The flavour text is done! And honestly, that feels massive. Not just because it means I’m edging closer to finishing the game, but because this part was one of the most important to me. It’s what ties the whole thing together. The rules are the bones, but the flavour is what makes it feel alive. It’s what makes Nobles & Glory feel like more than just a clever use of playing cards.
When I started this project, I wasn’t just trying to design a good game. I wanted it to feel like a window into medieval life. Something that blended a strategy guide with a medieval chronicle. Something you could read and start to get a sense of how power really worked back then. And to get that feeling right, I had to go beyond game design. I had to start digging into history.
Right from the beginning, I had this idea that the suits in a standard deck of cards should actually mean something. Hearts, Clubs, Spades, Diamonds, they’re familiar shapes, but I wanted them to represent real systems of power. I wanted them to reflect the kinds of roles and ideologies that shaped actual kingdoms.
That thinking carried straight into the Actions as well. If a player goes on a Crusade or issues a Decree or triggers an Assassination, I wanted that to feel connected to real historical events. Not in a fantasy sense, but in a way that gives you a nudge. Something that makes you think, “Yeah, this actually happened. These kinds of choices were real.”
I went deep on the research. Probably a bit too deep at times, but I don’t regret any of it. What surprised me most was how often historical events lined up with the mechanics I’d already written. Like the assassination of Philip of Swabia in 1208, which wasn’t just a murder, it was a political shift that changed the structure of power. Or the way guilds in the Hanseatic League operated like governments. Or how festivals weren’t just fun, they were used as tools of favour, strategy, and control.
These kinds of moments didn’t just inspire flavour text. They gave the whole game weight. Every time you activate a Chamberlain or send someone on Pilgrimage, you’re engaging with a little sliver of history. That’s what I was aiming for all along.
I wanted people to be able to read the rulebook front to back and come away not just knowing how to play, but knowing something about how medieval politics worked. Not in a lecture-y way, just in the background, by osmosis.
I know this game isn’t for everyone. It’s long, layered, a bit heavy, and not designed to be quick to learn. But for people who enjoy digging into a world, whether that’s through rules, theme, or historical flavour; I think there’s something worth exploring here. Even if someone never plays it, I’d like to think they could still enjoy reading it. Like something they might find on a shelf in a castle library. Familiar, but not quite real.
For now, I just wanted to share this milestone. This part matters to me. It’s one of the things that makes Nobles & Glory what it is. And I can’t wait to show you more of what’s inside.
– Jonathan
