I know I and @yashima can speak extensively on this! tl:dr, yes, I think they are all fantastic. And, oddly, all three are innovative and yet all three are similar to other games in my collection. And not always better than the games they are closest to. But I think they are pretty secure in the collection. Yes, I recommend.
Architects as mentioned is very similar to Lords of Waterdeep + Scoundrels of Skullport. Draw buildings (quests), collect building materials (recipe), turn in to complete card and get points. There is also a virtue track to be managed, with some quick and dirty benefits sending you down into negative points / can’t build the cathedral zone, and kissing up to the king shooting you up for points but locking you out of the juicy black market.
What I like about Waterdeep is twofold; first, the system of kickbacks that each quest gives you that allows you to chain quests into each other. That’s a nice layer of puzzle that is missing from Architects. Also the fixed game rounds really draws out the worker placement tension, where you can calculate how much you should be able to get done, but you’re jockeying for those spaces.
What Architects brings to the table are apprentices (like story quests) that give you permanent bonuses for the rest of the game. Those plus your starting character give some well done asymmetry that make each game different. As with Raiders of the North Sea, there’s also a clever twist on worker recall. Each space is pretty weak, but as you put more and more workers on it you get more and more benefit from that space. It’s up to other players to arrest your workers and send them to jail (for money) and then you have to take a turn to go collect them. Much more interactive than Waterdeep and there’s a push-your-luck layer that gets the heart pounding (ohpleaseohpleaseohplease). The game timer is player driven and the game goes faster and faster as you get better. This can make it more punishing for disparate skill levels and certainly unsatisfying if you are playing slower than the rest of the table and don’t get your plans finished.
I can’t pick a favorite between this and Waterdeep, but I like both very much.
Paladins is wildly different. Much more complex, fiddly, and one of the most solitaire games I own. It is closest to Ruins of Arnak or Everdell, with the caveat that it takes about 200% more brain to play effectively. Again worker placement. You get six workers per round, by default, and the good actions cost three workers each. So you can’t do hardly anything until you start assembling an engine to get extra workers or discounted actions. Assembling that engine is very freeform, like a box of legos, and the game invites you to try something different each time, while rewarding you for new and clever ideas. By the end of the game you have that exhilaration of acceleration as you are doing so much more than you ever imagined was possible.
I’ve only played this solo and not sure I’d play it with a group. Certainly not with anyone who wasn’t actively wanting to play. The teach and the tangled nature of the puzzle are just too much.
Objectively, I’d say this is absolutely better than Arnak or Everdell. However, I play the others more because they are easier to teach and table. But yeah, really like this one.
Viscounts is closest to Great Western Trail in my mind. Rondel, a handful of scoring archetypes where you have to choose one and commit, each game. Mild deckbuilding. In this case, GWT is clearly the superior game, making Viscounts the most superfluous of the West Kingdom titles. I also hate the Viscounts manual (though I have a pinned post over on BGG that summarizes all the errors and omissions, so there’s that). That said, if Viscounts is on the table, I have to play. The board is so inviting. The “just one more turn” thing is constant. The game is lighter than Paladins but crunchier than Architects and hits a nice middle ground of effort and enjoyment. You’re just running around in circles on this rondel, buying cards, collecting resources, and cashing in on scoring opportunities. It’s a cornucopia. All to say, I somewhat resentfully deeply enjoy this one even as I disrespect it.
Regarding solo, Architects is easy and good for learning the game. You’ll soon learn to job it and crave actual humans to play against. I’ve heard the “big box” storage solution has an upgraded mode that is better. Paladins solo may actually be the preferred way to play. It’s solitaire to begin with and the automa, while a bit fiddly, runs well once you’ve got it and does exactly what you need it to. Love this one. Viscounts has a similar fiddly but good and suddenly breezy once you’ve got it down automa. They miscalibrated this one so most people complain that it is too hard, and there’s some truth to that. You have to play really disciplined to beat the thing, and one of the four bots may be invincible. But it gives you a good game and moves quickly.
Bottom line, I do love all three, with qualifications in every case. None is perfect. All are secure in my collection and I do recommend them. Small boxes and a nice trilogy when completed.
Such is Dune.
