Blood of Kings (2009)

In Blood of Kings, players compete to build the most glorious dynasty in medieval Europe. You start as the ruler of a single kingdom, but over the course of the game kingdoms can change hands, and you may find yourself wearing several crowns - or no crown at all. Your ultimate goal is to gain Glory by enriching the kingdoms you have had the opportunity to rule; when you develop a kingdom’s institutions or increase the size of its domain by conquering new lands, you gain Glory. Accumulate enough Glory and you get to claim an Achievement, which grants all your kingdoms a special bonus or capability. When all Achievements have been claimed, the game ends and the player with the most Glory wins.

Blood of Kings is a unique blend of warfare, civilization building, and political maneuvering. Each turn you choose the course of action for each of your kingdoms. Will you attempt to expand militarily, or focus on developing institutions to make your kingdoms stronger, more productive, and more culturally advanced? At some point you will have to divert attention and resources away from these projects to root out enemies at court, for your rule is never truly secure - other players are your constant rivals, quietly positioning themselves to claim rights to your throne or thrust your kingdoms into violent rebellion. If you aren’t careful, you can find your crown stripped away and given to another, forcing you into exile to brood and plot your eventual return to power.

Blood of Kings is card-driven, but not in the traditional manner. Each kingdom has its own hand of Kingdom cards, each of which denotes a type of action (development, raising troops, taxation, etc.), and each turn its ruler chooses one card to play from those still in hand. It is through these actions that players gain Glory and win the game. However, each player also has a hand of Dynasty cards, which he can use each turn to hinder other kingdoms, improve his political hold on his own kingdoms, or prepare to take political control of rival kingdoms. Therefore, each player must work not only to expand and improve his kingdoms, but to defend his kingdoms against political rivals while positioning himself to take over as many kingdoms as possible.

The game is of the free D.I.Y. variety - you will have to print your own components. Playing time is scalable. Since the game ends when all available Achievements have been claimed, you can set up a short game by using only a few Achievements, or create a truly epic game by making all of the Achievements available.