You are the founder of a new village during the Middle Ages, in the years following a great plague. The loss of so many lives has created severe problems for the survivors. Many of the people upon whom the inhabitants relied for essential things like food, shelter, or clothing have vanished. Craftsmen lack materials, traders have lost their customers, and many have lost their farms and workshops when fleeing the plague. The roads are filled with refugees seeking a fresh start. They come to you, hoping to settle on your land and build a home. Your grain farm is the ideal starting point for a village, providing food for many people in a secure manner. You must choose wisely whom you allow to settle with you, since food and resources are limited. The people on the road possess valuable and unique skills, but they in turn depend on others with very specific skills to be able to work. Raw materials, tools, and services must be provided by other travelers from the road. If you can bring together people capable of working together to turn a profit, while expanding your food supplies and your capacity to build new houses, your village will prosper.
This is the premise of Villagers, designed by Haakon Hoel Gaarder, marking his debut title. The game was published in 2019 by Sinister Fish Games after securing the necessary funding through a crowdfunding campaign. The illustrations were also created by the author himself.
