Paupers’ Ladder: Turning the Ordinary to Extraordinary
Travel across the land of Brighthelm to learn important virtues and experience a memorable adventure in Paupers’ Ladder.
Here I go! At last, a new game made it to my table, and I don’t think it would have been anything expected. Indeed, Paupers’ Ladder isn’t a well-known title and I only stumbled across it. But what a world! With bright illustrations and a fairly short playtime for a full adventure, I knew it was time to jump into the fun… As a charlatan, of course. Ha ha!
Game Overview
Game Name: Paupers’ Ladder
Publication Year: 2019
Designer: Paul Stapleton
Artist: Paul Stapleton
Publisher: Bedsit Games
Solo Mode: Included in One Lonely Pauper
Setting out with little more than a few items and a bird companion, an adventure takes shape across the various regions. Virtues mark important milestones, ranging from completing a spell book to defeating a huge dragon! Brighthelm has much to offer for even the lowliest pauper.
First Play
February 26, 2023
Complexity
2
Latest Play
August 22, 2025
Expansions
6
Setup Time
10 Minutes
Lifetime Plays
16
Play Time
45 Minutes
High Score
N/A
Game Area
38" x 26"
Low Score
N/A
Busy, Yet Very Compact
Sometimes, narrative adventure games in this general realm end up with enormous play areas. Not here! The board sets up the regions, with card decks off to the side.
I absolutely loved this world from the start. So many colors, yet nothing dangerous or violent. It’s more about having fun with the stories. Minimal doom and gloom!
And if you spotted the meeple, you might think it’s huge. Correct! Each stands about 2 inches tall. Wow!
With the solo scenario, a few regions had starting cards, yet this would mostly be about a journey of discovery.
Character Biographies
As the title might suggest, this is a game about taking on the role of a pauper. There are plenty to choose from, although they’re split across difficulty levels.
This backstory section of the rulebook showed some of the humor that gives the game a unique flavor. So much fun!
Everyone sounded like the perfect choice, yet I knew who I would settle on immediately. Inept magic tricks? Well, that’s all I’ve ever wanted. Welcome, the Great Ognov!
I should also say none of this is mocking the destitute, but put these characters in the roles of heroes and leaders.
Preparing to Journey
Note that there is a solo board with trackers included in one of the expansions, but I stuck with this original solo mode. I wanted to use my special dice, after all!
The Great Ognov had a unique piece of equipment, plus the chance to purchase items from his starting city.
Another cool element is the bird companion. See that magpie? She, too, would explore the world and help out with learning virtues and collecting all sorts of items.
I didn’t expect to enjoy this art style, yet I love it! So colorful with a ton of detail to bring Brighthelm to life.
Delicious Recipes
Alright… These receipes weren’t to make any sort of meals, but a starting set of 3 offered up some ideas for the ingredients to gather from around the world.
Collecting 2 of 3 ingredients on a recipe card completed it, thereby flipping it over to learn a unique spell!
These all offered abilities that might be ongoing, or single use. Nothing too complex there, but still interesting to make it worthwhile to focus on gathering ingredients.
Learning all 5 spells granted the virtue of knowledge, which could put the Great Ognov on the path to success!
The First Encounter
Out into the world went the charlatan! Early on, he discovered a bandit hanging out in the swamp. Decisions, decisions! Combat is, luckily, very simple to run through.
A matching outcome deck formed the setup area. These cards have a mixture of numerical values and ally cards that might provide a special bonus at the right time.
With this 5 against the bandit’s strength of 4, the battle was won! But the reward was an interesting choice.
I could save this card in my trophy room for a possible virtue or quest, get 2 gems, or gain an equipment card.
Sea of the Great Waves
As the Great Ognov and his magpie traveled all around, it seemed like a pleasant enough adventure. Time was limited, though, as it ticked down every round.
Things took a twist when the sea boiled over and flooded all the beaches! Quite a surprise, and a rather rare event.
Regions have a certain type, and new cards are added from specific decks. There could be anything in there, and a disaster seems to be possible in each region.
Luckily, things weren’t too much of a calamity… This was the only card to be removed. No more double floods!
Dragonsbane’s Tale
I was quite engaged with this play, and barely paused for photos. Rounds flew by since the rules were very easy to follow, but there were still plenty of stories to tell.
At one point, a leaf dragon showed up. That’s right: A dragon! Defeating one could lead to the virtue of magnificence. And a charlatan is nothing but magnificent!
The Great Ognov stopped off in a nearby town, where there was a surprise waiting to be purchased.
Dragonsbane was expensive, yet the mighty sword paired with the best outcome card for a successful battle!
A Hilarious Ending
At this easy difficulty level, I didn’t find it challenging to manage time… But what fun! I probably drew out the ending a little just to experience some more events.
It was worth it. First, a hill giant showed up to impede progress across the northern mountains. Way too strong to reliably encounter with limited lives. No, thank you.
Then, the Great Ognov stumbled across the Assassins’ Guild. With a full purse, he paid them to fight the giant.
Now, you probably think this was a smart and strategic move. Nope… I did it for an entirely different reason!
Hero of the City
The defeated giant completed a quest… But just think about that. Citizens were thrilled at the Great Ognov’s ability to defeat the hill giant all by himself!
No one knew he paid to have that taken care of, and that’s as it should be. Charlatan once, charlatan forever. Ha ha!
With that, he learned his third virtue and won the scenario. It was the perfect ending. Could that have gone any better?! I think not. I’m still chuckling a little bit!
I found the joy in just hopping around various regions, waiting to find out what the next card would have in store.
Why Isn’t Every Round Part of an Epic Journey?
As I’m leaning more into the stories that games tell nowadays, I do want to point out that most of my plays center around a couple of pivotal moments. Would I classify the other rounds as boring? Not entirely, yet I spend a fair amount of time moving, picking up a card with little effect, and making fairly easy decisions about where to go next.
Those quiet, mundane moments help set up the excitement, though. Imagine if the Great Ognov just fought every dragon and won pretty successfully… His magic tricks probably improved! But then there wouldn’t be a standout battle moment when he slayed the dragon. Those exciting moments then become the expected. The ordinary. The mundane.
I think this is also why I’m approaching narrative and story-based games a little differently. In heavier strategy games, I need to feel like something is happening every round, or that I’m at least working towards a goal. But with stories, you never know when that key moment is going to pop up amidst all of the usual rounds. Magic! Like the Great Ognov. Ha!
Diving in as Ginny
Normally, I wouldn’t have played again with an entirely new character. Yet I was just far too interested in the story possibilities, and Ginny Heaver was ready to explore!
I bumped up the difficulty level, reducing the number of lives and starting time. Nothing drastic, yet I felt ready for a little more of a challenge amidst the story.
Ginny had a unique whittler that could act as a weapon, and she purchased a rusty key from the town market.
Off to make her mark on the world with her swift! Wait: All of that woodsmithing had already made a mark… Ha ha!
Another Epic Tale
The slight change in difficulty was quite noticeable, and I didn’t pause until right near the end. Granted, I sped up my play time considerably, so things moved along.
Before I knew it, though, Ginny only had 2 of 3 virtues in the final round. She and her swift had a single life left after losing plenty of battles to stronger opponents.
Ironically, she had 29 of 30 strength for the last virtue. So close! But it all came down to this giant gull on the beach.
Next to her hometown of Bluevalue and with no luck with the die, Ginny prepared to give in to defeat with me.
Last Minute Victory
I was resigned to calling this a loss already, though it wasn’t like I hadn’t enjoyed the adventure. So I flipped over the outcome card… Well, well! A distraction.
With Ginny’s bird companion in the same region and a strength of 3 not enough to defeat the giant gull, I gladly took advantage of the chance to draw again.
At a glance, a 2 strength card wasn’t what I needed. Game over. But… An old friend. Wait a moment.
Connected to Bluevalue, you say? Criteria met for a strength of 4 and a completely surprising victory!
Session Overview
Play Number: 1 and 2
Expansion: One Lonely Pauper
Solo Mode: Included in One Lonely Pauper
Play Details: Easy and Medium Difficulty Levels
Outcome: 2 Wins
What an incredible outing! I had the chance to play as 2 entirely different characters. There was some overlap with the cards they saw, yet their stories were so very different and memorable. Plus, adding more of a challenge sped up gameplay and made me feel more connected to the world. I am most definitely returning for more stories very soon!
%
10 Plays
Affordability
Price & Value
8
Functionality
Challenges & Mechanics
10
Originality
Design & Theme
7
Quality
Components & Rules
9
Reusability
Achievement & Enjoyment
9
Variability
Distinctness & Randomness
9
+ Pros (Positives)
- Although there are enemies to encounter and defeat, the overall tone feels very light, cheery, and hopeful.
- There is plenty of variety in the different card decks to provide unique stories for every play.
- Increasing the difficulty level actually helps with cutting down play time and offering realistic challenges.
- Humor can be found across the components without feeling overdone or unnecessary: It blends in very well.
- It’s clear that the game is a labor of love from the designer and artist, who continues to expand the content.
- Even playing through the same scenario to complete 3 of 5 virtues doesn’t feel overly repetitive.
– Cons (Negatives)
- There is enough content in the base game, but it feels a bit limited with just 4 bird companions to choose from.
- This original solo mode booklet doesn’t include components, yet this is remedied in the first major expansion.
- A lot of elements come down to the luck of the draw with the card order or dice rolls during encounters.
- It may be too soon to call it out, but there are a lot of open card spaces with just a single character and bird.
Victory Conditions
Complete the Scenario Win Condition
- Overall Goal Progress 33%
Goals and Milestones
Complete the Garolium's Tournament scenario.
Win at least 1 game with each base game character. (2/8)
Continue the Conversation
Have you played Paupers’ Ladder? I know it’s still just my first impressions, but what a wonderful gem of a game! Do you have any other solo adventure games you enjoy? I’m excited to try out some more scenarios, and then add in the other expansion content. Check back soon for more stories from this lovely, adventuring world of Brighthelm!
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