Kingdom Builder

by Queen Games

• For 2 to 4 players
• 45 minutes of playtime
• The players create their own kingdoms by skillfully building their settlements, aiming to earn the most gold at the end of the game

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 11.6 x 3 x 11.6 inches ; 3 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 3.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• Origin: Germany
• ASIN: B0063I6Y2G
• Item model number: 60832QNG
• Manufacturer recommended age: 10 years and up
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #7,367 in Toys & Games (See Top 100 in Toys & Games)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (27 customer reviews)

Product Description

From the Manufacturer

The latest release from the designer of Dominion. In Kingdom Builder, the players create their own kingdoms by skillfully building their settlements, aiming to earn the most gold at the end of the game. Build an engine to control more tiles, which give access to more abilities -- which help you earn more gold. Each game, players will use a random set of Kingdom Builder cards (3 of the total of 10 cards), special actions (4 of possible 8) and terrain sectors to build the map (4 of 8 tiles), ensuring you won't play the same game twice.

Product Description

By skillful building of settlements players create their own kingdoms, aiming to earn the most gold at the end of the game. The 3 Kingdom Builder cards specify the conditions which must be met in order to earn the desired gold.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 24 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars So many possibilities December 29, 2011

By J. A. Kevern

Durability: 5.0 out of 5 stars    Educational: 3.0 out of 5 stars    Fun: 5.0 out of 5 stars   

A new, non-Dominion game from designer Donald X. Vaccarino, and it's a good one. Game play is refreshingly simple. Pick a card, and play 3 houses on that terrain, touching any of your current houses if possible. Where you want to put your houses is determined by the 3 goal cards used in that game. Some goal cards reward you for spreading out over the whole board, or building by water or mountains, or linking locations contiguously in a 'Ticket to Ride' type fashion. There are a total of 10 of these cards, 3 of which are used each game, so the combinations of these cards really change the strategy from game to game. There are also 8 terrain sections, 4 of which are used each game, and each of which have a different 'special power' players can acquire during the game. This leads to an incredible amount of replayability, and games that feel very different from one another even when played back to back.

If you like games like Ticket to Ride and Settlers of Catan, you will certainly like Kingdom Builder. It has the same subtle strategy, where there are often a handful of options to choose from each turn, and the game becomes about optimizing these choices.

Most importantly, it's a fun game, easy to learn, and has the longevity to be played over and over again. Highly recommended!

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Really Shines With A Variant September 28, 2012

By Rob Reinhardt

Amazon Verified Purchase

Durability: 4.0 out of 5 stars    Educational: 4.0 out of 5 stars    Fun: 4.0 out of 5 stars   

This is an excellent, gateway abstract piece placement game. Easily taught in under two minutes, yet complex enough to get one thinking. The premise is simple. Each turn place three houses in terrain matching the card you have drawn. The two catches being that, you must place the three together and if you can place them adjacent to pieces you already have on the board, you must. Each game features a standard scoring that stays the same (for placing pieces adjacent to special spaces) and three ways to score that are randomly drawn from a deck of cards. In addition, the boards along with some special action tokens can be different each game, leading to a new game each time. With one expansion out already, the possibilities become endless without the rules becoming convoluted.

The one drawback in the game is that it is very unforgiving at the beginning. Your first three turns can make or break your game. A bad initial placement can make it very difficult to recover. While experience can help you overcome this, there's no help for you if you receive a bad card draw. (Getting two or three of the same terrain in a row at the beginning can be a particularly bad situation). For this reason, we play with a minor variant. Each player starts with two cards instead of one, replenishing their hand each turn. This greatly reduces the luck factor and, in my opinion, greatly increases the enjoyment due to having more choice. Some argue this lengthens the game, however, in my experience the length of the game is far more dependent on the playing style of those at the table. When approached about this, the designer preferred to keep the game as it was and won the Spiel des Jahres so it's obviously a quality game as written. In my opinion, it truly shines with the variant.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The Next 'Staple' of Gaming Groups January 29, 2012

By Major Major

Durability: 5.0 out of 5 stars    Educational: 3.0 out of 5 stars    Fun: 5.0 out of 5 stars   

Kingdom Builder is a fun new game that's sure to become a must-have for all gaming groups. It's one of the simplest games to learn that I can recall as of late, and there's tons of variation based on the board and objectives you're playing with. One turn will typically take someone under 30 seconds, and one full game with 4 people will likely take 15-30 minutes.

Hardcore gamers who frown on the likes of 'Ticket to Ride' and 'Carcassonne' for being "too shallow" probably won't find this game to their liking, but it will end up in the same category of classic games like those mentioned for good reason - it's very easy to learn, quick to play, and has tons of variation.

Also worth noting- word has it that an expansion will be coming out this year giving additional objective cards and maybe some other surprises to add further replayability.