Rule the city in 'Lords of Waterdeep' Quiz

Answer: Lilac Lorekeepers

Unlike the Lord (ruler) you'll also be dealt at this time, the secret society doesn't have any impact on the gameplay itself - it really just determines which colour your player pieces will be.

The full list of options are: Red Sashes (red), City Guard (black), Silverstars (blue), Harpers (green), Knights of the Shield (yellow) and, in the expansion box, Gray Hands (gray).

Answer: Completing quests

Each time you complete a quest; you'll receive somewhere between 0 and 40 victory points. Those with a lower number of victory points are often easier to complete and/or will give you additional rewards e.g. free resources or an ability that allows you to break the rules in some way.

Quests also fit into one of five categories (Warfare, Arcana, Skullduggery, Commerce, or Piety) and if you complete quests of the type/s that align with your Lord's agenda, you'll receive additional victory points for them at the end of the game.

Answer: Worker placement

Worker placement is a reasonably common mechanism used in modern board games and can lead to some interesting decisions e.g. which of these locations (and its associated action) is my priority? How likely is it that this location will still be available by the time it gets back to my turn?

All but two of the locations in Lords of Waterdeep are exclusive (only one player can go there) as a rule although don't despair if the spot you're looking for has been blocked - there are other ways to get what you need...

Answer: Agents

Your agents are assigned to locations on the board in order to further your Lord's interests in the city of Waterdeep. Once all players' agents have been placed, a round will end and players take all of their pieces back onto their society mat so they can be used again next round.

Based off the number of players, you'll receive between 2-5 agents in your secret society's colour during setup but one of these won't be available to you until halfway through the game.

Answer: Adventurers

The main purpose of the cubes is to complete quests, and they represent adventurers you've hired for the task. They'll wait in your society's tavern until you've got the right number and combination, at which point you'll put the cubes (and possibly gold) back into the supply.

Cubes come in four colours to represent the four classes of adventurers you may need: Fighters (orange), Rogues (black), Wizards (purple) and Clerics (white), with the latter two more difficult to obtain.

Answer: Intrigue cards

You're dealt two Intrigue cards during setup but may get more through quest rewards or utilising certain locations on the board. These cards are kept secret from your opponents and have a variety of effects including allowing you to get more resources, attacking another player, and gaining victory points.

Some of the attack cards even force an opponent of the player's choice to complete a mandatory quest before they can do any of their own. Although they're simple to complete, you're limited to completing one quest per turn so having to deal with the mandatory quest first can be quite annoying!

Answer: They can be moved to another location

'Waterdeep Harbour' is one of only two locations on the board that has multiple action spaces, meaning more than one player piece ("agent") can be assigned there in a round. Players who have an agent in 'Waterdeep Harbour' essentially get another turn but have to wait until the end of the round. Since the agent can only go to a still-empty location, the player's options are more limited.

Answer: False

The first player marker will never change hands until someone chooses to assign an agent to the 'Castle Waterdeep' location on the board. That player will take the first player marker and will be the first one to act in the next round of the game.

If the person who currently holds the first player marker wants to make sure they retain it, they themselves can assign an agent to 'Castle Waterdeep' although the benefit of doing so is diminished.

The first player marker looks somewhat like a rook from the game of Chess.

Answer: Corruption

Represented by wooden tokens shaped like skulls, any corruption left in your tavern at the end of the game will score you negative points. Although you MAY come across ways to remove it during the game, you also may not. Plus, if an opportunity does arise, the other players may also be looking to reduce their corruption and beat you to it, so you need to consider whether the resources you'll receive alongside the corruption (which are often substantially better) are worth the risk!

Answer: Eight rounds have been completed

A game of Lords of Waterdeep will always last exactly eight rounds. This means the game will take somewhere between 1-3 hours, depending on the number and experience of players at the table.

Knowing that the game has a set number of rounds adds yet another factor to consider when deciding what quests to undertake: will you be able to meet the requirements and thus complete the quest before the end of the game or should you go for one that's worth fewer points but is simpler to complete?