The King’s Will

About this board game

The King’s Will is a strategy game for 2–4 players that takes about 90 minutes to play. Across four rounds, players expand their duchies while trying to discover the victory conditions that determine the King’s favour.

Set in AD 962, the game evokes the age of itinerant kingship, when Otto the Great became Holy Roman Emperor and the king travelled from palace to palace instead of ruling from a fixed capital. Each player takes the role of a duke whose palace the King is visiting.

The King’s current will is not immediately clear. The victory conditions are secret and randomly configured, so players must uncover what matters during the game and adapt their plans accordingly. At the same time, each duke decides on their own individual scoring, creating a changing challenge from one play to the next.

• Secret, random victory conditions create ever-changing games.
• Four rounds give players time to develop their duchies and pursue the King’s wishes.
• Synchronous play reduces downtime for players who are not currently active.
• Players can influence the game’s duration, adding flexibility to the experience.
• The game includes a large quantity of wooden gaming material.

Players must balance the steady enlargement of their duchy with the need to interpret the King’s priorities. Since the winning conditions must be discovered throughout play, every decision can contribute to understanding what will ultimately earn the most favour.

After the fourth round, the duke who has proved best at meeting the King’s wishes wins. With its variable objectives, simultaneous action, and emphasis on deduction and adaptation, The King’s Will offers a fresh contest each time it reaches the table. It was released in 2017.