Free League Publishing Crusader Kings

TL;DR 9/10 good medieval intrigue game Overall I watched a few reviews off YouTube and as a big fan of crusader kings 2 I figured hey this would be excellent to bring to game night. I wasn’t wrong. You spend a lot of time building up noble families and taking land and plotting against each other. It’s pretty rules intensive so it’s not very well suited for casual players but if you can get past it and actually learn the game it’s pretty great. I could go super in detail but I don’t want to type up a 12 page essay here. Just want to help people get a informed opinion as like nowhere has reviewed this. On a side note the more players the better here. It’s like twilight imperium or game of thrones the board game. In terms of quality the board is great, the cards are good clear quality, and I only found one typo on joust. Wordings generally pretty clear in everything and they go with the mtg rule of cards always right. The miniatures... well... they look nice, but at the same time they went for a cheaper plastic so there’s a bit of flexibility and occasionally warping to them. Don’t expect games workshop or fantasy flight quality here. It works for the game but not for external use. The actual bits you organize your cards with are just card stock folded down the middle. I didn’t really care for that but I knew it going into this and it didn’t negatively impact my game. The chits are a bit hard to pop out actually. The cut was clear on the cardboard but I knicked the edge on a couple and hard a few layers separated. Noting some glue or a marker can’t fix but still. I’ve had much smoother experiences there. Overall while the physical component part was a little lacking, the game in execution does a solid job of getting the fundamentals of CK2 on the tabletop. I’ll be cracking into it’s first expansion whenever I get the chance as this is a game I can realistically see myself getting the expansions for.

If you're looking for a streamlined version of Fief or Warrior Knights, then Crusader Kings is the game for you. It's almost exactly like those two games, but instead it's focused to a fine point and all the needless mechanics that slow down Fief and Warrior Knights is removed and replaced with pure fun! That doesn't mean the game is simple or easy to learn, but everything that is in the game makes a tremendous amount of sense and plays to the theme of the game. There will be times where you're making shady deals, just to back stab that person at just the right moment; or other times where you'll be sending off your King to die in the Crusaders just so you can replace him with a better heir so you can get their traits in you bag before someone tries to assassinate them. There is so many ways to play this game that it becomes this evolving experience over time depending on the actions of others and the events that happen. Unfortunately this game gets little respect because it is unfairly compared to the PC game it is named after, but it deserves your attention. Especially if you're into medieval history and political intrigue the likes of which can only be found in the show Game of Thrones or the novels Ice and Fire. If anything I've said piqued your interest or you've looked at Fief or Warrior Knights and found them cumbersome, you owe it to yourself to pick this game up ASAP before it becomes hard to find. I love this game!

Beautiful components. I’m a fan of the computer game. This board game adaption looks great. Only issue is the game board had a defect as seen in the picture. I contacted the publisher and they are sending a replacement.

I purchased this game through kickstarter, and while the game looks great and shows promise, I was disappointed by the gameplay. There are better games out there to use your money on especially at this price. The game does not represent the PC game at all, and the requirement to have a minimum of 3 players to make a good game is not good as missing players mean unplayable territories on the game board. I am strongly considering selling my used copy on ebay.

Absolutely terrible component quality. Flimsy cards, cheap board, and pieces that are lower quality than a 20 dollar risk game. The gameplay isn't bad, maybe a 5/10. If you're expecting the strategy level similar to the video game, it isn't there. Would absolutely not recommend this at its current price point to anyone.