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King Arthur - the card game
Author: Reiner Knizia
Publisher: Ravensburger
Year: 2005


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The knights of the round table have a perilous occupation; to gain the favor of the famous King Arthur they have to face all kinds of dangerous situations on a daily basis. Holy grails need to be found, armies of enemies have to be conquered and beasts from dark worlds have to be tamed. In this game, two to five knights compete for fame and honor. They are assisted by friendly knights. With these knights, contestant-cards can be conquered. The contestant cards can be exchanged for adventure cards that score points. The knight with the highest score wins the game.
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The knight cards are available in three colors, with a strength of 1 or 2. Merlin cards can be played for any color. There are four different colors of contestants; these colors bear no relation to the color of the knight cards. Contestants have a strength ranging from 1 to 5. At the beginning of the game, contestant cards are placed on the table until there are four cards of one of the colors. All 13 adventure cards are open on the table. The large number on the adventure cards indicates the amount of points they score, and it is also indicated what you need to obtain the adventure card.
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In his turn, a player can perform 1 to 4 actions, in the indicated order. Every action can be performed only once:
1. Refill contestant cards. The contestant cards can only be refilled when there are no more than three cards on the table of all four colors. The active player draws contestant cards until a fourth card of a color turns up.

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2. Conquer contestants. By playing knight cards from the hand, contestants can be conquered. The player pays the amount of knight cards of one color that corresponds to the strength of the contestant.obtain an adventure card.
3. The contestants a player has conquered can be exchanged for adventure cards. On the adventure cards it is indicated how many contestant cards of what color and strength are required to obtain the adventure card.
4. Draw a knight card. If a player was unable or unwilling to perform action 1 to 3, he may draw two knight cards instead of one during this action.

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The game ends when the second last adventure card has been obtained by a player, or when the last contestant has been conquered. All players count their points: the adventure cards score the amount of points indicated, and the conquered contestants players may still have in their hand score the amount of points that corresponds to their strength. The player with the highest score has the glorious honor to call himself confidant of the king.
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There is also an advanced rule: all players receive five seals in their color. When a player conquers a contestant, he cannot take this card in his hand yet, but he places a seal on the card to indicate his victory. Only when all contestant cards of this color have been conquered by the players and thus contain a seal, all players receive the contestants they conquered. Those who are not patient enough to wait for that moment have the option to pay the double amount of knights for the attack; after a double attack the player is allowed to take the card into his hand immediately.
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A nice and attractive game. Easy to explain, not many components, but certainly not without depth: this game has several tactical options in particular when playing the advanced version. King Arthur is simple enough for inexperienced players, but it also has something to offer for the regular gamers. The fact that it can be played with 2 to 5 players even increases its applicability. Wrap a rubber band around the cards, and you can play it on your holiday resort as well!
© 2005 Barbara Lussenburg

King Arthur - the card game, Reiner Knizia, Ravensburger, 2005 - 2 to 5 players

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