Game of Thrones: An overview of board games

Game of Thrones is a calm board game in which players simulate a peaceful and democratic transfer of power from one elected to another.

Okay, maybe that isn't entirely accurate. Instead, it'll be a bloody power battle that will make Brienne of Tarth feel a little uneasy. Do you enjoy playing this game? Why not have a look at our top Game of Thrones games?

Game of Thrones: Board Game (Second Edition)

A board game based on the novel Game of Thrones, which is now adapted ...
3-6 players take command of the Great Houses of Westeros
The updated second edition includes elements of past extensions

A brief overview of Game of Thrones: a board game

We're watching the second season of Game of Thrones: Board Game right now. This is a three to six person area control game based on George RR Martin's fantasy novels The Song of Ice and Fire (the board game came out before the TV show, okay?).

When you take leadership of one of Westeros' six major houses, your goal by the tenth round is to control as many castles and forts as possible.

Diplomacy and alliances with enemies will be important as you strive for the Iron Throne, in addition to gathering troops and conquering countries. Respect for these alliances, on the other hand, is not required.

Unpacking Game of Thrones: A Board Game

Opening Game of Thrones: A board game where you will find:

1 game board
138 colored plastic units
81 Large maps
24 small tide battle charts
2 Reference sheets
6 screen players for each house
266 cardboard tokens
1 Rules

The first thing to note is that it is not completely referenced before being published in advance of a television show. That's right, not a single Kit Harington or Emilia Clarke character!

Nonetheless, nothing in the realms of art and design will come as a surprise. The Westeros map, which also serves as a board, could work well with the now-famous introductory credit points. The extent to which TV show producers adhered to the books in terms of style and feel had a significant impact on the house.

This is a game with a lot of complicated pieces in terms of components. There are nearly 140 plastic units and over 260 cardboard tokens. They're all exquisitely designed in House hues.

At the end, you'll get six player displays. They are ideal, if a little on the tiny side. But it's great for secretly calculating your terrifying plans to seize the Iron Throne!

How to play Game of Thrones: Board game

Setup

To begin, each participant selects whose house they wish to represent in the game (Stark, Lannister, Greyjoy, Tyrell, Baratheon or Martell). They all have their own set of perks and rewards.

Place your Victory, Supply, and Influence chips on the appropriate tracks with all of the relevant cards and chips for that house, including the player screen. The location of your chips is determined by the House you choose to play. On the route, whoever is furthest away takes the dominant sign for that route. Spray your units on the game board as well, following the instructions on the player screen.

Then, adjacent to the board, place the Westeros I, II, and III decks. Finally, each player should select five power tokens from the power pool that correspond to their house.

The goal of the game

Game of Thrones: There are ten rounds in the board game, each with three phases. To control most of the areas containing the castle or fortress, players must fight until the end of the tenth round. Any player who controls seven of these regions in the game wins immediately.

Round phases

1) Westeros phase - Solve one card from each of the three Westeros decks These are scenarios that could occur in Westeros. A wild attack, for example, could occur. Alternatively, other changes in circumstances may occur.

A care card, for example, may allow players to scroll up the stock based on the number of care icons they own. Alternatively, a summary map in which players produce several units based on the number of castles or strongholds they control.

2) Planning phase - With their tokens face down, players secretly communicate commands to their units, which will be resolved in the action round. They can't show what they've hidden, but they can talk to other players and form alliances or plans - whether or not what they stated is real is a another story!

The orders you can choose to use are:

Raid - Remove the neighboring player's command token.
March - Move units from one area to an adjacent area. If the opposing player's units are in the area, a battle ensues.
Defensive - units in the area are awarded a combat strength bonus.
Support - Add a combat bonus to your own or another player's units in the adjacent area. This is the essence of the negotiating element in the game.
Consolidate power orders - get power tokens.

There are also special orders that allow you to assemble new units, for example. You can limit the number of these.

Once all orders have been awarded, they are locked and disclosed.

Action phase

All orders are resolved in the following order:

Attack orders
March orders (and consequent fight)
Consolidate electricity orders

fight

When a player enters the area with opposing players, he must resolve the fight. This happens by comparing the total combat power of each side, calculated by summing:

Unit power
Defense / Attack Bonuses (plus or minus)
The power of all units giving support with the order of support in the adjacent area (your or another player).

Each battle also involves playing the house card, which represents houses that can offer you support and give various bonuses.

If the defender loses, their units take over the victims and withdraw, and the attacker takes control of the area.

Moving through the game

Players fight each other in a circle, building (and breaking) alliances, and growing (or losing) the foundation. A player wins if he can control seven areas with castles or fortresses. The player who has the most castles or fortresses at the end of the tenth round wins.

Your first game Game of Thrones: Board Game

There are a few mechanisms in the game that I haven't yet discussed, so I'd want to go over two in particular that I enjoyed and that didn't totally cut through the "How to Play" section.

Armies and supplies

The army, Napoleon claimed, was treading on his stomach. It's no different with Westeros. Your army's maximum size and composition are controlled by your supply line position.

Each level of the supply line has the proper number of armies and the maximum number of units per army. You may need to destroy some units to attain the required amounts if you need to lessen your position on the supply line at any point.

Please note that your offer is only affected when the power card is revealed from the Westeros deck. Let’s say your house, for example, lost two stock icons after an attack by an opposing player. Do not reduce the amount of supply until the stock is disclosed.

On the other hand, you gain more units when the Westeros summary map appears or if you use a special order. For each fortress or castle in your controlled area, obtain units.

Traces of influences and predominant tokens

A nice addition to the game are the three tracks of influence and the dominant chips. Whoever qualifies for an individual song is given the appropriate dominant token and given some special privileges. These are:

Iron Throne (Iron Throne Token) - This track determines the order of turns. The token allows the holder to determine any ties in the game (except in combat).
Fiefdoms (Valyrian Steel Blade) - Whoever is taller on this course wins the fight. The token holder can assign +1 combat power once per round.
Royal Messenger Level - This determines how many tokens you can get for a special order. The Messenger Level token grants several other credentials.

The Clash of Kings Westeros card installs the key, removes all players' chips from the tracks, and starts bidding a war on where to return them.

Variations and extensions

There are three A Game of Thrones extensions available: The Board Game, second edition:

Mother of dragons

This extension adds two new houses - Targaryens and Arryns - which means it can now play up to eight players. It comes with an additional gaming board to represent Essos and the option to seek a loan from Iron Bank. Although this will always have to be repaid with interest.

Game of Thrones: Board Game - expansion of Mother of Dragons

Presentation of House Targaryen brings the power of dragons to ...
Expanding the world Songs of ice and fire beyond Westeros ...
The introduction of the vassal system adds a new layer of strategy ...

Feast for crows

Crow Festival is an expansion scenario for four players. Instead of competing for fortresses, you have certain goals to achieve. This can be dramatically shortened if you find the game a bit faster.

Dancing with dragons

Another extension of the script, Dancing with the Dragons, is the story of the fifth book. Stannis Baratheon holds the wall. House Bolton oversees Winterfell. And the Lannisters took over King’s Landing.

It is the job of the players to determine how things will go.

Advantages disadvantages

Advantages:

Strong emphasis on player interaction and negotiation.
A decent combat system.
The theme comes brilliantly in mechanics and design.

Weaknesses:

Focusing on the fight may not be for everyone.
It can take up to four hours.

From above, A Game of Thrones: Board Game is perhaps very similar to Risk . After all, it’s about controlling the area. But it is much more than it seems at first glance.

You can’t win this game simply by building a large army. In fact, the supply line actively prevents players from doing so. Instead, it will be a victory in the Game of Thrones: the board game depends largely on negotiation, diplomacy, planning, and (if you really have to) betrayal .

And that’s why the game is so special. Many other control games in the field have an element of trade or negotiation, and in a few they play such a role throughout the game.

Honestly, you probably won’t spend the entire game behind the backs of friends. But the simple fact that they would add such tension to the room. And besides, it's Game of Thrones , then you can hardly resist it.

Feel like Area Control

Moreover, the Game of Thrones: the social game at heart is still an experience of command and conquest. For me, this still stands firmly on the side of Risk in terms of the overall militaristic sense and conditions for victory in the area. Because of this, those who prefer to introduce elements of agriculture, technology and culture, rather than a complete invasion, are probably better off sticking to similar Sid Meier’s Civilization .

No need to sacrifice RNG gods

But this comparison should not deter risk takers. In addition to diplomacy and political maneuvering, the nature of the struggle is also very different. In particular, Game of Thrones: Board Game does not rely on dice or other random elements to settle the fight. Because of this, the game is nicely focused on strategy, negotiation, and alliance elements to be able to win battles.

It all hides in a fantastic Game of Thrones experience. The board game was released even before the TV show even hit the screen, but it’s so well crafted that it fits snugly. He is perfectly portrayed in a work of art - for example, I love the map of Westeros.

While from the point of view of playing, engaging, nailing and managing relationships, you will make sure to watch over your shoulder a faceless man who will cut your throat in an instant.

Game of Thrones: Board Game (TL; DR)

Game of Thrones: A board game is a control game for three to six players. Although it may look like a very shiny version of the risk , it discards the rolling element of the cube and replaces it with a load bucket instead.

Your goal is to control most of the castles and fortresses on Westeros. In addition to gathering armies and fighting opponents for supremacy, the players will make alliances with each other and undoubtedly break them off when they want to control the Iron Throne.

It’s incredibly tense - and has undoubtedly ruined countless friendships over the years - but it’s totally worth it.

Conclusion: a verdict?

Game of Thrones: A board game is a great combination of things happening on and off the board.

In its purest form, it is a very solid control game with smooth mechanics, a good opportunity for strategy, a direct but tactical combat system and decent components.

However, the things that happen on the table are really important. And this is exactly what will be the source of many bitter stories among your friends in the years to come - whether they are book lovers or not .

It's exciting. It's tense. And sometimes it can be downright ugly. But it's so much fun.

All the while, miles away, hundreds of people were brutally cut down on your battlefield. Cersei Lannister summed it up succinctly: "When you play Game of Thrones: a board game, you win or you die."

Well, there was something like that anyway ...

Game of Thrones: Board Game (Second Edition)