Kingdoms

[Dav]

Okay, so the whole evil thing banked left and screamed off into insanity, we can leave it there I am thinking.

But looking at Kingdoms, you have a 16-page game for $5 playable by pretty well all ages.  I am gathering it seems to be playing within the fairy tale/Bronte lands, but that is just a restatement of the site.  What more is to be said?

Also, do you think that 16 pages for $5 is going to fly?  I ask because I foresee the deluge` of angry mobs screaming that more is needed for their money.  Not that they won't buy it mind you, they'll just scream about it.

Do you have a set release date?

Dav

(No, it ain't deeply insightful or wonderfully conducive to discussion, I'm just trying to get info here)

[ This Message was edited by: Dav on 2001-07-17 14:53 ]

[John Wick]

Gamers’ complaints have always baffled me. The Baron’s game is 16 pages and costs $4.95. In fact, almost all the New Style games are 16 pages and cost $4.95. I just hate the whole .95 thing. Five bucks. Straight up.

In short, KINGDOMS works like this:

a)Every player has a deck of cards and ten Provinces.

b)Every player picks a King, Queen and Jack out of their deck. Suits are important, because every “suit family” has a different special ability.

c)The game begins with the Harvest Phase. Every player draws ten cards from their deck and tries to put together straights (three cards in a row from the same suit) or runs (three of a kind). A straight gets you 2 Action Tokens. A Run gets you 1 Action Token. You place the Action Tokens on your Court Cards (the King, Queen and Jack) for use later.

d)The game continues into the Action Phase. You can now spend your Action Tokens as you see fit. Every card has a special ability based on its suit. Clubs are all about Warfare (wait for it), Hearts are Romance, Diamonds are Magic and Spades are Espionage. Also, during the Action Phase, players begin negotiations for marriages. You have to continue your family line, and the only way to do that is marrying off your kids (at the beginning of the game, you randomly determine if your Jack is a Prince or Princess). You write out a marriage contract with another player and are bound to that contract. Some contracts read “The Kingdom of Avalonia shares the resources of its Forests for ten years while the Kingdom of Xandia shares the resources of its Mountains for five years). You get the idea (I hope). The newlyweds get a castle (someone has to spend an Action Token to build it) and start a new Court. Since each suit’s special ability can only be used in a Court once per turn, having multiple Courts allows you a lot of flexibility in using those special abilities.

e)Then, the War Phase. You can declare War on any Kingdom adjacent to your own. (Marriage, by the way, makes you adjacent to the person you have a marriage contract with.) You send out a General (a Court Card with an Action Token) to attack the adjacent Kingdom, who in exchange, sends out a General to face you (sometimes; other times, he just surrenders). Both players pick up their remaining decks (attack people with short decks!) and play a game of War. (Remember War? If not, that’s okay, I’ve got the rules in the book.) When you lose a card in War, it goes into your opponent’s discard pile. You can spend your General’s Action Token to re-shuffle your deck (giving you more cards), to retreat (meaning your General won’t get captured at the end of the battle if he loses) or to win any card flip. Court Cards from the Clubs family get an extra Action Token when entering a War.

f)Finally, the Event Phase. Every player cuts his deck and consults the Event Chart in the book. You could get Ogres from the Hills! (monsters eat up your resources, re: deck), the Prince from a Far Away Land (he can’t be seduced by cards from the Hearts Family) or a Faerie Princess looking for a Husband (she never ages). Lots of stuff.

g)Next turn begins, with players drawing cards equal to the number of Happily Married Couples they have in play (yes, that’s a game term). Kingdoms expand and shrink, and the player with the most provinces at the end of a pre-determined number of years (Long Games, Short Games, Medium Games) wins.

That’s it. There’s more (Aces are Court Advisors, including the War Counselor, the Court Wizard, the Courtier and the Master Spy; Aging Rules and Magic) but the game’s pretty simple. You could probably figure out how to play it from what I said above.

Oh well.

That answer your question? :wink:

[Dav]

Wow, talk about the info!

Sounds like a fun game.  I am guessing this is pretty well ready to buy (it sounds finished).  If so sign me up.

Well, I am thinking Jared is rubbing off on you.  That boy is one of the most prolific bastards I've ever seen (not literally "seen", per se).  He keeps kicking me into gear before he takes all the good ideas out there.  Now I'm gonna have to race you to?!

Californians... They seem to burn through everything at light speed.  Electricity, water, all the good ideas in the world...

Looks like a fun game.  I'll definitely be hitting you up for a copy (complete with Abraham in my hand)

Dav

[John Wick]

Californians... They seem to burn through everything at light speed.  Electricity, water, all the good ideas in the world...

Actually, California is on the END of the list for states that use the most power. We're in the 40's, I think. The fact we produce something like 40% of the country's GNP and use so little energy is really starting to piss us off...

Looks like a fun game.  I'll definitely be hitting you up for a copy (complete with Abraham in my hand)

You should be able to pre-order it from Wizard's Attic soon.

Take care,
John