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Kingmaker – The new version

George ArnoldComments(2)

By George Arnold

I’ve been playing the new Gibsons version of Kingmaker, which was just released this year. Four games in one: Classic (the old game we all remember), Extended Classic (adds more bells and whistles), Solo Challenge (why I bought this new version of the game), and Kingmaker II (a much streamlined version of the old game).

So far, I’ve played (all solo), a game of Classic to remind me of the rules, a game of the Solo Challenge, which was interesting, but I found the AI to be a bit hard to get used to, and a game of Kingmaker II.

Kingmaker II was the most fun. It was fast-playing and tense. The photos show the game at the end of my KMII, a two-faction version that was won by the guys in Black on the board. But Yellow managed to keep Black from a Major Prestige victory with a last-gasp, low-odds battle.

The battle result was indecisive, but it managed to kill one of the Black nobles (Percy), which cost Black the two Prestige points that Percy had held, reducing Black’s win to a Minor Prestige victory, still a win, but a disappointment for Black.

Great fun!

This entry is part of an ongoing series for readers to share their current wargaming activities. If you would like to share what you’re working on, please email a few sentences and/or images to: lonewarriorwebsite@gmail.com. All readers are encouraged to submit something! 

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2 thoughts on “Kingmaker – The new version”

  1. G’day George, great to hear from you!
    Is Kingmaker II a revamped version of the old Avalon Hill game ‘Kingmaker’?
    It was a game I always wanted as a teenager, but never got!
    If so, I’ll be asking you some more questions shortly!
    Cheers
    G

  2. Hi George,
    It is indeed an updated version of the old Avalon Hill game, but with the rules cleaned up and clarified. I had that game back in the day, but it was pretty much impossible to play solo, although it was a lovely looking game and the Wars of the Roses is an interesting period to game.
    There is a lot of discussion of the new game, and all its variants, on Board Game Geek. Well worth looking there too for more details.

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