In Royals; players take on the roles of the great noble houses of the 17th century; fighting for supremacy in Europe at that time. With the help of the right country cards; they occupy influential positions and obtain bonuses for this in the form of victory points. The higher the rank of the title associated with the position; the more country cards required. Already-occupied positions can be contested by playing intrigue cards.

The game proceeds over three periods; with a scoring taking place after each of them. During scoring; the players with the greatest influence in each of the four countries score victory points. After the third period scoring; the game ends with the scoring of the individual titles. The player with the most victory points wins.