Welcome to the Kingsburg Game!

Hey there! Are you ready to embark on a thrilling adventure in the world of Kingsburg? Well, get those dice rolling and prepare yourself for an epic journey!

In the game of Kingsburg, you’ll step into the shoes of a noble lord, tasked with the mission of expanding your province and gaining the favor of the King. But don’t worry, I’m here to guide you through the rules and help you claim victory!

The Basics

First things first, let’s go over the basics of the game. Kingsburg is played over 5 years, divided into 5 different seasons. Each season represents a year of your lordship, during which you’ll have the opportunity to make important decisions.

During each season, you’ll roll your dice and allocate them to different advisors in order to gain resources and take actions. These advisors will grant you special abilities and help you in your quest for power. But be careful, as your opponents will also be competing for the advisors’ favor!

Building Your Province

In Kingsburg, building your province is crucial to your success. By constructing buildings, you’ll not only expand your influence but also unlock powerful abilities and gain valuable victory points. You can choose from a variety of buildings, each offering unique advantages.

When constructing buildings, you’ll need to carefully consider your resources and choose wisely. Each building requires specific resources to be built, and managing your resources efficiently is the key to victory.

Dealing with Threats

As a noble lord, you’ll face various threats throughout the game. From marauding armies to fearsome monsters, it’s your responsibility to protect your province and its citizens.

Defending your province is no easy task, but fear not! You can recruit soldiers, build defenses, and even ask for the King’s assistance. With careful planning and resource management, you’ll be able to conquer any threat that comes your way.

The King’s Favor

Gaining the King’s favor is of utmost importance in Kingsburg. By impressing the King with your achievements, you’ll earn rewards and pave your path to victory.

Throughout the game, you’ll have the opportunity to present your accomplishments to the King. By completing objectives and fulfilling the King’s requests, you’ll earn his favor and gain valuable bonuses. So make sure to keep the King happy!

Victory and Strategy

In Kingsburg, the ultimate goal is to accumulate victory points and prove yourself as the most influential lord in the kingdom. Victory points can be earned through various means, such as constructing buildings, defeating threats, and gaining the King’s favor.

Developing a winning strategy is key to achieving victory. You’ll need to tactically invest your resources, make strategic choices, and adapt to the ever-changing circumstances. Keep an eye on your opponents and seize every opportunity that comes your way.

Final Thoughts

There you have it, a quick overview of the Kingsburg game rules. Now, it’s time to gather your friends, set up the game board, and let the adventure begin. Remember, as a noble lord, it’s up to you to shape the destiny of your province and claim victory. Good luck!

When you’re ready to dive into the exciting world of board gaming, there are a few key components you’ll need to get started. Let me walk you through everything you’ll find in the box of this amazing game:

• 1 Game Board
• 5 Province Sheets
• 21 Six-sided Dice
• 15 Disc Tokens
• 60 Goods Cubes
• 85 Building Tokens
• 1 King’s Envoy Marker
• 20 “+2” Tokens
• 1 Season Marker
• 1 Year Marker
• 25 Enemies Cards
• Rulebook

Now that we know what we’re working with, let’s get set up and ready to play:

Setup

To begin, place the game board in the center of your play area. Find the Aid from the King space (#1) on the Calendar Track and put the season marker on it. Also, place the year marker on the first space of the Year Track, marked with the Roman numeral “I”. Don’t forget to position the white dice and the “+2” tokens on their respective spots on the game board. Lastly, place the King’s Envoy marker on the #5 space of the Calendar Track.

When you play the game, make sure to put the goods cubes on the correct spots of the game board. These spots act as the supply for the game. If you gain or use any goods, always return them to this supply. It’s important to keep your goods visible to the other players throughout the game.

To start the game, choose your color and gather all the pieces that match your color, such as three dice, three disc tokens, 17 building tokens, and a province sheet. If there are any extra pieces, simply put them back in the box.

Now, place your province sheet faceup in front of you, along with your dice and building tokens. Take one disc token of your color and put it on the “0” space of the Soldiers Chart. Do the same on the “0” space of the Scoring Track. As for the Turn Order Chart, randomly place one disc token from each player in a random order.

Alright, let’s get into the nitty-gritty of this game. First, we need to divide the Enemies Cards into five smaller stacks, based on the numbers on the backs. Once that’s done, we’ll shuffle each stack separately. Now, here comes the fun part. I want you to randomly select one card from each stack without peeking at them. Got it so far? Great. Next, we need to make a pile of five cards in numerical order. Start with the “I” card on top and finish with the “V” card at the bottom. This pile will be our “Enemies Deck”. Finally, take this deck and place it facedown on the #8 space of the Calendar Track. We’re all set now. The remaining 20 cards that we didn’t use will go back in the box, but don’t look at them. They won’t be needed for this game.

The Goal of the Game

In this game, the objective is to have the highest number of Victory Points (VP) by the end of the fifth year. You can earn VP by influencing the King’s advisors, constructing valuable buildings, and winning battles against the invading enemies.

How to Play

The game spans five years, with each year consisting of eight phases that always follow the same order. You can see these phases on the Calendar Track.

After each phase, the calendar marker moves to the next space to indicate the upcoming phase.

The eight phases are divided into four seasons. Each season starts with a special event, followed by the regular season phase. Here’s a detailed breakdown of the phases:

Phase 1: Help from the King

The King wants all of his governors to make their provinces better, so he’s willing to help any governor who falls behind. If you have the fewest constructed buildings (and if there’s a tie, the person with the least number of goods), you get to roll an extra white die during the spring season. This only happens in the spring, not in the summer, fall, or winter.

If there’s a tie for both the fewest buildings and the least goods, the King helps all the tied players. In that case, each tied player can choose any one good, but no one gets to roll the extra white die.

Note: During the very first phase of the first year, no player has built or owns anything yet, so all players are tied. Every player gets to choose and receive a single good, and no one will roll the white die.

So, once we figure out which player needs the King’s help and assign them the white die or goods, we move on to the next phase.

For example, let’s say it’s the first year. Ann chooses a wood, Brian goes for a stone, and Cindy and David both opt for a gold.

Now let’s fast forward to the beginning of the third year. Ann has six buildings but no goods, Brian has five buildings and two goods, Cindy has five buildings but no goods, and David has six buildings and one good. Cindy is the one with the least, so she takes a white die from the supply and combines it with her other dice for the spring season. Once spring is over, she’ll return the die to the supply.

Phase 2: Spring – First Productive Season

All productive seasons – spring, summer, and autumn – consist of four steps that all players must follow:

• A. Roll Dice and Adjust the Turn Order Chart
• B. Influence the King’s Advisors
• C. Receive Help from the Advisors
• D. Construct Buildings

A. Roll Dice and Adjust the Turn Order Chart

Now, we all get a chance to roll our dice at the same time. After you roll, you can take advantage of the Statue and/or Chapel if you have one and want to use it. These rerolls must be used in the sequence shown on the Turn Order Chart for this turn.

So here’s what happens next: we need to adjust the positions of all the player tokens on the Turn Order Chart based on the season. Basically, you add up the value of all your dice, including any white ones you rolled for this season. The player with the lowest total becomes the new first player, and from there, the other players take their turns in order of dice totals. So, the player who rolled the highest total for this season will go last on the Turn Order Chart.

But what if there’s a tie in dice totals? Well, in that case, the tied player who had the higher position in the previous season (or if it’s the beginning of the game, the random placement) gets to keep the higher position.

Once we’ve determined the turn order, we’re ready to move on to the next step.

B. The Power to Persuade the King’s Advisors

Now it’s my turn to make my voice heard and influence the king’s advisors. I can choose to sway one advisor or simply pass and let others take the lead. The choice is mine.

Once I’ve made my decision, it’s the next player’s turn to either influence an advisor or pass. This cycle continues until the last player in line has made their move. But that’s not all! The first player has a unique opportunity to wield their influence a second time, and so the rotation goes on. We keep taking turns until we decide to pass.

When I’ve passed, my role in this process is over. I won’t have another chance to influence advisors for the rest of the season. So, I have to think carefully about when to pass and when to make my move.

In order to sway an advisor, I need to spend one or more of my dice. The total sum of the dice I choose must exactly match the value of the advisor I want to influence. It’s important to remember that I can’t use only part of my dice. I have to use all of them! Once I’ve made my decision, I place my dice on the square designated for that advisor on the board.

Note: Here’s something important to know – if you add a “+2” token to a die or dice, it gives you an extra two points. You can keep as many “+2” tokens as you want, but you can only add one token to a die or group of dice per season.

When it comes to the King’s Court, there’s another rule you need to remember. You can’t influence an advisor if someone has already influenced them in the current season. That means each space in the King’s Court can only have one die or dice group from a single player on it. But there’s an exception to this rule – if you use the King’s Envoy, you can break it.

Now, let’s talk about influencing advisors. You can’t do it with just a white die or dice and “+2” tokens. Nope, to influence an advisor, you’ve got to use at least one of your colored dice. It’s allowed to have two white dice in a group, but only if there’s at least one colored die in there too.

If you’re all out of colored dice or if you can’t put down the dice you have left, just pass.

Once everyone has passed, we can move on to the next step.

C. Get Assistance from the Advisors

Each advisor, from #1 to #18, will help you based on your influence over them. Put a die on the space of the advisor you have influenced. If an advisor’s space has no dice, then you can skip that advisor for now.

Some advisors offer a choice of help. You must pick one of the choices if you have influenced these advisors.

Once all the advisors have given their assistance, take your dice off the game board and put them back in your supply. Return any “+2” tokens or white dice you used to the general supply.

Now, you can move on to the next step.

Note: Don’t worry about running out of goods or tokens. If we ever do, we can just keep track of what we have in a way that works for us.

Example: I’m the Jester, and I give Ann a Victory Point. She moves her token one space ahead on the Scoring Track. Since there are no dice on the Squire, we ignore him. The Architect gives one wood to David, and he takes it from our supply. The Merchant lets Cindy choose between one gold and one wood. Cindy already has a gold, so she picks the wood. Now it’s time to deal with the Alchemist. Cindy gives back the wood she just got from the Merchant and takes one gold and one stone from the supply.

When I play as the Astronomer, I give myself a “+2” token. I take it from the supply and add it to my collection. I also get to choose one good of my choice. It could be gold, wood, stone, or any other resource available.

Next, let’s talk about Ann. Ann has placed her dice on the Treasurer. Because of this, she gets to take two gold from the supply. This helps her to accumulate more wealth and resources. Brian, on the other hand, has chosen to place his dice on the Master Hunter. He has the option to take either one wood and one gold or one wood and one stone from the supply. Since he prefers a balance of resources, he goes for one wood and one gold.

Now, let’s see what happens when none of the remaining advisors have any dice on them. In this case, everyone takes back their dice and the current step comes to an end. This means it’s time to move on to the next phase of the game.

D. Construct Buildings

Now, it’s time for each player to construct a building. We’ll go in turn order, which means each player will get a chance to build before the next person. Remember, there is an exception to this rule. The King’s Envoy allows you to perform a double build. We’ll talk more about this in Phase 5: The King’s Envoy, so keep an eye out for that.

When you want to build a new structure in your province, you’ll need to consider the cost. The cost to construct each building is shown on your province sheet. To make it happen, you have to pay this cost back to the supply. But remember, you can only construct one building each season.

Here’s how it works: First, you need to pay the building costs for the building you want to construct. Once you’ve done that, you can place one of your building tokens on the chosen building. It might be helpful to use your token to cover the building costs.

Now, if you construct a building that is worth Victory Points, you’ll want to move your token the right number of spaces up the Scoring Track. This will help you keep track of your progress and see how well you’re doing.

Let’s talk about constructing buildings. It’s important to follow some rules when building your city. First, you need to remember that you can only build a new building if you already own all the buildings in the row to the left. However, you can always start a new row by constructing the building on the far left.

Each building has its own special powers that you can use. These powers are described in the building’s space. It’s good to know that no matter how many new buildings you construct in the same row, you still get all the benefits from the buildings you’ve already built.

Now, let’s talk about some special buildings, like the Inn. These buildings have powers that can be used at the end of the productive season. You’ll find more information about these powers on page 8.

In winter, your buildings can get destroyed (check out “Phase 8: Winter – The Battle”). If that happens, you have to remove the building token from your province sheet. Unfortunately, you also lose the victory points (VP) you earned from that building. Don’t forget to move your token on the Scoring Track to reflect the loss. Once every player has built a single building or passed, it’s time to move on to the next phase.

The King’s Reward: Phase 3

The King is happy with his “best” governor – the player who has the most buildings. That lucky player gets a bonus VP. If there’s a tie for the most buildings, all the tied players get one VP each. Once we’ve adjusted the Scoring Track, let’s move on to the next phase.

Summer – Second Productive Season: Phase 4

When summer comes, we handle it just like we did with “Phase 2: Spring” – by rolling the dice, adjusting the turn order chart, influencing the King’s advisors, receiving their help, and constructing buildings. Then we move on to the next phase.

Phase 5: The King’s Envoy

Every summer, the King sends his most trusted Envoy to help the governor who, in his opinion, has made the least progress. The player with the fewest buildings (or, in case of a tie, the tied player with the fewest goods) gets awarded the King’s Envoy marker. If there’s a tie for buildings and goods, then no one gets the marker.

You can use the King’s Envoy during any productive season to do one of two things:

Hey there! Let me tell you something important: if you want to make good use of the King’s Envoy, you can only do it once before you have to bring him back to the same calendar space. But here’s the deal, if you don’t use the King’s Envoy before Phase 5 starts the next year, the marker goes back to the supply and can be assigned again (even to the same player who had it before).

Once you decide whether or not to use the King’s Envoy marker, move on to the next phase. Simple as that!

Picture this: it’s year two, and we’re in the “King’s Envoy” phase. Now, let’s see what’s going on with our friends Ann, Brian, Cindy, and David. Ann owns five buildings and no goods, Brian has four buildings and two goods, Cindy owns four buildings and one good, and David has four buildings and no goods.

Guess what? David is the lucky one who gets assigned the King’s Envoy marker. But here’s the catch – if Cindy didn’t have any goods either, the King’s Envoy wouldn’t have been assigned this year.

Here’s another example: it’s the “Construct Buildings” step, and David is the one with the King’s Envoy marker. He has one gold and three wood, and according to the rules, he’s allowed to perform only one building action. But wait! David calls on the King’s Envoy for help and puts the marker back on the game board. Thanks to that, he can perform not one, but two building actions. Impressive, right? He decides to build both the Barricade and the Blacksmith in the same season.

Phase 6: Autumn – Third Productive Season

In autumn, just like in “Phase 2: Spring,” we follow the same steps: Roll Dice and Adjust the Turn Order Chart, Influence the King’s Advisors, Receive Help from the Advisors, and Construct Buildings. Once that’s done, we move on to the next phase.

Phase 7: Recruit Soldiers

Now it’s time to recruit soldiers. Each of us can hire as many soldiers as we want. The cost is two goods per soldier, and you can choose to pay with the same type of goods or mix it up. For every soldier you recruit, move your token up one space on the Soldiers Chart. Once everyone has had a chance to recruit soldiers, we move on to the next phase.

Phase 8: Winter – The Battle

Winter is not a season for productivity. Instead, we have to face an invading army of enemies. Flip over the top card from the Enemies Deck, located on calendar space #8. This card will tell us which enemy is invading our realm this year.

When it’s time to face the enemy, I, as a governor, am responsible for leading the battle. Of course, I won’t be alone. King Tritus has graciously offered to send extra soldiers to assist me in defending our land.

Now, before the fighting begins, we need to determine how many soldiers the King will send to each governor. To do this, the first player on the Turn Order Chart rolls a single die. The number that comes up on the die will be the amount of soldiers that the King will send to every governor.

Once we know how many soldiers we’ll receive, all the governors, including myself, advance our tokens on the Soldiers Chart. We move our tokens a number of spaces that matches the number rolled on the die. This indicates how many extra soldiers we will have by our side in the upcoming battle.

When it’s time to determine the outcome of your battle, you’ll need to compare your combat value to the strength of the current enemy. To figure out your combat value, simply add or subtract any bonuses or penalties from the buildings you’ve constructed from your score on the Soldiers Chart.

• If your combat value is higher than the enemy strength, congratulations! You’ve won the battle and you’ll receive the rewards that are listed on the Enemy Card.
• If your combat value is equal to the enemy strength, you’ve managed to hold your ground but just barely. There won’t be any rewards or losses in this case.
• If your combat value is lower than the enemy strength, unfortunately, you’ve been defeated and you’ll have to suffer the losses described on the Enemy Card. This includes gold, wood, stone, a good of your choice, a building, and VP.

Hey, did you know that in this game, we have a cool feature called combat value? It’s a way to determine who’s the strongest player in a battle.

Here’s how it works: your combat value is calculated by adding up three things – your King’s Die, your buildings, and your soldiers. The player with the highest combat value gets a bonus victory point, but only if they actually won the battle. So it’s not just about having a big combat value, you also need to come out on top!

Now, here’s the tricky part. The Soldier Chart is numbered from 1 to 9, but your combat value can go beyond 9. Let’s say your total combat value is 10, but another player has a total combat value of 11. In that case, only the player with 11 will receive the extra victory point. It’s all about having that edge over your opponents!

If you lose the battle, you’ll have to face the consequences as stated in the red box on the Enemy Card:

– a) Lose Goods: You have to give back any goods you lost during the battle. If you don’t have enough goods to give, you’ll have to forfeit what you have, but you won’t lose any more.

– b) Building Destroyed: Your building will be destroyed as a result of the battle.

When you lose a battle and one of your buildings is destroyed, you need to figure out which building it is. The destroyed building will always be in the rightmost column where you have at least one building. If there are multiple buildings in the rightmost column, the one closest to the top is the one that the enemies destroy. You have to remove the corresponding building token and adjust the Scoring Track accordingly. From that point on, you won’t benefit from the destroyed building’s powers unless you rebuild it later.

If a building gets destroyed, you can rebuild it in a future productive season just like normal. You need to pay the building cost and follow the usual process.

Victory Point Losses

If you lose Victory Points when you are defeated in battle, you need to move your token on the Scoring Track down by the number of spaces shown.

Once everyone finishes their battles, we can put the Enemy Card back in the box. Even if we all lose the battle, don’t worry! The King’s army will come and take care of those pesky enemies for us.

Now it’s time for the soldiers to go home. We can move all the tokens on the Soldiers Chart back to the starting point, which is the “0” space. This means that the phase and the year are over.

Wrapping Up the Year

Once the winter season wraps up (Phase 8), it’s time for the year to come to a close. Just slide that marker down one space on the Year Track.

But hold on! If we’ve reached the end of the fifth year (year “V”), that’s a wrap for the game. Done and dusted.

Otherwise, it’s time for a fresh start. We kick off a new year with Phase 1. Rinse and repeat, all eight phases, year after year.

Game Over!

Hey there! Can you believe it? We’ve reached the end of the game! It’s been quite a journey, hasn’t it? But now, it’s time to find out who the winner is. Exciting, isn’t it?

So, here’s the deal. After five years of hard work and strategizing, the player who has accumulated the most Victory Points will be crowned the ultimate champion! Victory Points are like gold in this game. They represent your success and accomplishments.

Now, let’s say we have a tie for Victory Points. It’s not uncommon in games like these, where everyone is giving their best shot. So, in this case, we need to dig deeper to determine who truly deserves to win.

The player with the most goods left is the first tiebreaker. Think of goods as valuable resources that players have managed to hold on to until the end. They’re a sign of great planning and resourcefulness. So, the more goods you have left, the stronger your chances are.

But wait, what if we still have a tie after considering the goods? Well, then we move on to the next tiebreaker – the number of buildings. Buildings are like trophies. They represent the progress and development you’ve made throughout the game. Having more buildings not only enhances your chances of winning but also shows your ability to construct and grow.

But hold on, even after comparing the buildings, if there’s still a tie, then we have a very special situation. All the tied players will share the victory! It’s like a team effort, where everyone deserves recognition for their outstanding performance.

So, my friends, there you have it. The end of the game is in sight, and the suspense is killing me! May the player with the most Victory Points, goods, or buildings – depending on the situation – emerge as the champion. It’s been an honor playing with you. Good luck!