Kingmaker the Second

 

Very excited this week with the arrival of the new edition of the classic game Kingmaker.  Back in 2020 I somehow found myself taking part in some online playtest games of the revised system (it was lockdown and we were all desperate to find something to do!).  The kickstarter by Gibson games was really well run and refreshingly they didn't try adding lots of extras which would slow down production... their aim was to get the game produced and out to backers on time.  Most kickstarters I've backed have usually ended up being at least a year or 2 overdue. Bizarrely I also discovered that Gibson Games are based about a mile from me!

The game itself is very nicely done.  The map and cards have had a refresh and have lost that 1970s look. 

For nostalgia fans though the original map is on the reverse of the board and the original rules are included.

The game comes with the 'new' rules as well as the originals, a solo version and several player aid cards.

Handily each player now gets a full set of noble counters in their own colour scheme which should make it easier to track who belongs to which faction

The cards have had a major upgrade and there are a few changes to make the nobles more accurate and to replace some anomalies (for example the odd Saxon mercenaries have been replaced with Landsknechts)

The rules themselves especially are now explained in a more user friendly style... less of the 1970s lawyer-ese that a lot of boardgames had.  Mostly the mechanics are the same: the 2 biggest changes are around movement and how to actually win.  Games of KM often involved counting endless permutations of the small white squares on the map to work out the best route.  Now counters move within larger regions or to an adjacent region, hopefully speeding this up.

The game has some new rules for set up including making sure that forces are more balanced at the beginning and players can now start with some pre-set faction to ensure no one begins with a duff hand of cards.

The biggest problem with 'old' KM was that games often ended up with someone grabbing a king and hiding out somewhere like Calais or Ireland where they were too powerful to be attacked.  Games tended to stagnate towards the end with powerful factions glowering at each other across the map and not risking a fight.  Now there is an alternative way to win... prestige!  If you hold a King (it's the Wars of the Roses so there can be more than 1) you can win by capturing towns, holding offices and fighting battles and generally raising your profile until you win by default... no more skulking in Ireland!!  I think this is a great change and it really changed the dynamic of the game during the playtests.  It should also mean that games come to a proper conclusion and don't fizzle out.

Little Wars Revisited games day 2023

 

So I'm a little late with this post, but last weekend I finally made it along to one of the annual Little Wars Revisited 54mm gatherings which happen once a year in Woking (along with a sister event up north in Stockport).  I went to this first one of these a few years ago and then a combination of covid, work and a flat tyre have meant I've missed every one since.  The day is a small event bringing together players who frequent the Little Wars 54mm forum and who enjoy games with larger figures (40mm and upwards).  There are usually around a dozen or so players from around the UK who get the chance to catch up and play a few games over the day.  The event takes place in the very pretty upstairs room at Christchurch in the centre of Woking... definitely the nicest wargames venue I've been to!

I could only make the afternoon but games on offer included Age of Penda, The Men Who Would Be Kings, Lion Rampant and a Cornish smuggling skirmish game.  There was also an intriguing snowball fight game which somehow I neglected to take any photos of.

First up some of Mike Lewis's very impressive NWF game featuring an armoured train being attacked by Pathans...

Some pics of the medieval themed Lion Rampant game with some impressive ramparts...

I played the Age of Penda game which pitched Vikings against Saxons and uses an intriguing order board.  Players have an allocated number of orders which they can use to claim the available slots on the board... there are enough order slots for everyone to be able to move, attack etc but there are a couple of limited special tactics and initiative orders which it's important to bid for if you can.

In our game my Viking force was a small but elite army with a lot of order points available.  Facing it were some rather poor Saxons with few order points but a lot of troops.  I decided to ignore subtlety and to charge headlong for the Saxon centre, carving my way through several units but at a cost to my small army.  Eventually it came down to the last dice throw of the game which sadly didn't go my way and rubbish Saxons claimed victory.  An excellent set of rules and ideal for this kind of event where you want a relatively quick game.  It would be very feasible to play both sides in an evening.

Finally a pic of the Smuggling skirmish... this looked great and had smugglers, locals and government troops all trying to seize the booty and polish off the opposition. It looked great fun and seemed to be heavy on the role-playing aspect

I haven't done anything with 54mm figures since I painted up m North West Frontier figures and I came away inspired to have a think about some larger scale gaming.  I was particularly struck but how good some skirmish games with a handful of figures can look (eg the smuggling game) with relatively few figures.  I always struggle to paint up lots of models so thinking about this kind of game (and my recent Fist Full of Lead games) has set some new projects into motion....