‘Barbarian Kingdoms’ is the Best New Strategy Game You’ve Never Played
Barbarian Kingdoms is an asymmetrical strategy combat game that hasn’t gotten the attention it deserves.
The blessing and curse of modern board gaming is there are so many games released all the time now. It’s far too easy for quality games to get swept under the rug only because they didn’t have the marketing budget of some big-name brand publisher.
While I certainly can’t know for sure, regarding Barbarian Kingdoms, that certainly seems like it may have been the case.
Barbarian Kingdoms Overview
In Barbarian Kingdoms, war ranges across 5th century Europe between the Huns, Ostrogoths, Vandals, Visigoths, Saxons, or Franks. While military might is naturally a surefire way to victory, gold can sometimes make a nigh unwinnable battle a walk in the park.
Each player in Barbarian Kingdoms controls a different kingdom. The goal of each player is to control a certain number of regions on the board, or eliminate a certain number of enemy kings. The specific number of each depends on player count.
Each kingdom has their unique kingdom power, and kingly power. But, when the king is eliminated, the player loses access to that power. But the king is also a powerful military unit, so deciding how to use the king is a vital part of the overall strategy.
Not only is the game super quick to set up, it only takes about 15 minutes per player to finish. This is the sort of game where the strategy is dense and each decision ripples through very quickly. Plus, the basic gameplay is very straightforward. On each player’s turn, they’ll take actions like move around the board, recruit new units, engage in battle, and collect taxes from their kingdom.
Bribe Your Way to Victory
But one of the main things that makes Barbarian Kingdoms worth checking out is the bribery system during combat. During combat, players will secretly place any money they have into a bag. Any gold added to the bag in this way will directly add to their combat score for the battle. Granted, the opponent does gain the bribe after the battle is resolved, but there is no limit to the size of the bribe!
This means as the endgame approaches, your economy is just as important as your military might. A kingdom with weak military might be well backed by a strong economy. They’ll be able to use that to turn a key battle in their favor. This simple mechanic means that overly aggressive players will be easily punished by attempting to spread too thin. A well balanced kingdom is the best way to ensure strength and longevity.
Now consider the fact that each kingdom has two unique powers and games only take 15 minutes per player. Seems like you’ve got yourself a game that you’re bound to play several times in a single night.
