As I promised, here is a dedicated post for The King is Dead (second edition)
The Game
In my earlier blog post, I described this as a combination of a betting game and an area control game. I will stick with that today. This is a game that feels simple enough to pick up and teach, but with enough strategy to keep the attention of those people who like a more strategic and think-y type of game.
Let’s start with the basics. There is a map and the set up begins with 4 followers (represented by cubes) in each territory. Three territories are predetermined and the rest are at random from the bag. Each player begins with 8 cards and 2 random cubes. Then the 8 territories are shuffled and laid out creating the randomized order in which they will resolve (barring any cards that change this). You may play one card at a time around the table as many cards as you would like in a round. Each time you play a card, you get to remove a cube from anywhere on the board to add to your personal pool. Each round ends once all players have agreed to pass and permit that territory to score. At that point, the faction with the most followers in that territory will control that territory and it is marked with a disk. If there is a tie in that territory, the French (represented by a black disk) invade. You then continue on with the next territory in order. Keeping in mind you only have 8 cards that you can play and they cannot be played multiple times so you have to balance when to pass and when to play. That’s where a lot of the strategy comes into play.
The end of the game occurs when either a) Invasion occurs once the French control 3 territories on the map. At this point the game ends instantly regardless of how many territories have resolved. In this case, the winner becomes the person with the most sets of each color in their pool. b) All Territories have scored. Now you have to determine which faction (color) won by determining who controlled the most territories. Then, determine the player that had the most of those cubes in their pool.
There are also some additional cards that come with the game so once you’re comfortable with the base game, you can remove the 3 faction specific cards from your starter deck and replace with 3 random of the other cards for an added element to the game.
The Review
This game will definitely be one to hit our tables a bunch more. It is simple enough and a fairly quick game, but there is enough strategy and thinking to it that it isn’t too simplistic. While it is not cooperative, it also is not necessarily always a battle because your strategy can be different. You may want a territory to go to the same faction your opponent does, but maybe for a different reason.
This game is one that will play differently every time based on the cards and territories. It will also play differently with different people as their strategy and approach will help shape the game.
All in all, all 3 of us have thoroughly enjoyed this game.
The Results
There is some debate on the results, but according to what we had put into our app, Addie has won all rounds of this. Several rounds have ended in a tie, but we have followed the outlined tiebreak rules to determine a winner.
The Challenges as of 1/24/21
Total Plays- 27
New to Us games – 8
