In Reigns: The Council, players sit at the Royal Council table as Royal Councillors or as the Monarch himself. The Councillors draw up proposals that they present to the Monarch. The latter accepts or refuses them, each decision having consequences on the four pillars of society: the Church, the Army, the People or the Finances.

Each Advisor has a secret objective linked to two of these pillars. For example, weakening the Church and making the Army powerful. Or increase the weight of the People and weaken the Army. Or to make the Church powerful and increase the finances.

The Monarch, on the other hand, must maintain the balance between the four pillars of society despite the secret objectives of his Advisors. As soon as one of the pillars becomes too weak or too powerful, the Kingdom ends and it is time to do the math. One part consists of several "Reigns". During each Reign, one player plays as the Monarch and all the others play as one of the Advisors. During a Reign, players strive to achieve their personal goal to score points.

At the end of a Reign, a change of Monarch is changed and a new Reign begins. The player who has scored the most points at the end of the game is declared the winner.