The Old Kings Crown review

Eerie Idol Games | 1 to 4 players | 14+ | 60-120 minutes

A two-player perspective on The Old King’s Crown.

The Old King’s Crown may well be one of the most interesting games released over the past year. With four asymmetric factions and a fair amount of direct interaction, it looks at first glance like a game made for a full table. And yet, it surprised us most of all with two players.

I can already tell you that I think The Old King’s Crown is fantastic. It works extremely well with two players, and I suspect three players may even be the ideal count. We have not played it with four yet, so I cannot give a final verdict on that. I can, however, explain why I expect the game to become a lot more unpredictable with every additional player.

Simple foundation, difficult choices

At its core, The Old King’s Crown is not all that complicated. That does not mean it is easy. The rules are fairly manageable, but the decisions will definitely make your brain work.

You play cards from your hand into three regions and try to build up more strength there than your opponent. Whoever wins a region scores points and often gains an additional benefit.

That sounds simple, but your cards can do much more than just provide strength. You use part of your hand to make your faction stronger. This happens through an auction at the start of each round. Any cards you have left later can be used in other ways.

You normally start with six cards. One of them is used for the auction. You then divide cards between the three regions. Some cards let you place additional cards, take cards back into your hand or interfere in another way before a region is resolved.

That means it is never simply a matter of playing a higher card than your opponent.

The order in which the regions are resolved is important as well. The player who is last in turn order decides that sequence. Of course, there are also factions and cards that can influence this. Some cards can even remove themselves from one region and move on to take part in the next confrontation.

That makes every round fairly unpredictable.

Everything can change

The rewards for winning regions vary quite a lot and can immediately affect what you want to do later in the round.

If you still have cards left after these confrontations, you can use them at the three councils. There are different benefits to gain there as well.

This is where The Old King’s Crown really shows its character. The game constantly gives you ways to change situations, bend the rules in your favour for a moment and disrupt the plans of other players.

You naturally try to work out what your opponent is planning, but predicting everything is almost impossible. You may think you know exactly what someone is about to do, only for the strength you were relying on to suddenly disappear. The interesting question is not only what a player does, but also what they had to give up to make it happen.

That creates a constant tension between planning and improvising.

Why it works so well with two players

The Old King’s Crown regularly reminds me of Arcs by Leder Games. Both games give players plenty of room to get in each other’s way and completely change a situation.

With two players, that is still easy enough for me to follow. You can make a reasonable guess at what your opponent is trying to achieve without the game becoming predictable. At the same time, there are so many ways to change plans that you never have complete control.

I suspect three players could make that dynamic even more interesting. With four, I expect it to become considerably more chaotic, simply because even more plans, cards and effects will be colliding at the same time. That does not have to be a downside at all. If you enjoy a table where everything is constantly changing, you may absolutely love that.

For now, though, that is only an expectation. We still need to play it with four.

Impressions

The game looks absolutely gorgeous. The illustrations, components and overall production quality fit the ambitious feel of The Old King’s Crown perfectly.

What stays with me most is how much room the game gives you to influence one another. You are never just focused on your own little corner of the table. Almost every choice can have consequences for someone else, and you constantly have to reassess how much your original plan is still worth.

That also makes it quite intense.

And that is exactly where my personal reservation comes in. A few years ago, games like The Old King’s Crown and Arcs would probably have been exactly what I wanted to play most. These days, I notice that I more often prefer a little less mental pressure at the table.

That does not make The Old King’s Crown any less good. Quite the opposite. It is an exceptionally well-designed game with lots of interaction, surprising twists and plenty of room to shape the game to your advantage.

But this is not a game where you can simply sit back and relax. The Old King’s Crown demands your attention throughout. And if that is exactly what you are looking for, there is an incredible amount of game here.

At its core, it is not the most complicated game on the market. Do not get me wrong: the choices are challenging and will definitely make your brain work. But if you are not too concerned about who wins, it actually plays quite simply. You play cards from your hand into the three regions and see who has gathered the most strength to win that region. This earns you points and other benefits.