still face the dilemma of which valued dice to choose, as well as strategising over whether to invest in guild workshops or community buildings. Will you opt for a couple of high value rolls, or several lower ones? Do you want to employ settlers at your workshops for extra goods, or have them bolster your community for money and reputation bonuses? The agonising decisions are still there, but are more elegantly designed to cater to how you want to play, rather than strictly defining how to score points. How Do I Win?

Whilst fulfilling settler cards is the dominant way of scoring points, its not the only way. Throughout the game you will need to construct various buildings in order to maintain a good flow of resources. These come in the form of tiles, with six of them forming a market at the bottom of the board. Using specific values of dice rolls and gold, players can take building tiles, placing them either on the main board or their own. Green tiles go on the mainboard and consist of the various workshops available for each guild. Placing the tile will net the player an amount of victory and nobility points as well as adding new actions to that guild. Yellow tiles are placed on the player boards, again granting victory points but also generating bonuses to that player each round. Fulfilling goods and money requirements on the various Stone Council tiles is also a means of getting points but has a negative impact on your reputation. These are best sought after towards the end of the game, letting you shift the last of your goods for a tidy payoff. Furthermore, gaining enough nobility can result in a hefty end game scoring boost of up to 15 points. As you can see, there are many routes to victory, but your success will depend on your ability to balance your options. Popping down a new workshop will get you those much needed points but you need a worker to run it! Moving a worker from the apprentice slot outside the guild to the workshop within it must be done at the right time, as apprentices are the only way of securing a regular gold income each round. You may have got the points but youve also left a space open for another players apprentice to earn more gold, potentially setting them up to purchase several building tiles! Its tough stuff but thoroughly engaging. What About Player Interaction?

As is usual for these types of games, player interaction increases with more players. The game works very well with two though, and makes for a swifter experience. At the higher player counts you will receive bonuses for players using your workshops more often, but the two-player game balances this by doubling any bonus you would normally receive. If player interaction is less of an issue for you then the game also offers a solo mode. It may not be a level solution, but it does remarkably well at simulating a two-player game, whilst adding a number of unique solo objective goals. It also manages to be clever and challenging enough without requiring tons of components or set-up changes. All thats needed is a die of each colour and a single objective card. This mode can be good if you fancy a relatively quick challenge, and is also a great way of learning the game before introducing it to new players. Final Thoughts for Rise to Nobility

Ive had a lot of fun with this game. From its ability to convey theme through mechanics, to its innovative dice placement restrictions, Rise to Nobility is a welcome addition to the worker placement genre. It may have a lot of components but gameplay is surprisingly simple and runs at a good pace. Gamers looking for a step up from or should be able to handle the transition to this mid-weight Euro fairly painlessly, and have a great time doing so. If you are looking for a classic feeling worker placement game but with just enough design ingenuity to keep it feeling fresh, then a foray into the Five Realms should tick the box. Many Euro-gamers will be drawn attracted to Rise to Nobility thanks to s colourful and accessible art which oozes fantastic folkloric theme. Some may be put off by what seems like a generic fantasy theme, but Rise to Nobility wears its influences proudly whilst injecting some fun into a genre which has become increasingly grim in recent times. Despite its familiar high-fantasy stylings, this a world I truly want to invest my time in. Final Frontier Games are understandably proud of the game world they have created. In fact I hear they have even created a series of further exploring the worlds of Cavern Tavern and Rise to Nobility, and bridging the gap between them! It is fantastic to see Final Frontier Games expanding their stories through terrific games and other media, and in the same way I sometimes yearn to revisit the bucolic charm of , I can see myself returning to the Five Realms of Rise to Nobility for many years to come.

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4.8 ★★★★★
Based on 27 reviews
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Ashlee
Battle Creek, US
★★★★★ 4
A Decent Fae Romance
Format: Kindle
** 3.5 Stars rounded up to 4 ** First off I want to say that I found the author, J. D. Linton, on TikTok right before the release of the sequel. I bought the first 2 books to support her release, so congrats to her for the release of the sequel! Overall, I liked the story & plot, I liked the characters, and I liked the spice. The downfalls: not enough development between the characters for the romance, and it leaned a little heavy into the tropes. A lot of stuff is told to you, which could have been used as devices to drive the plot and emotions of the characters. 🛑🛑 Mild Spoilers ahead, I tried to hide the obvious ones 🛑🛑 This is very obviously a fated mates, which is a trope I usually really enjoy. But I wish the relationship between Ara & Rogue had much more development before it's realized that they're mates, instead of Rogue knowing almost immediately and using it for nefarious purposes (at least in the beginning before they get to know each other). By revealing this within the first quarter of the book, I feel like it leaves less room for them to fall for each other organically (albeit with help from the mating bond) and they love each other because of the mating bond. I was disappointed as soon as Rogue know (literally only 5% in) and I literally made a note: "As much as II love a good mating trope, I wish we had to work for it a little more. Where's the fun in just telling us?" I believe that by holding out and feeding the reader snippets of a potential bond, it would've been more rewarding as a reader. I also wish there was more world building - we are told of a war between human & fae but don't get to really experience any of it. Ara is sheltered in her human home, then sheltered in Rogue's castle. There's bits and pieces about what the war has done on either side - but we're more told of the aftermath and don't really experience any of it. Ara's father is supposed to be the king's #1 general - yet he is at home with his family & with Ara for the first couple chapters. Her, her family, nor her village seem to be affected by the 10 year war going on on their borders. I wish there was a little more setup to make this conflict - an actual war - feel more than a skirmish between fighting territories. Linton could also be a little repetitive - with the biggest culprit being when Ara is upset she "brings [her] knees to [her] chest]" and either sits like that or cries. Every time she is upset this phrase is mentioned. I would get it if this was her crutch, or how she copes with grief and stress, but that should be explained why she does it so often or it becomes repetitive. I started to get annoyed with how often she would sit like this solely because it happens every couple chapters. However, I did really like the spice. I love an enemies to lovers trope, especially when it results in spicy scenes. The spicy scenes weren't anything new, but they were fun. Wish there were more but that could also just be me - there is no such thing as too much spice 😂 Would I read again? Probably not, I'm super picky with rereads. Although I did genuinely enjoy my first read through! Will I continue the series? Probably, at least for the sequel. As for #3, kind of depends on where I am with my TBR once that is released All in all an enjoyable, fast paced read
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Reviewed in the United States on March 8, 2024
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Ashton Taylor
Houston, US
★★★★★ 3
I love indie authors
Format: Kindle
Let me preface this by saying—writing a book is HARD! Coming up with characters so real that they take on a life of their own, building an entire world, the political/magic system. Designing all of this is no easy feat. That being said. This book had so. Much. Potential. I was so excited to read this book, and I plan to finish it for the sake of finishing it. But. At this point, I would have set I’d aside as a DNF. The book could have benefited from some form of a developmental editor, or an in depth beta reader. I will say this. Within 5 chapters, there are so many… phrases that I’ve highlight that I’ve latched onto. Phrases about books and storms that were written BEAUTIFULLY! So, bravo Linton for hitting the nail on the head as to why readers disappear like they do! However, 5 chapters in and I can already guess where a majority of the story is going. But that’s also because I read like a mad-woman and have read this particular type of story, many different ways. Enemies to lovers where the FMC isn’t who she thinks she is. I am all about supporting indie authors. BUT. I also feel like criticism should be constructive, and not degrading. So if I could give this book a 4 1/2, strictly because I know the work the author put into this, I would. So if you’re looking for an easy read with characters that aren’t hard to follow, look no further! They are easy to love and easy to care for. One of the biggest issues they lacked, to me, was depth and plausible reactions to their situations. JD, you have done BEAUTIFULLY writing this book. I applaud and will continue to buy your books in the future. My BIGGEST recommendation is to definitely hire some form of an editor for any upcoming books. Or in turn, I will be happy to beta read for you. Should my opinion change of the book by the time I finish, I will happily get on here and say I was wrong, delete this review and post a different one. Until then…
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Reviewed in the United States on November 20, 2022
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Hannah Durham
Grantham, US
★★★★★ 5
this book set my soul ablaze! <3
Format: Paperback, Format: Paperback
"i had never really cared about the weather before, but now, clear skies meant everything to me, and i was grateful to see another calm morning." this book. this book! i loved the last storm so much. the writing style. the descriptions. the world-building. the characters. the plot twists. the tropes. the sexual tension. the—everything. everything was magic. the last storm follows our two main characters, ara and rogue, giving us dual POV from both characters (which i loved, btw). ara, a human girl who has been locked away in her father’s estate most of her life, just wants to see the world. all she dreams of is seeing what else is out there. but when her father announces her engagement, she knows that dream will become nothing more than just that—a dream. rogue, the fae king, is tired of the attacks being rained down on his people. in hopes of finding out the human king adon’s secrets, rogue infiltrates auryna’s borders. in his last resort to gain information, he visits the local pub. to his surprise, the general’s precious only child is sitting at the bar, drink round after round of mead. now he just needs to figure out how to take her without anyone noticing. first and foremost, let’s talk about the endless list of my favorite tropes and aspects that this book had. ›› enemies to lovers ›› fated mates ›› one bed ›› the chosen one ›› elemental magic ›› actually good and shocking plot twists!!! ›› badass female lead ›› morally-grey love interest ›› fae/human war ›› force proximity ›› touch her and die ›› who did this to you? ›› captor/captive ›› praise k!nk (panting profusely) “you are entirely the opposite of everything that i am, and i would gladly wear your shackles if it meant i could have you.” it’s been a long while since i read a book i liked this much. but i just loved this book. it set my soul ablaze. thank you to the author for writing this beautiful story and for blessing me with an eARC! i loved it so much that i immediately bought the paperback upon release! every aspect of this book was just beautiful. i was blown away by the way the world was described, the way feelings were portrayed, the way the elements were used in the fae’s magic. it just—AHHH! i just absolutely adored it all. i cannot wait for the second book to release next year! also the way he calls her “little storm” sets my heart on fire. this was a fast-paced read and if you are a lover of acotar, fbaa, deal with the elf king, or any other similar books, then please stop everything you’re doing and read this book right now. you won’t regret it. thank you again, jd linton, for giving me the privilege of reading your arc and for blessing this world with the world you created. <3 "something about him pulled me in, like a moth to a flame, and it felt as if i was just waiting for the inevitable burn that came with flying too close to the fire."
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Reviewed in the United States on November 15, 2022
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Sean
Dallas, US
★★★★★ 4
Fun, both heartwarming and heartbreaking
Format: Kindle
Only my second first person written selection, I am still getting used to that aspect, but unlike my first, I enjoyed that the story was told through both MCs. A great enemies to lovers, forced proximity, fated love etc, that resonated to me. There were some small twists that I could see coming, but also a few that I didn’t quite see until the characters were also seeing. Personally, I am more interested in the story than the spice, but with that said, it was well seasoned! I am kind of new to the spice world so I can’t say for sure how this would rate, but it definitely had some heat. I am very glad I happened across this author, and I do plan on also reading the next book….if nothing else, just to see for myself the “transformation” of the characters I’ve grown to love!
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Reviewed in the United States on May 23, 2024
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Havinne Akins
Charlottesville, US
★★★★★ 5
😍😍 BEST DEBUT NOVEL EVER
Format: Paperback
I’m having trouble finding accurate words to describe the way this book made me feel, but I am going to do my best. To start off with basic elements, the character and world building are phenomenal. I feel a strong bond to not only the two main characters, Ara and Rogue, but to each and every character introduced throughout the book. The author did a stellar job of giving each of them unique personhood. All of the scenes are beautifully described. So much so that throughout the entirety of the book, I could see every scene: the towns, the castles, the meadows, the landscape. I have had difficulty with this and with distinguishing between outlying characters while reading in the past, but I did not have to think to remember details of world or character building because they flowed naturally within the story and were described well. I have read book series before that made me want to be a part of that world, but I actually felt like I got to step into Auryna and Ravaryn! The plot twists!! Although this is not a suspense novel, it still had me on a rollercoaster of emotions and on the edge of my seat from beginning to end. I haven’t cried actual tears over a book since I was in high school (and I’ve read a LOT). This book finally broke the floodgates in the final few chapters. Multiple times. And we love a good cliffhanger. It truly made me FEEL. THE SPICE is a solid 3.5/5. Some of the scenes had me flushed, some had me taking notes, some just had my jaw slack and my mouth hanging open. Bravo, JD Linton, bravo. The relationships: friendships, family, romantic, ALL of the relationships in this book have so much meaning. The author does a great job at making you feel the love, the anger, the peace, the frustrations, the safety, the familiarity, etc. between the characters. Ara and Rogue. I can not say enough and I also do not want to say too much. Just know that I feel like I know them both, to their core. I know what their childhood looks likes, their darkest moments, their biggest fears, their dreams and passions, what they want in life… The POV switches were seamless. I am so happy this author decided to let us see from both sets of eyes. I can not wait for book two after that cliffhanger. And there is SO much potential for at least one prequel, I can’t wait to see where this author goes! I hope this series continues and flourishes. Fingers crossed!
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Reviewed in the United States on December 5, 2022

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