Medieval

Travel back to the thirteenth century, a time of unrest in Europe, the Middle East and North Africa. In Medieval you step into the shoes of an ever-changing group of powers and try to gain as much control of the map as you can. What makes it special: there is no fixed board. The cards together form the world. Of the 19 cards, only 8 are laid out at the start; the rest come into play at random moments, exactly at the pace the players themselves set. You have 27 powers to play with, from the strong but divided Holy Roman Empire to England, France and all kinds of Islamic realms. Smaller but important regions such as the Kingdom of Jerusalem, Livonia and Trebizond take part too. You use spies, send out assassins, accuse opponents of heresy and even declare a holy war. Whoever is elected pope gains even more power: forging alliances, excommunicating players and calling crusades, which is a fine way to earn money. And then there are the Mongols, hanging over everything like a dark cloud. Nobody knows exactly when they will come, though the cards give you hints and sometimes a little time to prepare. Once they attack, all hell breaks loose and they devour the map from east to west. The player who survives all the chaos and holds the largest part of Europe wins. Expect about two hours of play once you have the system down.