Build your Kingdom with “Kingdom Builder”

KingdomBuilder

“Kingdom Builder”

designed by Donald X. Vaccarino, published by Queen Games

Build your kingdom via strategic placement of your settlements!  A game of very few choices: you get one card, you play it, and build three settlements on the terrain type (flower fields, deserts, forests, mountains) matching that card. Note the strict building rules: you must build next to an already existing settlement if you can. Build next to bonus tiles which usually give you the ability to build, another settlement!  Try to score points at the end based on three randomly drawn goals that makes the strategy of every game different. Sometimes you need the largest settlement, or have the most separate settlements, or sometimes, score for both.  The four modular boards provide some extra variety as well.  But in the end, the whole affair feels a bit bland.

Not a whole lot of choices makes for a rather dry game at times.

Better than Indiana Jones! Better than Indiana Jones?! Better!

thebes

“Thebes”

designed by Peter Prinz, published by Queen Games

Race around the world uncovering valuable archeological finds from Greece, Rome, Palestine, Egypt, and Mesopotamia! Spend “time” to travel around Europe as you pick up knowledge and assistants and tools to unearth artifacts from the five different sites. Spend even more time to improve your chances as you “dig” up the artifacts. “Dig” for the artifacts by making blind pulls from a bag filled with good, point scoring stuff and dirt. Lots of dirt. The more knowledge you have and the more time you spend, the more pulls you get, but be careful, you might just get dirt, lots and lots of dirt.

There is a great metaphor about “spending time” in this fun, fast-paced game that can get really, really frustrating.