Game Preview: Kingsburg

by Andrea “Liga” Ligabue & W. Eric Martin
21-06-2007

Publisher: KDS (Italy) / Counter/Stratelibri (other countries)
Designers: Andrea Chiarvesio & Luca Iennaco
Players: 2-5
Ages: 10+
Playing Time: 60-120 minutes (approximately 25 per player)
Release Date: October 2007

For this first preview, we’ll take a general look at Kingsburg and see what one of the designers had in mind while creating the game; later, Liga will post a full review of the game based on the final prototype.

Game designer Andrea Chiarvesio says that Kingsburg was inspired by a lament that will be familiar to most gamers: “I like playing Settlers of Catan, but I hate losing because of bad luck or because no one is willing to trade with me.”

Chiarvesio’s goal was to create a resource allocation system that was still dice-based, but with much less luck and no trading between players. “I didn’t want players to compete for the best spaces on a board—as I don’t really like majority games—so giving each player his own board looked like a perfect solution,” he says. “Then I showed the prototype to my friend Luca [Iennaco], and he did an amazing job in fixing the maths and developing new ideas and strategies.”

As a fan of classic fantasy settings, Chiarvesio tried to add in tributes to fantasy games and novels that he likes while developing an environment of his own. Here’s the final outcome:

Here’s how that setting plays out in game terms: Each player controls a province that displays a 4x5 table of buildings. During the five years of game time, players build up the provincial infrastructures or recruit soldiers to fight enemies. Each year is divided into eight phases. During three of these eight phases, players alternate beween getting an advisor’s help and raising buildings. Every advisor has a recruiting number ranging from 1 to 18. All players roll three dice and alternate in using one or more dice to get the advisor’ help: Each advisor can be recruited by only one player who needs to match exactly his recruiting number. Most of the advisors supply players with Gold, Stone or Wood. Then each player can build just one builiding. Four of the eight phases are special phases and the last one, the winter phase, deals with fighting enemy invasions. Some advisors and most of the buildings provide victory points. At the end of the fifth year, the player with most VPs wins.

“This is my first ‘big box game,’ so I am of course very excited about it!” says Chiarvesio. “KDS and Stratelibri are developing an outstanding final product, with impressive artwork and materials, far beyond my wildest dreams!”

“I can only say I am very pleased with the final result,” he continues. “It has colourful dice; dragons, zombies and goblins to fight; markets, wizard guilds and cathedrals to build; and agents of the King and a Council of advisors to help or hinder the players. It plays in 90 minutes, and most important of all, everyone seems to have fun with it.”

Pictures - Click the picture for a larger version
	Kingsburg Box

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