Front Page

Content

Authors

Game Index

Forums

Site Tools

Submissions

About

Crusader Kings

Hot
Crusader Kings
MSRP $
74.49
Year Published
Free League Publishing

Brace yourself, the backstabbing and intrigue of medieval Europe is being brought to life in the real world. Sort of. Free League Publishing and Paradox Interactive are bringing the best-selling and award-winning game Crusader Kings to life as a tabletop board game.

Free League Publishing and Paradox Interactive are proud to present Crusader Kings – The Board Game, based on the acclaimed grand strategy computer game. Free League Publishing is the development team behind the award-winning tabletop RPGs Tales from the Loop, Coriolis – The Third Horizon and Mutant: Year Zero.

In this medieval strategy soap opera, your King or Queen will need to survive invasions, plots, crusades, and even marriage. Or at least have children, siblings or spouses standing by to take over the throne. Failure to raise a suitable heir could face you with the end of your dynasty. Oh dear!

Get a first glimpse of Free League's and Paradox’s upcoming tabletop title.

As a ruler, you need to be shrewd in the realm of diplomacy and intrigue and make and break alliances with others. Grow your wealth and military power, build and develop your dominion, while at the same time fulfill your duty to partake in the crusades to the Holy Land. All the while experiencing events of the strange and dangerous life of a medieval ruler. While at the same time matchmaking your family tree in order to groom your dynasty’s traits over the generations.

You are a Crusader King, striving for wealth and power across the continent. Across generations. Reshape the history of medieval Europe in your own image – if only that dimwitted son of yours set to inherit the throne doesn't spoil your grand plans. Crusader Kings – The Board Game captures the essence of the Crusader Kings experience, in a physical tabletop format. This is a strategy game at heart, but with a special focus on characters, intrigue, and juicy medieval drama. It’s a big, beautiful game centered on a map of medieval Europe, using hundreds of cards for actions, characters and events and 70 well-crafted plastic miniatures to represent knights, armies, castles, and more. To win, you will need to groom your family, build mighty castles, develop your dominion, be shrewd in the realm of diplomacy and intrigue, and use your vassals wisely to grow your wealth and military power. You must survive invasions, plots, plagues, crusades to the Holy Land – and marriage! Or at least have children or siblings standing by to take over the throne if your regent dies. Failure to raise a suitable heir can mean the end of your dynasty. Crusader Kings – The Board Game boils down the unique strategy/RPG combination of Crusader Kings to an intense tabletop experience of 2-3 hours.

Note: Free League originally funded the development of Crusader Kings in 2018 Kickstarter campaign.


User reviews

There are no user ratings
Already have an account? or Create an account
Log in to comment

hotseatgames's Avatar
hotseatgames replied the topic: #273665 19 May 2018 09:38
www.kickstarter.com/projects/1192053011/...f=new_friend_backing

It looks neat, but it seems fairly close to Warrior Knights. Which someone in my group already has, and we play *maybe* once every 2 years.
Erik Twice's Avatar
Erik Twice replied the topic: #273666 19 May 2018 09:58
I welcome any and all attempts to make this kind of "multiplayer wargame" or "kidn of multiplayer wargame". I'm not hopeful, though, they are very hard to make and, like hotseat says, chances are you end up with something like Warrior Knights.
the_jake_1973's Avatar
the_jake_1973 replied the topic: #273672 19 May 2018 10:33
Blood Royale in PC license clothing?
southernman's Avatar
southernman replied the topic: #273682 19 May 2018 14:08
Warrior Knights cross with Blood Royale ... or just the boardgame version or Paradox's Crusader Kings ;-p

Interested to see how different it is from both of them, I think it will need some decent diplomacy mechanics like Blood Royale had to make it different enough to Warrior Knights that I already have and get out infrequently.
southernman's Avatar
southernman replied the topic: #273684 19 May 2018 15:43
After reading through the rules it looks similar to what FFG did with Civilization recently, made a rules and time friendly version of a particular genre of game that usually is not rules or time friendly. It looks like it has reasonable mechanics and limited goals (not a euro points salad) and should work OK for a 3 hour medieval fix but I think it may be a bit lacking in depth and time allowed for some of us wanting that bit extra immersion (Note: I am quite happy playing a 4-6 hour game of FFG's Civ rather than try a 2-4 hour attempt at Civ: A New Dawn).
But it is reasonably priced, especially for the UK, so it does have that has a bit plus factor.
Michael Barnes's Avatar
Michael Barnes replied the topic: #273688 19 May 2018 16:52
True to the source material, it appears there is more administrative material than there is a board.
hotseatgames's Avatar
hotseatgames replied the topic: #273689 19 May 2018 17:07
I will also say I find their rejection of stretch goals refreshing. This is the game, take it or leave it.
ChristopherMD's Avatar
ChristopherMD replied the topic: #273691 19 May 2018 17:10

Brace yourself, the backstabbing and intrigue of medieval Europe is being brought to life in the real world.


I assume they mean the modern world. Pretty sure in the real world that medieval Europe did have backstabbing and intrigue.
themothman421's Avatar
themothman421 replied the topic: #273698 19 May 2018 19:36

hotseatgames wrote: I will also say I find their rejection of stretch goals refreshing. This is the game, take it or leave it.


Yeah, and CTRL+F "exclusive" yielded no results, so no typical Kickstarter FOMO psychology bullshit either. Maybe this will make it to retail, and indeed maybe then, I'll take a look. The computer game always sounded fascinating.
Gary Sax's Avatar
Gary Sax replied the topic: #273704 19 May 2018 22:50
Shouldn't this game just be Republic of Rome?
wadenels's Avatar
wadenels replied the topic: #273711 20 May 2018 07:37
I’m in on this one, despite the warning signs and similarities to other games. I’m a sucker for stuff in the Warrior Knights / Blood Royale vein.

The rules seem a bit lighter mechanically than FFG Warrior Knights, which I’m counting as a strength.
the_jake_1973's Avatar
the_jake_1973 replied the topic: #273730 20 May 2018 16:34
What I didn't like was the 'Choose two actions for a turn' via cards. I'd rather be able to choose what I want to do from a list of actions and react to the people who went in a turn order higher than me.

The simplified map is disappointing.
southernman's Avatar
southernman replied the topic: #273772 21 May 2018 07:58

the_jake_1973 wrote: What I didn't like was the 'Choose two actions for a turn' via cards. I'd rather be able to choose what I want to do from a list of actions and react to the people who went in a turn order higher than me.

The simplified map is disappointing.


Now I've had time to refresh myself with FFG's Warrior Knights rules I prefer their each player chooses two orders to put in each of three piles, along with neutral cards, and then they are shuffled - you get planning with some timing uncertainty.
Crusader Kings is obviously going for a more time friendly experience but it has thrown in the dynasty mechanic with game tests on traits so it has some differentiation for people.
the_jake_1973's Avatar
the_jake_1973 replied the topic: #273774 21 May 2018 08:32
I read through the CK rules and I know this will not be one on my to play/buy list. For all it's warts and crazy time investment, I would opt for BR.

I will be interested to see if anyone here gets an advance copy to review and read their impressions.
charlest's Avatar
charlest replied the topic: #273782 21 May 2018 09:26
I can't imagine this being better than Fief, but I may give it a shot.
southernman's Avatar
southernman replied the topic: #273791 21 May 2018 10:16

the_jake_1973 wrote: I read through the CK rules and I know this will not be one on my to play/buy list. For all it's warts and crazy time investment, I would opt for BR.

I will be interested to see if anyone here gets an advance copy to review and read their impressions.


My only play of Blood Royale (and it was a good game) has memories of furiously rolling for children with wives to try and break an alliance (mother dying in childbirth, shame on us) and me winning as I had the most things to win on (can't even remember what they were) with most of the others not being able to attack me due to marriage alliances - a proper middle ages win if you ask me.
Gary Sax's Avatar
Gary Sax replied the topic: #273799 21 May 2018 11:25
Fief always struck me as bonkers as fuck in a cool way, though I've never played it.
charlest's Avatar
charlest replied the topic: #273801 21 May 2018 11:29

Gary Sax wrote: Fief always struck me as bonkers as fuck in a cool way, though I've never played it.


I've played the Academy Games version 6 or 7 times I'd imagine. It's fantastic if you can reconcile the randomness of the events and a random plague decimating your region.

The politics and integration of the religious hierarchy is fascinating, particularly in how it fuels the area control/military conflicts on the ground.
the_jake_1973's Avatar
the_jake_1973 replied the topic: #273806 21 May 2018 11:46

Southernman wrote:

the_jake_1973 wrote: I read through the CK rules and I know this will not be one on my to play/buy list. For all it's warts and crazy time investment, I would opt for BR.

I will be interested to see if anyone here gets an advance copy to review and read their impressions.


My only play of Blood Royale (and it was a good game) has memories of furiously rolling for children with wives to try and break an alliance (mother dying in childbirth, shame on us) and me winning as I had the most things to win on (can't even remember what they were) with most of the others not being able to attack me due to marriage alliances - a proper middle ages win if you ask me.


The negotiation of alliances part has to be time limited in my remembrance. The making of, not the duration. It can be difficult to keep yourself from getting handcuffed to alliances that become unfavorable. It is also where so much of the story in the game comes from.

I need to find five people who want to spend a day playing the game.