Carolingi

About this board game

Carolingi is a board game for 2–6 players, with games lasting about 180 minutes, set during the troubled early medieval rule of Charlemagne’s successors.

It is winter 830, and Charlemagne’s vast realm is close to falling apart. Louis the Pious faces strife and rebellion, while his grandchildren—the Carolingi—compete for power and push their father aside. Each player takes the role of one of these royal heirs, seeking to guide the unstable kingdom through a time of conflict and uncertainty.

Power depends on the fealty of the nobility. In return, nobles expect vast estates, driving the Carolingi to pursue more land and resources. Yet every growing power base can intensify the envy and greed of rival siblings, forcing players to weigh their ambitions against the need for peace and stability.

The board represents the countries and regions of Carolingian times. An innovative action system creates uncertainty without making play difficult to follow: each game year is divided into four quarters, and in every quarter players add two of their wooden action tiles to a bag. The tiles are then drawn one at a time, making the order of events unpredictable.

• Competitive play: Struggle against the other Carolingi for influence and power.
• Semi-cooperative play: Work within a shared crisis that can end in peace—or chaos.
• Variable action timing: Let the bag draw determine which plans can be carried out and when.

In Carolingi, not everything can be done at once. Prudent decisions, careful management of noble expectations, and timely action are essential. The game ends when a player successfully declares peace, while the semi-cooperative version can alternatively end in chaos.