Kingless Review

If you have ever wondered what happens when a dwarven kingdom is left without a king and a whole bunch of contenders are vying for the post, well, let me tell you: chaos, it’s utter chaos. This is Kingless, a twenty minute, take that style card game, where everyone is out for themselves.

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In Kingless, players are trying to get the most influence points. To do this, they will need to play dwarf or item cards in front of them. If they ever get five cards down or the deck runs out, the game ends and whoever has the most influence wins.

Players can also play event cards which, while not contributing to their influence, will be a much-needed utility during the game, helping players to refresh their hand or sabotage their opponents. The dwarf, item and the event cards have a range of abilities that give players quite a few choices during their turn. The downside of this is that newcomers to the game are put through the loop by how much terminology they need to learn. The passing around of the rulebook to check one term or another will be a constant staple for at least the first game or two.

Once everyone gets comfortable, however, the true chaos is unleashed. No card played on the table is ever safe. It is almost a guarantee that as soon as you start getting closer to acquiring 5 cards, the whole table will turn on you. The only strategy in the game is that if you get a good card, keep it until the end!

If players give in to the storm of luck and mayhem it unleashes, they will have a lot of fun with it. Yet those, who like to strategies and feel protective of their cards and in-game choices, better leave the dwarfs to their own devices.

ALEXANDRA SONECHKINA

PLAY IT? MAYBE

Designer: Alex Kenworthy-Neale, Nathan Brown, Sebastian Roberts

Publisher: Two19

Time: 10-30 minutes

Players: 2-6

Ages: 14+

Price: £30