Winter Kingdom

About this board game

Winter Kingdom is a strategic board game for 2–4 players, with games taking about 60 minutes. Build settlements across a randomly arranged winter landscape while adapting to changing scoring conditions, economy rules, and a unique twist.

At the start of each game, seven double-sided hexagonal map tiles form the playing area. Three scoring conditions, one economy card, and one twist card are dealt, creating a different combination of goals and opportunities. Each player also receives five ability cards and one terrain card.

On your turn, place three houses on the terrain shown on your terrain card. Whenever possible, new houses must be placed next to your previously placed houses; if that is not possible, they may be placed anywhere matching the required terrain. You begin with a limited supply of forts, which can replace any house and count as two pieces.

• Changing setup: Randomly arranged map tiles and dealt cards shape every game.
• Terrain-based building: Place three houses each turn according to your terrain card.
• Ability development: Spend gold to play an ability or upgrade one already in play.
• Variable scoring: Score according to the three conditions selected for the game.

After placing houses, you may spend gold on one purchase. You can pay to put an ability card into play or pay an additional cost to upgrade a previously placed ability. Once purchased, an ability may be used once per turn for the rest of the game. Your starting gold can be supplemented through the economy card.

The game ends when one player has no houses or forts remaining. Players then score using the selected scoring cards, with an additional 3 points going to whoever has the most houses next to each castle. In Winter Kingdom, the player with the most points wins.