The iron throne
| The iron throne | |
|---|---|
| Game data | |
| author | Christian T. Petersen |
| graphic | Scott Nicely |
| publishing company |
Fantasy Flight Games , Heidelberger Spieleverlag (German) |
| Publishing year | 2003, 2004 (German), 2005 ( A Clash of Kings ), 2006 ( Die Thronkriege , A Storm of Swords ) |
| Art | Board game |
| Teammates | 3–5 (3–6 with expansion The Wars of the Thrones ) |
| Duration | 3-4 hours |
| Age | from 12 years
|
| Awards | |
|
Origins Award 2003: Board Game Design |
|
The Iron Throne is a strategy game for 3–5 players by Christian T. Petersen . It was published in 2003 in English as A Game of Thrones by Fantasy Flight Games and in 2004 in German by Heidelberger Spieleverlag . It won a total of 3 Origins Awards in 2003 .
The game normally lasts 3-4 hours and has both diplomatic and tactical requirements.
background
The venue is the fantasy continent of Westeros, known from the A Song of Ice and Fire novels by George RR Martin . The players each lead one of the noble houses Lannister, Stark, Greyjoy, Tyrell or Baratheon known from the novels and fight for a maximum of 10 rounds to win as many forts as possible . Interestingly, this board game uses intelligent game mechanisms to create parallels to what happened in the novels. The rivalries between certain noble houses also come to fruition on the game board, just as appointments at the gaming table and the secret issuing of “commands” (instructions to one's own characters) can create a mood of intrigue . Some characters from the novels are also used in the game in the form of leader cards (“house cards”).
The game developer and CEO of Fantasy Flight Games , Christian T. Petersen, reports on the game he has developed since 2002 that it was particularly influenced by two other games in the intrigue / diplomacy genre, namely Diplomacy (1959) and El Grande (1995 ). Also Kingmaker (1974) as the same theme as of Thrones , however, on Petersen was unknown.
Game flow
| Components The Iron Throne |
|---|
| 1 game board |
| 1 set of instructions |
| 35 house cards (7 per house) |
| 5 house start cards (1 per house) |
| 30 Westeros cards |
| 75 command tokens (15 per house) |
| 100 strength tokens (20 per house) |
| 15 influence tokens (3 per house) |
| 5 supply tokens (1 per house) |
| 1 round token |
| 1 wildling token |
| 50 infantry units, 20 knights, 30 ships (wood) |
| 1 each of King's Landing, Eyrie and Sunspear tokens |
| 1 each of Valyrian steel blade , messenger raven , iron throne |
With military units (infantrymen, knights and ships) the players control land and sea areas, conquer fortified cities and attack their areas of influence among themselves in order to gain further fortresses, cities, supplies or other advantages. Strength tokens express the influence of the houses represented by the players in different areas. This influence is regularly redistributed in auctions, so that special advantages - the Valyrian steel blade , the messenger raven and the iron throne - can be controlled by new players.
The ten game rounds are divided into three phases. The Westeros phase contains the only random elements in the game, as mixed stacks of event cards are used there and the game dispenses with dice and other random elements. In the Westeros phase major shifts in power can occur, new armies can be set up, or lands can be devastated by the invasion of barbarians ("wildlings"). In the planning phase the players make agreements with each other and with the help of face-down tokens secret commands are given to their own units at the same time, which are carried out one after the other in the final action phase. This can lead to a battle between the units of two players who can also be supported by other players. Battles are often decided through the use of special "house cards" depicting characters from the novels.
Expansion: The Wars of the Throne
| Game components The Wars of the Thrones |
|---|
| 42 new house cards |
| 6 house starting cards (for the game with 6 players) |
| 7 house cards for House Martell |
| 15 Command tokens for House Martell |
| 20 strength tokens for House Martell |
| 3 Influence tokens for House Martell |
| 1 replenishment token for House Martell |
| 10 infantry units, 4 knights, 6 ships (wood) for House Martell |
| 18 siege engines (wood, 3 per house) |
| 9 fixing game pieces (wood, gray) |
| 30 special order tokens |
| 8 port tokens |
| 1 game board overlay areas of influence paths |
| 1 Westeros map overlay |
In 2005 the first expansion for the main game appeared in the English version (original title: A Clash of Kings ). In spring 2006, the extension to German followed. The additions included are intended to make the game more diverse. Therefore, the nine variants of the extension can be used or left out as desired. To The Throne Wars belongs next to the additional House Martell, which allows the game with six players, a new set of House Cards that will give the fictional characters more important. Fortifications and siege machines can be built, ports can be used as special areas between land and sea zones. Special command tokens expand the tactical options of the planning phase . An alternative west phase reduces the only element of randomness in the game by making the event cards predictable for the next three rounds, and an alternative combat phase adds a random element to the use of house cards . The last new variant in the expansion The Wars of the Thrones changes the rules for the game with three players.
Expansion: Storm of Swords
| Game components Storm of Swords |
|---|
| 44 tactic cards |
| 24 ally cards (6 cards each in 4 different ally stacks) |
| 40 new Westeros maps |
| 42 new house cards |
| 4 new house start cards |
| 5 wildling cards |
| 6 reference cards |
| 5 garrison tokens |
| 15 leader tokens |
| 1 weather token |
| 10 claim tokens, 3 of which can also be used as neutral power tokens (Harrenhal, Riverrun and Silverhall). |
| 6 support -1 order tokens |
| 6 prison cells |
| 3 neutral power exchange brands for "Eyrie", "King's Landing" and "Sunspear" |
In 2006 the English expansion A Storm of Swords was released. The German version Sturm der Schwerter was published in February 2009. In particular, it contains options for playing with 4 players, whereby the support of the new neutral houses must be advertised. In addition, the game contains its own game plan which places new strategic demands on the players. However, it can also be integrated into the basic game.
Second edition
In 2011 a second edition of the game appeared, which took up some elements from the extensions and simplified some rules. It can be played with 6 players and integrates siege machines, harbors, wildling cards and fate cards. The graphic design of the game board and cards has also been revised. Furthermore, the characters in this version are made of plastic and no longer made of wood.
Extension: A dance with dragons
The first expansion to the second edition takes up the events during the fifth volume of the novel series. It contains 42 new house cards, a scenario for six players and a new starting line-up, which reflect the changed balance of power and strategic positions in the time of the crows , the son of griffins and a dance with dragons .
Extension: A meal for the crows
The second expansion for the second edition contains a scenario for 4 players with your own structure and new victory conditions. The Arryn house was also added.
Unofficial Fan Expansion: Battle for Westeros and Essos
The unofficial and free fan expansion allows a game with up to 12 houses on a new, larger map. The layout of the map has been revised, there is a new Westeros phase and the number of laps increases to 14.
Web links
- Homepage of the Heidelberger Spieleverlag: The Iron Throne (A Game of Thrones) . On: hds-fantasy.de ( rules of the game , PDF , 1.8 MB).
- Homepage of Fantasy Flight Games: A Game of Thrones. The board game . On: fantasyflightgames.com.
- A Game Of Thrones in the Luding game database ; The Iron Throne in the Luding games database .
- Sandra Lemberger: Game description and review for Der Eiserne Thron . On: hall9000.de, September 12, 2006.
- Tommy Heinig: Review of the expansion A Clash of Kings on Anduin.de .
- Homepage of the Fan Add On Fight for Westeros and Essos: Fight for Westeros and Essos Fan Add On
Individual evidence
- ↑ Academy of Adventure Gaming Arts and Design: 2003 List of Winners ( Memento of the original from October 9, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . On: originsgames.com.
- ↑ The publisher states 2-4 hours, see rules of the game The Iron Throne ( Memento of the original from November 9, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. ( PDF , 1.8 MB).
- ↑ See article Kingmaker in the English language Wikipedia.
- ↑ See rules of the game The Wars of the Thrones ( Memento of the original from August 24, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. ( PDF , 1.57 MB), p. 2.
- ↑ See rules of the game The Iron Throne( Memento of the original from April 10, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. ( PDF , 1.8 MB), p. 2.
- ↑ For the course of the game, see the rules of the game The Iron Throne ( Memento of the original from April 10, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. ( PDF , 1.8 MB).
- ↑ See rules of the game The Wars of the Thrones ( Memento of the original from August 24, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. ( PDF , 1.57 MB), p. 2.
- ↑ See rules of the game The Wars of the Thrones ( Memento of the original from August 24, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. ( PDF , 1.57 MB).
- ↑ Overview page of the Heidelberger Spieleverlag on Der Eiserne Thron and the extensions: Der Eiserne Thron (A Game of Thrones) ( Memento of the original from September 18, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . On: hds-fantasy.de.
- ↑ See rules of the game Storm of Swords ( PDF , 1.33 MB), p. 2.
- ↑ Board and card games. Game projects by FFG / Heidelberger Spieleverlag ( Memento of the original from October 29, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . On: hds-fantasy.de.
- ↑ Overview page of the Heidelberger Spieleverlag on Der Eiserne Thron and the extensions: Der Eiserne Thron (A Game of Thrones) ( Memento of the original from September 18, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . On: hds-fantasy.de.
