‘Barbarian Kingdoms’ Board Game Review
Barbarian Kingdoms is a fairly rare treat, offering a legitimate board game experience that supports up to six players without any real compromise as the player count gets higher. It’s a relatively quick and simple game with straightforward objectives and rules, but the asymmetry of each faction and their leader brings emergent strategy that isn’t immediately apparent.
The concept is simple – the Roman Empire has fallen and the Huns are sweeping in from the East. As they do so, the somewhat settled barbarian tribes of Western and Northern Europe begin to awaken. Where previously the presence (or threat) of Roman security might have held them in place, these tribes – in many cases fleeing from the Huns in huge familial groups – begin to sweep towards the South and West. In Barbarian Kingdoms, this story is retold over and over again – with only the most successful tribe declared the winner.
Recognising the cold, hard nature of this period in history – often referred to as the Dark Ages – Barbarian Kingdoms is driven largely by its economy. The cash (represented by coins of one, two, three and a single five) are seeded into the game at the start, and no additional coins will be added. This means that each player has a set amount of money to begin with, and each province will have a coin placed on it face down that won’t be revealed until later. Each player has a screen to hide their coins behind, and it is fundamental to gameplay that this information remains hidden and secret as much as possible.
Because the main aim of Barbarian Kingdoms is to expand across the map until you either control seven provinces or have eliminated two opposing kings, you need to manage your economy carefully. Taking actions like recruitment and claiming land cost a fixed amount of money (as shown on your player board) whilst other costs – such as the bribes paid during the resolution of combat – are variable based on how much you think you need to spend. Income can be generated by pillaging and taxing, but even then, no “new” money enters the game, so if there’s no money available to take through tax, you might as well do something else instead.
Actions are simple in Barbarian Kingdoms, with recruitment (where you add a warrior to the board and pay a cost by placing it on the board in the province where it was recruited) the most obvious, and maneuver (where all your warriors and the King can move one space) not far behind. Invade is tougher to explain, but in short you’ll target an adjacent province and declare an invasion – and if an enemy is present a battle will be triggered, or if not, then a battle may be triggered should enemies in adjacent spaces wish to move in. Whether opposed or not, if your invasion succeeds then you’ll be able to pillage – by claiming all coins in the province – but you still won’t have control.
To gain control, a player must take the claim action in a province that they occupy (via the previously described invasion.) Claiming is the easy bit as long as you can afford it – you just pay for the next claim marker on your player board and then put it on the province. Again, this means the money you spend to claim the province will be placed on it. What is important to visualize here is that as you claim and recruit in provinces – especially those close to opposing borders – you make locations very attractive for enemies to attack and try to pillage.
When a battle does occur – either directly through an invasion or because an invasion is challenged – the belligerents will need to determine their battle points. Firstly, any reinforcements (from adjacent regions) are added, and then everyone adds up their BP by adding 3 points per warrior, 6 for the King and 2 for having control of the region. After this, they secretly decide how much cash to bribe their opponent with. Each coin is worth one battle point – but will be kept by the receiving player no matter who wins or loses the battle. The losing player must then remove their warrior piece from the board – or if the losing piece was their King, it is handed to their opponent as a trophy.
What really makes this system stand out is that each tribe or faction has its own specific ability – and then each King has a further unique feature. As an example, the Huns can pillage a province next to any unit without having to move into it and without being challenged. Additionally, if Attila is invading a province, he can invade and claim it in the same turn. The Ostrogoths, on the other hand, have a slightly more defensive style, gaining battle points for any money in their province, and adding plus two BP for their King. Each faction is different in its own way, and I like that Barbarian Kingdoms doesn’t reuse and rehash abilities – it really does try to show the uniqueness of each group as it was in history.
Barbarian Kingdoms is undoubtedly an in your face experience – so it won’t be for everyone. That said, it only lasts for about an hour or so, and it’s pretty well balanced as well. There’s no doubt that it is much, much better at four to six players, with perhaps four or five being my personal favourite. Even if you drop down to three, the game has a range of recommended setups to ensure a fair and competitive game. The unique board has a great shape and a stylised map which looks excellent, and whilst the components are simple, they are clear, attractive and effective.
I find five to six player board games still quite rare – or at least those I’d want to play. Many are too light, whilst others become ridiculously long at these higher player counts, but not so with Barbarian Kingdoms. The board is congested and tightly contested, but the tight economy means that as opportunities close on one front, they open up on another. Victory normally comes because one player manages to creep their way towards victory with a series of clever plays, rather than because of some huge swing due to a power or ability. There’s no luck here either, so it’s all down to player skill.
Barbarian Kingdoms is a very nice addition to any collection that can support higher player counts and wants to give players a lot of control. The players will need to accept the need for multiple confrontations each game, but each one will be determined by their skill, and not usually by game effects or a random outcome. Not everyone will love this, but I can see it becoming a real favourite with groups who meet regularly and want their skill and experience to drive the outcome.
