Overview
At a glance
Is this game right for my group?
ABG editorial scores on a 1–5 scale.
Harder to teach
High replayability
Highly interactive
Scales well
Deep strategy
How it plays
How does it play?
Kings of Artifice is a strategy board game for 2 to 4 players. The game is played in a series of building rounds, followed by one final crowning round.
Core mechanisms
Key systems that shape the decisions players make.
Action Points
Spend a limited allowance of points across several possible actions each turn.
Area Majority
Compete to have the strongest presence in areas that award control or points.
Grid Movement
Move pieces between adjacent spaces on a regular grid.
Pattern Building
Place elements to create arrangements that satisfy scoring or action patterns.
Tile Placement
Place tiles to build a shared or personal spatial arrangement.
Enclosure
Surround spaces or pieces to claim territory, capture, or score.
Read the full game description
Kings of Artifice is a strategy board game for 2 to 4 players. The game is played in a series of building rounds, followed by one final crowning round. Victory Points (VP) are awarded for building structures during the game as well as at the end. In each game, two special scoring cards are drawn from a deck that allow players to gain bonus points by meeting certain conditions. In the building rounds, the players summon their specialized characters onto the game board and employ them (using Action Points) to construct valuable structures such as Walls, Houses, Battlements, Towers, Palaces, Fountains, and Pastures. These are built from their supplies of colored building blocks. In addition to expanding their own kingdoms, the players can use their forces to hinder the progress of their rivals. In the crowning round, the players display their completed kingdoms and flaunt their power over the realm. The player with the most Victory Points at the end of the game is the winner! Character Classes: Kings summon the other characters to the board from the supply. Villagers are needed to build Houses (which can be converted into Towers and Palaces). Artisans are necessary to complete the building of advanced structures. Horses assist the other characters in their movements on the board. Thieves can climb on Walls, and can steal Action Points from their rivals. Knights can attack opponents' characters. Warlocks can use their Mana to cast spells (which are different in each game).