Game Tips for Kingdom Builder

7

thepoz {Avid Gamer}

Sep 21st, 2012| Tip

66 of 66 gamers found this helpful

“Placement”

I found that early on, it is a good idea not to put your first play next to several different terrain types or you end up building in that one spot alot

3

Wolfhound {Avid Gamer}

May 27th, 2013| Tip

66 of 66 gamers found this helpful

“First Placement”

Try to place your first town on a tile that is not adjacent to other terrain types. For example, place on a canyon that only boarders other canyons. In doing so your options for subsequent town placements will be increased as only drawing another canyon tile will force you to place your town next to the previous town.

5

amwras {Avid Gamer}

Oct 11th, 2014| Rule

65 of 65 gamers found this helpful

“bridges”

As a house rule we use the bridges printed on some hexes as adjacent sides.

This helps to make river hexes not as much of a blockade in non harbor maps, on the other hand it helps certain scoring options with certain population groups (eg Miners).

It also makes it possible that you can jump over other settlement zones (eg. going over villages build in cliff zones).

3

includingtacos {Avid Gamer}

Nov 21st, 2012| Rule

66 of 67 gamers found this helpful

“Multiple cards and limited special abilities ”

Try using multiple terrain cards! Avoid more than two per player. But with each player having at least two cards in hand each turn makes settlement placing smoother, eliminating most analysis paralysis.

We also limit using the special abilities to just two per turn. This drags the game out a little longer, and allows for more strategic placement. Not a huge deal breaker, but fun sometimes.

We tried to use a “secret” victory points card. Don’t do it. It breaks the game, making points incredibly lopsided.

9

Marvin K. {Avid Gamer}

Nov 24th, 2011| Rule

66 of 68 gamers found this helpful

“1 reserve terrain”

At the beginning of the game draw 2 terrain cards and keep 1 as a reserve, then use the other one. This reserve can be played during the game instead of what you drew. You can play one of 2 ways-whichever works better with your group-a)This is a one time event and both cards- the reserve and the card drawn are discarded after play, or b)the card drawn becomes a new reserve card. I recommend a. I spoke with two representatives of Queen Games(the publishers of the game) at a recent convention. They had already considered the draw 2 keep 1 idea as an alternative rule, but rejected it because they found that if the players had any play experience it bogged the game down a lot in mid to late game as the players stopped the game while trying to figure out which choice would yield them the most points.

9

Marvin K. {Avid Gamer}

Nov 24th, 2011| Tip

66 of 68 gamers found this helpful

“Tiebreakers from Queen Games”

There is a decent chance of ending the game in a tie. This is why there are rules for scoring ties, but there are none for final score tiebreakers. At a tournament sponsored by Queen Games(the publisher) the following tiebreakers were used in the listed order. First-The tied player with the most settlements in reserve wins(He played most efficiently.) Second- The tied player fin furthest play position from 1st player.i.e. If you have players A,B,C and D with A playing first, then D would beat B if they tied because D played later in the turn.

6

Jeremy Lennert {Power Gamer}

Jul 4th, 2012| Strategy

66 of 70 gamers found this helpful

“Try to have a plan for each terrain”

Since you can’t control what terrain cards you’ll draw, you should aim to make as many of them as possible useful to you.

If you can avoid touching a particular terrain, that’s usually best–it gives you maximum options if you draw that terrain.

But you’re going to end up touching everything, and probably sooner rather than later. Once you’re touching a terrain, look for places that you would want to build if you drew that terrain. If you can’t find any, look for a way to touch a new patch of that terrain that you would like to build on. It may not be what you’re hoping to draw, but if you draw it anyway, you’ll be glad you have something at least semi-useful to do with it.

Touching a large patch of terrain you don’t want to build in–and no other terrain of that type–risks disaster if you start to draw that terrain a lot. Get yourself a better option as soon as you can.

9

Marvin K. {Avid Gamer}

Jan 18th, 2012| Strategy

66 of 70 gamers found this helpful

“Strategy in a randomized game”

Having played the game a lot now I have found one strategy that seems to help combat(but not entirely defeat) the randomness of the card draw. When placing your early settlements (first 2 or 3 rounds) try to place them so they are only adjacent to at most 1 other type of terrain besides the one you are placing on. 2nd and third round placements should try to duplicate earlier terrain types already chosen or adjacent to. This means that you will have more flexibility in the game as to where to place new terrain types.

9

Granny {Avid Gamer}

Mar 4th, 2013| Strategy

66 of 70 gamers found this helpful

“Harbor + Paddock = Strategy ~ A KB Strategic Tip”

Kingdom Builder is mostly a tactical game… changing strategies as the cards dictate. However, there is one combination that works every time if you know that to do with it: Harbor + Paddock. Harbor allows you to place in water. Paddock allows you to jump two spaces. So, when these are available… STAY AWAY FROM WATER AS LONG AS YOU CAN. Why? You ask. Well, because once you get these two… and you will if you are smart…you will be able to bounce around the board with the Harbor as long as you are not adjacent to water. Once you get near a castle or another action tile you can jump away from the water to the tile using the Paddock. Get all the castles and tiles you can before focusing on the other missions.

Kingdom Builder Strategic Tip ~ Harbor + Paddock = Strategic Gold!

Granny Approved!

10

Andy {Avid Gamer}

Nov 18th, 2011| Rule

56 of 60 gamers found this helpful

“Cards - Draw 2, Play 1”

While I find Kingdom Builder to be on the lighter end, I would like to have a bit more control with the placing of my settlements.

After a few plays, when you get the hang of maximizing for the card you’ve drawn (and there is strategy there!) try this variant:

At the end of your turn, draw 2 cards : during your turn, choose 1 of these to play.

You can play where you are forced to discard the second. Or, you may allow a player to decide whether to keep the extra, only drawing one the next turn. I think I prefer the forced discard, to keep some of the need to optimize how you play your 3 settlements within a region based one what is drawn.

The subtle strategy of settlement placement shouldn’t be completely replaced, but limiting your chances of drawing four flower fields in your first turns is helpful!

6

Jeremy Lennert {Power Gamer}

Jul 4th, 2012| Strategy

54 of 58 gamers found this helpful

“Place far away when you can”

When a card or ability lets you place or move a settlement, and you have no existing settlements adjacent to the terrain or region you’re required to place in, you can ignore adjacency for that placement. Don’t squander this opportunity! Place the settlement far away, close to some useful location that would be very difficult for you to ever reach using adjacent placement.

This will allow you to expand outward from several different starting points, rather than just the one, expanding the range of useful locations you can try to build towards. More potential targets means a greater chance of finding something useful to do with whatever cards you happen to draw.

3

irkenInvader {Avid Gamer}

Jan 3rd, 2012| Tip

66 of 72 gamers found this helpful

“Tactics > Strategy”

This is a very tactical game. I’ve seen many people get very upset because they focus on a long-term strategy while playing Kingdom Builder and finding that the cards, or the circumstances, defeat that strategy. This game is more about finding the best move at the moment, especially if that move helps set up better moves in the future. The strategy in this game is not based on anticipating what will happen, but instead on the idea that you can’t anticipate what will happen.

6

Jeremy Lennert {Power Gamer}

Jul 3rd, 2012| Strategy

47 of 54 gamers found this helpful

“Start with Rarer Ability”

Each board offers a unique ability. Most boards have two locations that offer that ability, but some only have one.

One person I played with said those abilities were more limited because they were more powerful. I’m not sure that was the intent, but even if they’re not inherently better, they’re going to run out faster simply because there are fewer available. Therefore (all else being equal) it’s easier to claim a wider variety of abilities if you start with one of these–and a wider variety means more options, which means a better chance of being able to do something useful with whatever cards you happen to draw.

6

Jeremy Lennert {Power Gamer}

Mar 8th, 2012| Strategy

66 of 78 gamers found this helpful

“Sometimes Move is better than Place”

Remember, you can use powers before your terrain card if you choose. The powers that move a settlement you’ve already placed can sometimes be used to remove your last point of contact with a given terrain, thereby letting you ignore adjacency when you place on that terrain later during your turn.

This opportunity doesn’t arise often, but sometimes it can be a real game-changer.

9

Marvin K. {Avid Gamer}

Jan 18th, 2012| Tip

66 of 91 gamers found this helpful

“Tiles rule”

Early in the game try to get 4 or 5 tiles (from the locations-they grant you extra actions) as quickly as possible.

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