King Arthur (game)

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
King Arthur
Game data
author Pure Knizia
graphic Franz Vohwinkel and others
publishing company Ravensburger Spieleverlag
Publishing year 2003
Art Board game , electronic toys
Teammates 1 to 4
Duration about 60 minutes
Age from 8 years

Awards

Game of Games 2003

King Arthur is a parlor game of Reiner Knizia , in which the player takes the role of a knight of Arthussage accept and fight for the crown of England. In this game, Ravensburger Spieleverlag integrated the publisher's so-called touch-and-play technology for the first time , which is intended to combine conventional board games with the properties of modern electronic toys.

Touch and Play

The conductor tracks on the playing field can only be seen if you look closely against the light.

The touch and play technology, licensed by the Innovision Group after 15 months of development, is intended to combine the feel of conventional board games with the advantages - in particular better interactivity - of electronic toys. For this purpose, the game board is provided with conductor tracks in the form of special conductive paint, which form contact surfaces on the game board that are connected to a central electronic unit on the game board.

To make a move , the player places his piece on the corresponding space. While one hand of the player must now have contact with the game figure, the player touches one of several action fields on the game board with a finger of the other hand, which indicate the type of move. The contacts closed in this way create a circuit from the central electronic unit to the contact on which the playing figure stands, through the playing figure and the player, then via the action field back to the game board and back to the electronic unit. This can now determine on which part of the playing field which move should be made. Furthermore, it is also possible to distinguish between the game pieces by different electronic properties. The central electronic unit can then give further information or instructions via voice output and a display.

The game is operated with four standard Mignon batteries . The electrical voltage used is so low that people can no longer feel it.

Game flow

After the players in turn have registered with the electronics, the game with the role of Merlin explains the goal of the game. A certain number of fame points should be collected. Furthermore, a steed , armor and a lance are required as victory conditions . The moves are carried out in turn and essentially consist of exploring a region (market, cave, bank, tournament ground, ...). You can only move to neighboring fields, with the choice between exploration and transit. When exploring, one of a total of 47 people in the game speaks to the player and suggests a trade, gives him a gift, makes a request or attacks him. In the latter case, the player can choose between fight and flight, whereby a fight usually offers itself, since won fights give fame points. The equipment required as a victory condition is obtained from certain traders who demand a different number of raw materials that can be obtained in villages or on markets.

The winner is the one who returns to the starting field first with all required items and fame points.

criticism

Regarding the new game concept, the opinions of the players differ. The only short explanation phase is advantageous, as the game is self-explanatory and can explain the individual events in more detail using language. The game also has a certain appeal because the individual events cannot be viewed like playing cards in conventional games. After several games, events can still occur that the players are not yet aware of. Conversely, the resulting unpredictability is criticized. Depending on the event randomly selected by the electronics, there are advantages or disadvantages, different game tactics are hardly possible. In this respect, the winner is only determined based on his or her luck with the random generator.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ see press information on the page of the game magazine Spielbox , link verified on November 17, 2007
  2. ↑ see report at Spieletest.at , link verified on November 17, 2007

Web links