The King’s Dilemma

(1 customer review)

£67.50 inc. VAT

Out of stock

SKU: LUMHG012KD1908 Category: Designer(s): , Publisher:

Description

Nominated for the Kennerspiel des Jahres 2020

The King’s Dilemma board game is an interactive narrative experience with legacy elements, featuring several branching storylines leading to many possible finales and an evolving deck of event cards at its core. Players represent the various houses leading the government of the Kingdom of Ankist.

You will draw one card from the “Dilemma deck” each round and experience the game story as it unfolds. Each card poses a problem that the Council has to resolve on the King’s behalf. As members of the King’s inner circle, your decisions determine how the story proceeds and the fate of the kingdom. Each event happens only once: You discuss and bargain with the other players, then finally you make a choice, determining the outcome, progressing the game story, and possibly unlocking more events.

You have to keep the kingdom going, while also seeking an advantage for your own house; this power struggle may lead the kingdom into war, famine, or riot, or it could generate wealth and well-being. This will depend on your choices! The thing is, each decision has consequences, and what is good for the kingdom as a whole may be bad for your family…

Will you act for the greater good, or will you think only of yourself?

Game Details
NameThe King's Dilemma (2019)
ComplexityMedium Light [2.25]
BGG Rank325 [7.77]
Player Count (Recommended)3-5 (4-5)

Videos

1 review for The King’s Dilemma

  1. Geoff Byers

    As a narrative experience goes, it’s not bad, but as a board game, it’s not great. There’s a strong dissonance between player choice and agency, and what actually happens. Players are insulated from the consequences of any decisions they make, resulting in the game feeling neutered, and the timescale of the game prevents players from becoming invested in characters they meet. Well-written, and the core negotiation gameplay is good, but the rest of the game just doesn’t work very well, being stuck in an awkward halfway house between Game of Thrones-style internal machinations (but not between players, obviously, because that would involve Hurt Feelings) and ‘running’ a kingdom that resets regularly and wipes out the cumulation of the decisions you have made.

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