The Pillars of the Earth / Similar games

18 games like The Pillars of the Earth

The best games like The Pillars of the Earth are Ora et Labora, Marco Polo II In the Service of the Khan and Raiders of the North Sea — the closest of 18 ranked alternatives, scored by shared mechanics and category. Ora et Labora shares economic, medieval, religious with The Pillars of the Earth.

Every alternative below links to its own The Pillars of the Earth-style fact page, drawn from MeeplePick’s economic / medieval shelf.

Ranked by shared category (3 pts) and mechanics (2 pts), bonus within 0.7 of The Pillars of the Earth’s 2.8 weight, then BoardGameGeek’s Bayesian rating — one entry per series, 18 shown.

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1. 1. Ora et Labora (2011)
   1–4 players · 60–180 min · ★ 7.7 · Medium-heavy
   Shares with The Pillars of the Earth: Economic, Medieval, Religious, Worker Placement, Worker Placement · 2 of The Pillars of the Earth’s 4 mechanics (50%)
   vs The Pillars of the Earth: overlaps at 2–4 players · plays solo · ~15 min longer · +1.1 heavier
   View Ora et Labora on Amazon →
2. 2. Marco Polo II In the Service of the Khan (2019)
   2–4 players · 60–120 min · ★ 8.1 · Medium
   Shares with The Pillars of the Earth: Economic, Medieval, Worker Placement · 1 of The Pillars of the Earth’s 4 mechanics (25%)
   vs The Pillars of the Earth: overlaps at 2–4 players · ~15 min shorter · +0.6 heavier
   View Marco Polo II In the Service of the Khan on Amazon →
3. 3. Raiders of the North Sea (2015)
   2–4 players · 60–80 min · ★ 7.8 · Medium
   Shares with The Pillars of the Earth: Medieval, Worker Placement, Worker Placement · 2 of The Pillars of the Earth’s 4 mechanics (50%)
   vs The Pillars of the Earth: overlaps at 2–4 players · ~35 min shorter · 0.3 lighter
   View Raiders of the North Sea on Amazon →
4. 4. In the Year of the Dragon (2007)
   2–5 players · 75–100 min · ★ 7.3 · Medium
   Shares with The Pillars of the Earth: Economic, Medieval, Events · 1 of The Pillars of the Earth’s 4 mechanics (25%)
   vs The Pillars of the Earth: overlaps at 2–4 players · scales to 5 · ~17 min shorter · +0.3 heavier
5. 5. The Manhattan Project Energy Empire (2016)
   1–5 players · 60–120 min · ★ 7.8 · Medium
   Shares with The Pillars of the Earth: Economic, Events, Worker Placement · 2 of The Pillars of the Earth’s 4 mechanics (50%)
   vs The Pillars of the Earth: overlaps at 2–4 players · plays solo · scales to 5 · ~15 min shorter · +0.2 heavier
6. 6. Lancaster (2011)
   2–5 players · 60 min · ★ 7.4 · Medium
   Shares with The Pillars of the Earth: Medieval, Worker Placement, Worker Placement · 2 of The Pillars of the Earth’s 4 mechanics (50%)
   vs The Pillars of the Earth: overlaps at 2–4 players · scales to 5 · ~45 min shorter · +0.2 heavier
7. 7. Caylus 1303 (2019)
   2–5 players · 60–90 min · ★ 7.6 · Medium
   Shares with The Pillars of the Earth: Economic, Medieval, Worker Placement · 1 of The Pillars of the Earth’s 4 mechanics (25%)
   vs The Pillars of the Earth: overlaps at 2–4 players · scales to 5 · ~30 min shorter · same complexity
8. 8. Viticulture Essential Edition (2015)
   1–6 players · 45–90 min · ★ 8.1 · Medium
   Shares with The Pillars of the Earth: Economic, Worker Placement · 1 of The Pillars of the Earth’s 4 mechanics (25%)
   vs The Pillars of the Earth: overlaps at 2–4 players · plays solo · scales to 6 · ~37 min shorter · same complexity
9. 9. Caylus Magna Carta (2007)
   2–4 players · 45–75 min · ★ 6.9 · Medium
   Shares with The Pillars of the Earth: Economic, Medieval, Worker Placement · 1 of The Pillars of the Earth’s 4 mechanics (25%)
   vs The Pillars of the Earth: overlaps at 2–4 players · ~45 min shorter · same complexity
10. 10. Belfort (2011)
    2–5 players · 120 min · ★ 7.2 · Medium
    Shares with The Pillars of the Earth: Economic, Worker Placement, Worker Placement · 2 of The Pillars of the Earth’s 4 mechanics (50%)
    vs The Pillars of the Earth: overlaps at 2–4 players · scales to 5 · ~15 min longer · +0.2 heavier
11. 11. Tournay (2011)
    2–4 players · 30–60 min · ★ 7.0 · Medium
    Shares with The Pillars of the Earth: Economic, Medieval, Worker Placement · 1 of The Pillars of the Earth’s 4 mechanics (25%)
    vs The Pillars of the Earth: overlaps at 2–4 players · ~60 min shorter · same complexity
12. 12. Calimala (2017)
    3–5 players · 75 min · ★ 7.2 · Medium
    Shares with The Pillars of the Earth: Economic, Medieval, Worker Placement · 1 of The Pillars of the Earth’s 4 mechanics (25%)
    vs The Pillars of the Earth: overlaps at 3–4 players · scales to 5 · ~30 min shorter · same complexity
13. 13. World Without End (2009)
    2–4 players · 90–120 min · ★ 7.3 · Medium
    Shares with The Pillars of the Earth: Economic, Medieval, Novel-based, Religious · 0 of The Pillars of the Earth’s 4 mechanics (0%)
    vs The Pillars of the Earth: overlaps at 2–4 players · about the same length · same complexity
14. 14. Agricola Revised Edition (2016)
    1–4 players · 30–120 min · ★ 8.0 · Medium-heavy
    Shares with The Pillars of the Earth: Economic, Worker Placement · 1 of The Pillars of the Earth’s 4 mechanics (25%)
    vs The Pillars of the Earth: overlaps at 2–4 players · plays solo · ~30 min shorter · +0.7 heavier
15. 15. Key Flow (2018)
    2–6 players · 45–75 min · ★ 7.4 · Medium
    Shares with The Pillars of the Earth: Economic, Medieval, Worker Placement · 1 of The Pillars of the Earth’s 4 mechanics (25%)
    vs The Pillars of the Earth: overlaps at 2–4 players · scales to 6 · ~45 min shorter · same complexity
16. 16. Spyrium (2013)
    2–5 players · 75 min · ★ 7.1 · Medium
    Shares with The Pillars of the Earth: Economic, Events, Worker Placement · 2 of The Pillars of the Earth’s 4 mechanics (50%)
    vs The Pillars of the Earth: overlaps at 2–4 players · scales to 5 · ~30 min shorter · same complexity
17. 17. Architects of the West Kingdom (2018)
    1–5 players · 60–80 min · ★ 7.8 · Medium
    Shares with The Pillars of the Earth: Medieval, Worker Placement · 1 of The Pillars of the Earth’s 4 mechanics (25%)
    vs The Pillars of the Earth: overlaps at 2–4 players · plays solo · scales to 5 · ~35 min shorter · same complexity
18. 18. Mystery of the Abbey (1995)
    3–6 players · 60–90 min · ★ 6.5 · Medium-light
    Shares with The Pillars of the Earth: Medieval, Religious, Events · 1 of The Pillars of the Earth’s 4 mechanics (25%)
    vs The Pillars of the Earth: overlaps at 3–4 players · scales to 6 · ~30 min shorter · 0.6 lighter

Looking for the original? See the full The Pillars of the Earth fact page — players, play time, age and complexity.